Buenos Aires, Dec 27 (EFE) – Several incidents occurred in the center of Buenos Aires on Wednesday when police agents blocked traffic and prevented the age of hundreds of people who had participated in a concentration called by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT).
The CGT, Argentina’s main union confederation, together with other social organizations, called a protest that gathered around 8,000 people against the economic plans of the government of Javier Milei.
The day ed normally until the mobilization began to disperse.
The clashes began when dozens of riot police formed a cordon at the intersection of Corrientes and 9 de Julio avenues to prevent traffic from being disrupted by the massive flow of demonstrators and pedestrians crossing the street.
In the incidents, a police officer was injured after being hit by a city bus and six people were arrested, according to local media reports.
Also, in the midst of the riots, a reporter was hit from behind by an agent of the riot police. The Ministry of Security of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires apologized to the media outlet and invited it to file a complaint.
For ten days, Argentina has been operating under a widely criticized protocol implemented by the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, which prohibits the blocking of public roads during protests.
Three hours after the end of the rally called by workers’ unions and social organizations in front of the Supreme Court headquarters, which began at noon on Wednesday, security forces were still deployed in downtown Buenos Aires and the street remained closed to traffic.
Those who participated in the mobilization were protesting because they consider the decree approved by Argentine President Javier Milei on December 20 to be unconstitutional.
Shortly before the mobilization began, the CGT filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to suspend the points of the decree related to the labor reform.
The court rejected the appeal in a formal ruling, but accepted that the union could present it again on Friday, when the decree is expected to go into effect.
The CGT’s appeal s a dozen legal challenges to the decree, which includes more than 300 reforms to laws and regulations aimed at deregulating the economy.
Some 8,000 people took part in Wednesday’s mobilization in the center of the capital, a drastic increase from the 3,000 who participated in the march organized by social organizations and leftist parties on December 20.
Last week’s march, the first against the government of Javier Milei, coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the economic, political and social crisis of December 2001, which led to the resignation of the radical president Fernando de la Rúa (1999-2001) and left 39 demonstrators dead. EFE
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