Argentina's gov't represses pension protest
March 13, 2025
Argentine riot police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to drive demonstrators from the streets yesterday after hundreds of football fans joined a weekly protest over pensions in Buenos Aires. Demonstrators threw stones and incinerated dumpsters. (Página 12)
At least 22 people were hospitalized due to injuries, including a photojournalist who was hit on the head with a tear gas canister and remains in intensive care.
Independent human rights group Comisión Nacional por la Memoria (CPM)’s preliminary numbers indicated 200 protestors were injured. A spokesperson for Buenos Aires City Police said 89 people were arrested, though national government officials said over 150 people were detained. (Buenos Aires Herald)
Footage circulated on social media and in the press also showed a video of a police officer hitting an 87-year-old retiree with a baton, knocking her over. She, too, was hospitalized, according to the Argentine press.
Last year, Milei vetoed a law that would have increased pensions, albeit by less than inflation.
Retirees have been protesting against low pension levels for months, often at sparsely attended demonstrations. This week, fans of several football clubs called for a show of solidarity with pensioners, some of whom have been teargassed or baton-charged in recent protests over their diminishing purchasing power, reports AFP.
Surrounded by police, protesters chanted, “Don’t touch the elderly.” A man draped in the Argentine flag held a sign that read “Help me fight. You’ll be the next elderly person.” (Associated Press)
The government wrote off the demonstration as yet another politically motivated stunt, driven by the opposition, reports Bloomberg.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said the protesters planned to “take over Congress,” alleging that some of the football fans present belonged to barrabravas — organized, violent fan groups — and had come “prepared to kill.”
A resolution published Wednesday by Argentina’s Ministry of Security bans anyone who engages in violent behavior, disrupts security, traffic, or public order from entering soccer stadiums. This means that fans involved in yesterday’s riots will be barred from attending their team’s games for a period set by the authorities, reports the Associated Press.
The protests and repression come as the country reels from the impact of flooding that killed at least 16 people in Bahía Blanca, five days ago. Milei visited yesterday morning, as police continue to look for 94 missing people, including two sisters aged 1 and 5 swept away in floodwaters.
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