At least 15 people have been injured and more than 100 arrested in Argentina after football fans and retirees clashed with police during a protest in the country’s capital against economic policies implemented by President Javier Milei, including pension cuts.
Riot police in Buenos Aires used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon on Wednesday to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators angered by the government’s move.
Authorities said the injured were taken to hospital, among them a police officer who had been shot and a protester who had been hit in the head with a tear gas canister.
Retirees have been gathering each week to protest against cuts to their pensions, which have dried up since libertarian Milei took office in late 2023. On Wednesday, they teamed up with football fans from several clubs to stage a demonstration.
Al Jazeera’s Daniel Schweimler, reporting from Buenos Aires, said thousands joined in the protests after a video went viral of an elderly man in a football jersey being beaten by police.
Jose, a pensioner who joined the protest, told Al Jazeera that retirees have been denied access to medicine and have had their pensions cut.
Football fans were further angered after a resolution was published by Argentina’s Ministry of Security on Wednesday, banning anyone who engages in traffic and security disruption and “violent behaviour” from entering soccer stadiums.
The crowd chanted “Milei, garbage, you are the dictatorship!”, comparing his rule with that of Argentina’s 1976-1983 military government, as clashes erupted near the Congress building and the landmark Plaza de Mayo.
Among the injuries, the most serious was to photojournalist Pablo Grillo, seen in social media videos being hit by a projectile while taking pictures. His father Fabian told reporters that his wounded son’s life was in danger and blamed Milei’s government.
Drastic austerity
The demonstrators – many waving national flags and pictures of the late football great Diego Maradona – were met by a major security presence outside Congress, which was in session when the protests began.
Columns of riot police on foot, backed by officers on motorbikes, fought for more than two hours to clear a central avenue of protesters who threw firecrackers, stun grenades and stones taken from broken-up sidewalks.
A patrol car and garbage cans were set on fire, and several streets were barricaded with debris.
A video of a police officer pushing and hitting an elderly woman who fell to the ground, her head bleeding, has been widely shared on social media.
Emotions have been running high in the South American country with Tuesday’s start of the trial of seven medical staff accused of homicide over Maradona’s death in 2020.
The elderly Maradona died alone in a rented house in Buenos Aires, where he was being cared for after brain surgery. His medical team has been accused of being criminally negligent in his care.
In a year of drastic austerity, pensioners have taken the most pain, with pension increases having fallen far short of inflation. Nearly 60 percent of retirees receive only the minimum amount, equivalent to some $340 per month.
Last year, Milei vetoed a law that would have increased pensions, albeit by less than inflation.
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