The demonstrators also demanded that the Government take additional measures to support the population during the crisis
Protests against quarantine and measures taken by the Argentine government took place in the capital and several other regions on Independence Day, which is celebrated in the republic on July 9. In Buenos Aires, demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace and near the Obelisk, one of the city’s main symbols.
Some of the protesters took part in the demonstration without getting out of their cars, which almost completely blocked traffic on one of the central highways of the city. The protesters waved Argentine flags and posters with inscriptions such as “We defend our values”, “We want freedom”, “No more corruption”.
According to Todo Noticias, protests were also held in the provinces of Santa Fe, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Tucumán. The demonstrators demanded that the government take additional measures to support the population in the crisis caused by the pandemic and lift the quarantine restrictions imposed 112 days ago that prevented them from working. There was also criticism of the government’s decision to expropriate the private company Vicentin, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and of the court order to place under house arrest the entrepreneur Lázaro Baez, suspected of giving bribes during the reigns of former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is now Vice-President.
The protests were generally quiet, but several demonstrators attacked journalists at demonstrations in Buenos Aires. There were also small skirmishes between the demonstrators.
On 3 March, Argentine authorities confirmed the country’s first coronavirus infection. On 20 March, a general quarantine was imposed. On 4 June, President Alberto Fernández reported the lifting of mandatory social exclusion in most regions. In the capital and province of Buenos Aires, the strict quarantine was extended until 17 July.
To date, the number of people infected with coronavirus in Argentina has exceeded 90 thousand, more than 1.7 thousand people have died.