Social movements march in Argentina to demand economic assistance

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Social movements and left-wing political groups marched this Friday, June 18, in Buenos Aires to demand from the Argentine government more economic assistance for the unemployed and other sectors hit by the effects of the recession and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mobilization, which had as its center the headquarters of the Ministry of Social Development in Buenos Aires, generated traffic chaos in the streets of the capital and the accesses to the city, as well as a strong deployment of police forces.

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The demonstrators denounced a lack of state investment in the face of the increase in the levels of poverty and unemployment, an “emergency” which, in their opinion, requires that the Government “stop thinking” about the “recipes” of adjustment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and “think about the people”.

They demanded that the State increase payments to beneficiaries of social plans, grant more aid to the unemployed, and reinforce assistance to community canteens.

“There are really thousands and thousands of workers who are demanding something elementary: a job, a job opportunity and in the emergency, social programs and food for the soup kitchens. All over the country, this is being demanded,” said Eduardo Belliboni, national leader of Polo Obrero, one of the organizations that mobilized.

The organizers announced that next Thursday, they will march again in Buenos Aires.