Argentine riot police used water cannons and tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters who hurled sticks, stones and Molotov cocktails outside Congress, raising tensions before lawmakers were to vote on state and tax reform bills proposed by President Javier Milley.
The vote will be the Liberal leader’s toughest test yet of his vision for governance and change.
As the Senate began debate on key bills, thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Buenos Aires, calling on lawmakers to reject Millay’s policies of severe austerity and economic deregulation.
Argentine court postpones start of criminal trial in Maradona’s death
Earlier in the day, a carnival-like atmosphere had prevailed around parliament, with protesters banging trumpets, dancing and buying beer and meat at impromptu street barbecues. But the atmosphere suddenly changed as crowds began shoving and pushing through lines of police armed with shields and batons.
Security forces, backed by water cannons mounted on armored vehicles, pushed back protesters who hurled flaming bottles and other objects. Despite bitter cold, hundreds of police fired water cannons and tear gas at crowds who surged along blocked streets, at one point knocking over police barricades.
At least 20 police officers were injured in clashes between police and protesters, authorities said, and security forces arrested 15 people.
Chaos erupted in the streets around the central square, where protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at motorbikes and set fire to a local radio station’s vehicle. Police used pepper spray to clear lines of protesters, according to the left-wing Peronist party, the United Fatherland, and at least four opposition politicians were taken to hospital.
Anti-government protesters clash with police outside Congress as lawmakers debate reform bills pushed by Argentine President Javier Milley, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Gustavo Galero)
The presidential office issued a statement denouncing the protesters as “terrorists plotting a coup by attacking the normal functioning of the Argentine Congress.”
“The only thing the old regime knows is how to put spokes in the wheel,” Millay told a conference of right-wing think tanks at the Hilton hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. “We are going to change Argentina and make it the most liberal country in the world.”
Following the violence outside Parliament, shouting matches broke out inside the chamber as opposition senators tried to pass a motion to suspend debate due to the clashes. The motion was defeated and debate continued.
Milley came to power promising to solve Argentina’s worst economic crisis in two decades, but as a relative newcomer, his party has only a few seats in Congress and is struggling to build an agreement with the opposition.
Senators began debate on Wednesday on two bills: a tax reform bill that would lower the minimum income tax threshold and a 238-section state reform bill, originally called the “omnibus bill” because it contained more than 600 provisions at the time.
The watered-down version still gives the president broad legislative powers on energy, pensions and security, and includes measures to encourage investment, deregulate the economy and reduce the budget deficit.
“They are trying to bankrupt our industry for the benefit of a few monopolies,” Peronist lawmaker Juan Marino said of the bill’s controversial incentives for investment.
Some sensitive issues, such as unionized health care and the privatization of Argentina’s national oil company, were scrapped in an effort to find compromise.
“If this law passes, we will lose many of our work rights and pension rights,” said Miriam Lajoviccher, a 54-year-old primary school teacher who said she has already seen her school budget slashed, her wages cut and food prices soaring. “My situation is worse.”
Setting off fireworks and shouting “Our country is not for sale!”, bankers, teachers, truck drivers and many other unionized workers carried signs mocking Milley’s self-described “anarcho-capitalist” policies and bold efforts to cut spending across the state. “How can a head of state hate his country?” one banner read.
After weeks of tough negotiations to win over potential allies, Milley’s two major bills cleared a key hurdle in late April, passing the House of Representatives. If the Senate passes the bills with amendments, the House still needs to approve them.
“Today it’s almost more important for Millay to show he can pass legislation than what he passes in Congress,” said Lucas Romero, director at Synopsys Consultants.
The bill faces stiff resistance from the moderate right, which has dominated Argentine politics for two decades, and the leftist Peronist movement loyal to former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Peronists hold 33 of the 72 seats in the Senate, while Milley’s party, Liberty and En Marche, has just seven. The bill needs 37 votes in the Senate to pass the bill.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Analysts say foreign investors, to whom Argentina owes a massive $44 billion, as well as the International Monetary Fund, are closely watching the results to see whether Millay can forge a deal with his rivals to realise his ambitions.
