BUENOS AIRES, Dec 1: The protest against the G20 summit in Buenos Aires peacefully concluded on Friday amid the meeting of the leaders of 20 industrial nations there, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.
The protest participants are currently leaving the plaza near the Argentine parliament building where they ended the protest march through the streets of Buenos Aires in the city’s downtown area.
The concluding part consisted of a speech by a representative of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo – an organization uniting the mothers of the disappeared children during the dictatorship in Argentina during the 1970s and early 1980s – and one that helped organize the protest.
Police remain present in full force together with their armored and non-armored vehicles and the fence around the parliament building has not been removed.
The Argentine government deployed extensive security measures, including some 2000 law enforcement personnel and closed the avenues along the entire protest route as well as blocked them off by deploying armored vehicles and installing fences. The protest started at around 3:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) and lasted three hours. The protesters marched from the July 9 Avenue toward the Argentinian Congress Plaza – one that is traditionally used for demonstrations. The participants were carrying banners reading “No to G20, “No Macri and IMF,” “Get Out G20, Get out IMF.” Some protesters wore costumes and masks while others played music during the march. A group of women marched topless with their bodies painted with the colors of the G20 member states’ flags. The Argentine government proclaimed Friday to be a non-working day and advised those residents who could leave the city to do so.
While many people left, others remained and strolled the streets, seemingly with little concern about the protest and ongoing G20 events.
(AGENCIES)
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