Argentine president Javier Milei and his security minister Patricia Bullrich launched a fierce campaign against social protest from the first minute of their mandate that endangers democratic freedoms. «Let them know that if they take to the streets, there will be consequences», the minister threatened in mid-December, when she launched the so-called «anti-picketing protocol» aimed at preventing street demonstrations. On the 20th of the same month, on the anniversary of the «Argentinazo» (popular uprising of 2001), the commemorative mobilisation promoted by the piquetero movement was subjected to a monstrous deployment of security forces, and Milei and Bullrich themselves monitored the repressive operation live. Since then, the repressive campaign has been growing. This month, a brutal repression was launched near the Congress when the Senate was debating the Bases Law, which advances austerity, privatisation and labour reform. The government publicly denounced «sedition» and «terrorism» and around 30 people (demonstrators and, in some cases, simple passers-by passing by, or street vendors) were arrested, at the behest of the prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, and detained for days on end. Some of them are still in prison to this day. In Mendoza, the leader of the Polo Obrero, Martín Rodríguez, was given a suspended sentence of two years and eight months in prison for eight cases brought against him for mobilisations. One of the most serious aspects of the repressive policy is the attack on the piquetero movement, which is organising the struggle against unemployment, hunger and poverty (which, in a few months, the Milei government has raised to almost 60% of the population). Legal cases were opened against comrades of the Polo Obrero (among them, Eduardo «Chiquito» Belliboni, its main leader, who is also a national leader of the Partido Obrero) and other piquetero organisations, under false accusations of irregular handling of funds and alleged extortion of beneficiaries of social plans. We say: the extortion and corruption is solely on the side of the government of Milei and his minister and friend Sandra Pettovello (Human Capital), who threaten to take away social assistance to those who participate in demonstrations, and whose ministry of social action is shaken by scandals of irregular hiring of personnel and non-delivery of food, which expires in the warehouses instead of being delivered to those who need it.

As part of the campaign of persecution, we must point out an extremely serious event: the raid on the headquarters of the Partido Obrero, accompanied by espionage.

Those who are in solidarity with the cause of the Palestinian people are also being persecuted, such as Vanina Biasi (national deputy of the Frente de Izquierda for the city of Buenos Aires and national leader of the Partido Obrero), who was incriminated by the aforementioned prosecutor Stornelli for allegedly inciting hatred for criticising on her social networks the government of Israel, which is carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.

We also declare our solidarity with all the comrades who have been persecuted by the successive governments of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Mauricio Macri and Alberto Fernández, and we demand the acquittal of César Arakaki and Daniel Ruiz, convicted for their participation in the mobilisations of December 2017 against the anti-worker macrista pension reform; of the comrades from Córdoba prosecuted for «impeding or obstructing transport or public services», after a demonstration (Emanuel Berardo, Soledad Díaz, Federico Giuliani, Agustín Nazar, Roxana Carezano, Marisa Cariddi, militants of workers’, picketers’ and left-wing organisations); of Sebastián Copello, Juan Chorolque and Verónica Urzagasti (from the piquetero movement of Jujuy, who will go on trial on June 18); Lorena Torres and Víctor da Vila (Polo Obrero and Partido Obrero of Mendoza); and we reject the request for sanctions against the provincial deputy of the Frente de Izquierda of Chubut, Santiago Vasconcelos.

Free all political prisoners and close the persecutory cases of the bosses’ justice system of Milei and Bullrich! Down with the persecution of the piquetero movement, the militant unions and the popular movement!

Let us regroup internationalist forces to fight for a revolutionary solution to capitalist barbarism

Statement of the meeting held in Buenos Aires –

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