The Argentine chapter of Amnesty International (AI) joined the human rights groups that have criticized the new guidelines unveiled by President Mauricio Macri's Security Ministry to handle protests, saying that it was unconstitutional as it restricts key rights, including freedom of the press by limiting the role of journalists.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández congressional group, 'Victory Front' submitted a bill in the Lower House to regulate street protests in a move that seeks to “guarantee and reinforce” the rights of citizens forced to deal with roadblocks and traffic chaos. The project bans the carrying of weapon by security forces during demonstrations too.
Argentina’s three main organized labour groupings, and in opposition to Argentine president Cristina Fernandez, have called for a national strike on Tuesday which counts with the support of several tens of camp and city organizations plus hundreds of pickets in the main cities ‘to ensure there is no activity’.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica currently visiting Germany said that relations with Argentine are very good and forecasted that President Cristina Fernandez will win he re-election bid next Sunday as he had anticipated two years ago.
Argentina’s most important daily Clarin has filed an extortion complaint against the leader of the pickets that have prevented the circulation of the newspaper by blocking distribution at the press plant and who was recorded in a tape asking for the equivalent of 2.2 million US dollars to end the attacks.
Argentina’s main daily and the Spanish language newspaper with largest circulation, Clarin from Buenos Aires appeared Monday with a blank front page to protest organized labour pickets that blocked Sunday’s edition distribution for almost twelve hours.
Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman said he held a “very important meeting” with Gualeguaychú Assembly members after the group of activists requested to be given an explanation of the upcoming joint monitoring of the River Uruguay recently agreed by Argentina and neighbouring Uruguay.
The Argentine city of Gualeguaychú and Fray Bentos across the shared River Uruguay celebrated Monday the first month of the end to pickets that since 2006 had impeded traffic and trade across the international bridge linking the two neighbouring locations.
Argentina’s Deputy Foreign Minister Victorio Taccetti did not rule out the possibility of Brazil integrating the joint environmental monitoring of the River Uruguay currently being arranged by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her Uruguayan counterpart José Mujica.
Pressure is mounting in Argentina for pickets blocking an international bridge leading to Uruguay to be ordered removed by a court order, following Wednesday’ presidential summit when Uruguay’s Jose Mujica and Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner agreed on a joint agenda of pending issues.