MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine government says protestors are more interested about what happens in Miami

However the Mayor of Buenos Aires city said protestors made him feel proud: “100% Argentine spirit”.

The Argentine government reacted strongly to Thursday’s massive demonstrations across the country and challenged them to organize in a political party and run for election. However the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires said the protests filled him with “pride” and called on the people to keep confronting the government.

Protestors marched against attempts to amend the constitution so that President Cristina Fernandez can bid for a third consecutive mandate in 2015, and also demanded more freedom and more security against rampant violent crime.

Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Abal Medina said that those who marched on Thursday to (Buenos Aires) Plaza de Mayo square and the main squares of the country “are more concerned about what happens in Miami than in San Juan,” referring to Argentina and where Cristina Fernandez was on Thursday opening a textile factory.

“The social sector that was protesting is pretty homogeneous if you looked at their faces and appearances” added Abal Median who stated that the thousands of demonstrators at the pot-banging protest “have the right to set a political party, run for the election and win,” because “that’s what democracy is about.”

Abal Medina said that “it wasn’t clear what they were claiming” although he highlighted that “there was certain anger towards making the economy more transparent.” According to the cabinet chief, those protesters “seemed to like the unregistered jobs and economy”. He was referring to the “dollar clamp” and the 15% tax on all operations abroad with credit and debit cards, as a way of limiting travelling.

The Cabinet Chief assured that “these people never voted for Cristina or for something alike, and won’t do it” and that “in some way, they express Argentina’s diversity, democracy and the full exercise of freedoms”.

During the interview, Abal Median stated that “some demands” seen at the march “were aggressive and worrying” and that “they obviously have nothing to do with this government’s policies”.

Regarding the amount of people that participated of the march in the capital Buenos Aires, he said that “the President did not receive many votes from those neighbourhoods were the concentration was bigger, as in Recoleta”, which is one of the highest income districts of the city.

Abal Median also argued that the massive turnout “wasn’t spontaneous because it was organized a few weeks ago, there were politicians involved as Patricia Bullrich and Eduardo Amadeo” he pointed out.

Earlier in the day and former cabinet chief, Senator Aníbal Fernández admitted that Thursday’s mass protests were “important” and that the government “takes note of every protest” that takes place in the country.

“As far as I’m concerned, the government takes note of every one of the protests, be them with large amounts of people or 25 people that stood in the door of a government building” Fernández said.

The senator interviewed by a radio underlined that “people have the right to protest” although insisting that it is not clear “what they were actually trying to put across.”

“There was a big protest. As tends to occur with such an event, if there is a protest, the people have something to say. It is a freedom that we discuss between us and that we defend for all, so that we can all enjoy it,” the lawmaker said.

But the Mayor of Buenos Aires City Mauricio Macri and an opponent of the ruling coalition said that the mass anti-government protest that took place across the country made him feel “proud” and that he hoped the message of the people would reach President Cristina Fernandez.

“What happened yesterday filled me with pride, it makes way for this to be discussed and I hope that the message reaches the President,” Macri said today. “One hundred percent of Argentina's spirit” was out in the street yesterday, the city mayor underlined.

In addition, Macri stated that the Kirchnerite administration should take note of the demands expressed in the numerous protests across the main cities in the country, and prompted protestors to “keep confronting” the government in the same way.

“What happened yesterday was rather overwhelming, a rebellious movement shining light on what we are really living,” Macri said.