Fenced Congress: this will be the security operation for the Senate session by the IMF

The Buenos Aires government announced the installation of a fence around Congress, in the run-up to the debate that will begin tomorrow in the Senate House to discuss the agreement with the IMF. The operation will begin tonight and will also include the presence of a large number of troops and the accompaniment of the team of Security Transit Agents, to order traffic around the demonstration.

As announced during a press conference by the Buenos Aires Minister of Security, Marcelo D'Alessandro; and the Minister of Government, Jorge Macri, the deployment of a special preventive operation aims to “prevent further unrest during the Senate vote.”

There they announced that the vicinity of the Congress will be closed tonight by means of a fence with a perimeter comprised of the Avenues Entre Ríos, Callao, Rivadavia, Combate de los Pozos and the front that faces the Plaza del Congreso.

In addition, as part of this deployment, there will be the presence of a significant number of troops and the accompaniment of the team of Security Transit Officers. The entire operation will also be supported by video surveillance cameras available in the area, which will be monitored by the Urban Monitoring Centers of the City Police to avoid episodes of violence and intervene quickly if necessary.

In this regard, they clarified that “the intention of the City authorities and the public forces that depend on them is not, under any circumstances, to prevent the free manifestation of those who oppose the agreement with the IMF; but past episodes of violence indicate that the presence of the fence and personnel police are a necessary condition to prevent minority groups from impeding the proper functioning of the institutions of the Republic and their constituents”.

On the other hand, with regard to the camp that took place in the Ministry of Social Development and moved to the offices of the Ministry of Labour, “the City authorities are constantly observing the development of the situation; it is clear that this is a large-scale claim that involves more directly the National Government, which does not mean that the public forces of the City are present in the place to avoid situations that put people or property at risk,” they detailed.

The incidents in Cristina Kirchner's office

Last Thursday a group of protesters attacked piedrazos as they entered Congress. The office of Vice President Fernández de Kirchner was one of those affected, which led to crosses and denials with the management of Horacio Rodríguez Larreta.

D'Alessandro had assured last week that there were no fences in Parliament at the express request of the former president. “We have to define which side we are on: the violent or the non-violent,” he emphasized.

As a result, from the Administrative Secretary of the Upper House, they issued an official statement on the subject. “The Administrative Secretary of the Senate of the Nation categorically denies that any of the authorities of this House have communicated with government officials of the City of Buenos Aires to request that security fences should not be placed on Thursday, March 10, while the Chamber of Deputies was in session for discuss the agreement with the IMF”.

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