Pope Francis criticized this Friday (20) the response of the government of Argentine President Javier Milei to protests that took place in Buenos Aires on the 11th, when the Chamber of Deputies maintained the president’s veto of a pension reform law.
According to information from the newspaper Clarín, Francis made the criticisms during an event at the Vatican with leaders of the left and Argentine social movements, including the Peronist Juan Grabois, his friend and who last year was a pre-candidate for the presidency of the South American country.
“They showed me the repression, maybe a week ago or a little less. Workers, people who were demanding their rights in the streets. And the police repelled them with something that is the most expensive thing there is, that top-quality pepper spray. And they had no right to demand what was theirs, because they were rebels, communists, no, no. The government stood firm and instead of paying for social justice, it paid for the pepper spray, it was what was convenient for it,” said the Pope.
“This arrogant attitude is the opposite of compassion: rejoicing in one’s own supremacy over those who are worse off,” the pope added.
On the 11th, thousands of protesters called by left-wing social organizations and opposition and retiree groups gathered in front of the Argentine Congress to pressure deputies to reverse Milei’s veto of a pension reform that, according to the government, would compromise the zero deficit goal.
After the veto was confirmed, some of the protesters began to tear down the fences around the Legislative Palace and a riot broke out.
Argentine presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni declined to comment further on the pope’s criticisms.
“This is Pope Francis’ opinion, which we have listened to and reflected on. We do not need to share his views on certain issues. The respect is total. There is not much more to say,” he said.
However, the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri, whose administration participates in the protocol to contain unrest during protests in the capital, did not follow the same line and said that the pope needed to be in the city to understand what really happened.
“I am a person of faith, but to give an opinion you need to be here and understand what is happening, not reduce a particular fact or listen to only one side,” said Macri, in an interview with Radio Rivadavia.
On Friday, Francis also reported that a foreign businessman told him that an Argentine minister had asked for a bribe to make investments in the country. The pope did not make it clear whether the incident had occurred during Milei’s administration or in previous governments.
Macri, who is a cousin of former President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), asked for clarification. “There were also comments about alleged bribes. Whether they occurred or not, I don’t know if it’s true, and if it is true, someone should report it. But everything happened in Argentina and only now [Francisco faz] these comments? It hurts me, because we need to move forward,” said the mayor of Buenos Aires.
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