Clashes between police and protesters shook the Argentine city of Formosa, in the north of the country, on Friday, in a protest provoked by the decision of the provincial authorities to return to the strictest phase of quarantine of covid-19.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Security.
The province of Formosa is closed and does not allow people from other parts of the country to enter. In January, abuses were reported in isolation centers for the sick and suspected of the virus.
Border with Paraguay, is one of the provinces that has taken the harshest measures in the context of the pandemic. In the last year, it has accumulated just over 1,300 cases.
Protesters, many from the informal sector of the economy, marched this Friday shouting “we want to work.”
About 60 people were arrested, said councilor Gabriela Neme, who suffered a broken arm during the protest.
According to the Association of Journalistic Entities from Argentine, a journalist was injured with rubber bullets and another was arrested during the protest cover.
Images with strong repression have multiplied on social networks.
Protesters rejected Governor Gildo Insfrán’s announcement that in the next two weeks Formosa will enter phase 1 of the quarantine, the one with the largest restriction on activities, because in the city of about 250,000 inhabitants, 17 new ones were confirmed on Friday. -19 cases.
“There is no justification for such violent actions. We call for reflection and call for all their demands to be supported in a peaceful manner,” said Provincial Government Minister Jorge Abel González when he ratified the tightening of restrictions.
– ‘Work, study and move freely’ –
Repression of the protests was rejected by opposition political parties and also by the government of Alberto Fernández, a center-left belonging to Peronism, such as Governor Insfrán.
“The state must guarantee the free peaceful expression of citizens. In times of collective anguish, serenity must prevail. Violence is never the way. And even less so institutional violence,” said Santiago Cafiero, Fernandez’s chief of staff.
“The people of Formosa only want to work, study and move freely. The government’s response is rubber and gas bullets. I urge Insfrán to stop the crackdown,” said Senator Luis Naidenoff, the province’s representative for the Radical Civic Union. social democrats)).
The United Nations Office in Argentina has also expressed “concern” and called for human rights to be respected in health policies against covid-19.
Argentina, with 44 million inhabitants, exceeds 1.2 million infections and 52,000 deaths caused by coronavirus.