• Riot police clash with demonstrators during a protest of pensioners supported by football fans against the government of President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on March 12, 2025. (AFP)

Argentine police on Wednesday engaged in violent clashes with football fans and anti-austerity protesters during a regular pensioners' protest in Buenos Aires.

Riot officers deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse demonstrators who threw stones, resulting in dozens of injuries and over 100 arrests, according to city officials.

Many participants were wearing football jerseys, and the protest became one of the most intense demonstrations against President Javier Milei’s budget cuts. Protesters chanted, “Milei, garbage, you are the dictatorship!”, drawing comparisons between his governance and Argentina’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship.

The unrest escalated near the Congress building and Plaza de Mayo, which were heavily guarded as Congress was in session.

Riot police, both on foot and on motorcycles, battled protesters for over two hours, clearing the central avenue where demonstrators hurled firecrackers, stun grenades, and stones from broken sidewalks. A patrol car and garbage bins were set ablaze, and several streets were barricaded with debris.

❗️HUGE protests happening right now in Argentina

SWAT-style riot cops blast rubber bullets into protesters

Crowds in Buenos Aires want higher pensions and END to Prez Milei’s austerity measures pic.twitter.com/11nv61GUR4

— RT (@RT_com) March 12, 2025

Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said 150 people have been detained during protests in the center of Buenos Aires.

"About 15-17 police officers were injured, 150 people were detained ... Many of those who came to this demonstration - fans, leftists - came ready to kill," Bullrich claimed in an interview with the LN+ broadcaster.

At least 53 people were injured during protests, with 11 of them being hospitalized, La Nacion newspaper reported.

The protest was part of a long-running series of Wednesday demonstrations by pensioners, which usually attract only a small group of participants. This week, however, fans from multiple football clubs joined in solidarity with the pensioners, some of whom had previously been subjected to tear gas and baton charges over their deteriorating economic conditions.

Following the clashes, residents in various parts of Buenos Aires joined in by banging pots and pans, blocking streets, and singing songs against Milei and National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich.

While protests have been ongoing for years, pensioners' financial difficulties have worsened under the administration of the self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei. Bullrich, on her social media, posted an image of police confronting protesters, labeling them as “hooligans.”

Pensioners have suffered the most under a year of severe austerity, with pension increases failing to keep pace with inflation. Nearly 60% of retirees live on the minimum pension, equivalent to approximately $340 per month. Last year, Milei vetoed a law that would have increased pensions, though it would have still fallen short of inflation.

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