Original article: En la Argentina de Milei: “Se llevaron a un jubilado en muletas” tras represión y detenciones frente al Congreso
«An elderly man on crutches was just taken away. He was there doing nothing. We come to demand that retirees have a dignified pension,» recounted one of the protesters with indignation.
This week’s protest by Argentine retirees in front of the Congress transformed into a scene of repression and detentions, a disconcerting pattern during Javier Milei’s libertarian government.
Members of the Federal Police of Argentina (PFA), supported by National Gendarmerie forces, forcefully suppressed a group of demonstrators—mostly seniors—demanding a «dignified pension» using pepper spray, shields, and physical force. The outcome was at least four arrests, several individuals treated for gas inhalation, and a shocking image of an elderly man on crutches being taken away by security forces.
The protest, a weekly ritual every Wednesday, began as usual with retirees forming a classic round on the sidewalk surrounding the Legislative Palace. However, police hindered the customary event and compelled protesters to distance themselves from the building. Tensions escalated rapidly when the retirees refused to disperse. After 3 PM, the police response was swift: clouds of pepper spray, pushing with shields, and charges that resulted in arrests.
The violence did not discriminate by age. Around the fences of Congress, several older adults affected by tear gas had to receive assistance from emergency personnel.
«An elderly man on crutches was just taken away. He was there doing nothing. We come to demand that retirees have a dignified pension,» recounted a protester to C5N, a testimony that went viral, igniting a wave of criticism and outrage.
This distressing episode was narrated by former Left Front congresswoman Myriam Bregman, who was inside Congress and exited to try to defuse the situation.
«I witnessed the final phase of an incredible detention. He was taken by the Gendarmerie, they wanted to arrest him. They left him on the ground and turned their backs. They left a person who started convulsing on the floor. The entire battalion turned around and ignored him,» she denounced.
Bregman criticized that although the man was attended to by first-response teams, the emergency services took «over half an hour to arrive.»
«There was a lack of assistance, doctors, and an ambulance. He himself told us he had medication in his pouch,» she explained about the detainee, who was ultimately transferred to Ramos Mejía Hospital.
«They are taking away Father Paco»
One of the most shocking moments of the day was the detention—and subsequent release—of Father Francisco ‘Paco’ Olveira, a member of the Priests in Option for the Poor group.
Media outlets such as El Destape captured the moment when PFA officers charged at the priest, who was protesting with a megaphone on one of the side sidewalks. «They are taking away Father Paco!» shouted protesters upon witnessing this aggression.
Union for the Homeland (UxP) deputy Eduardo Valdés posted a video of the moment on his X account with the caption: «The moment Father Paco was arrested, innocent!»
Though a first intervention by UxP legislators secured his release, Olveira was arrested again hours later.
The editorial director of Página|12, Nora Veiras, read a message from the priest during his detention: «Everything is wrong, burned by gas, I was detained, released, and then detained again. Now for entering the Federal Police Drug Control Superintendency, why I was taken here, I do not know, for now, I am in the police van.»
Finally, according to Carmen Verdú, lawyer for the Coordinating Committee Against Police and Institutional Repression (Correpi), four individuals were arrested and taken to the former PFA Headquarters, now the Superintendency of Dangerous Drugs: Father Francisco ‘Paco’ Olveira, Ivo Enriquez, Miguel Cali, and Fidel Thomas Bravo. The justice system validated Cali and Enriquez’s arrests for «resisting authority,» with added charges of «minor and aggravated injuries» for Enriquez. Father Paco and Bravo, however, regained their freedom after spending hours in custody.
Targeting the Elderly
For Father Olveira, the repression is not an isolated incident. He was previously detained during another retirees’ march on November 12 of last year. In subsequent statements, he denounced that «there is a targeting of retirees because they are the tip of the iceberg of discontent in our country, beyond an electoral outcome.»
This Wednesday, targeting seemed to extend further. In addition to retirees, individuals with disabilities present at the protest were targeted, and the police also launched gas against journalists, who had protested for the repeal of the Journalist Statute included in the government’s labor reform.
After the peak moment, a large group of Gendarmerie and PFA officers, far outnumbering the demonstrators, pushed the remaining attendees with their shields to the corner of Entre Ríos and Alsina, over 100 meters from Congress, completely blocking their passage.
The final scene was of a cleared street, guarded by rows of uniformed officers, and the remnants of repression against those who week after week keep their protest for dignified conditions alive.
«It embarrasses me that they take away the priest and harm people. I hope the people wake up and support the causes they need to support. We shouldn’t be 50, we should all be there. One day we will all be retirees,» reflected a protester who attends every Wednesday after work in a conversation with Argentina12.
*Featured photo: Alejandra Morasano (Página/12)