The Casa Rosada has given permission for a march to take place in Buenos Aires on Friday, the first official day of the G20 summit.
The protest is expected to start at 3 p.m. at Avenida San Juan before moving down calle 9 de Julio until Avenida de Mayo, where the demonstrators will move towards the Plaza de Congreso. Headed by the “Confluencia Fuera G20 FMI,” which is opposed to both the G20 summit and the IMF loan, the activist group has brought together over a hundred human rights organisations, social movements, trade unions and left-leaning political parties.
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However, Partido Justicialista (PJ) and Kirchnerist parties are not taking part in the marches, despite outwardly rejecting the IMF loan. Sources from Kirchnerist political coalition Unidad Ciudadana told Todo Noticias that they “are not against the G20.”
“Argentina is only in the G20 thanks to the management of Cristina [Kirchner], even though the government says otherwise,” they added.
The news agency also added that Kirchner herself had nothing on her agenda for the weekend of the G20 but would be watching the summit unfold from her house in El Calafate.
Pagina 12 reported that the final decision to allow the march was communicated by the Cabinet of the Ministry of Security, Gerardo Milman, in a letter to Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, saying that he hoped that “in this way we can all make a step towards peace and democratic co-existence.”
However, the Casa Rosada’s blessing for the demonstration does come with conditions.
“All signs of a peaceful manifestation, without covered faces, without elements or articles that have violent uses” will be permitted. The authorisation also suggested isolating potential “violent individuals or groups…for the creation of a plural and democratic expression.”
This is in response to various minority groups in demonstrations over the past months who have thrown stones and knocked over barriers, resulting in a strong police response which has been widely condemned.
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“In any case that situations arise that put at risk people’s safety, public and/or private property, security forces will act immediately in accordance with the law and the constitution,” explained Milman’s letter.
Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich has organised a huge security operation in Buenos Aires, shutting down roads and closing down public transport routes. She also suggested that residents of the city take advantage of the long weekend to leave the city, as the operation would be “very complicated.”
