Gendarmes set a perimeter in the Panamaricana highway where workers state a protest to condemn the life sentence of workers in the southern province of Santa Cruz.
Left-wing activists were staging a wave of protests across Buenos Aires City in a show of solidarity with a group of oil workers who have been sentenced to life for the murder of a police agent back in 2006 in the southern locality of Las Heras. Gendarmes have been deployed to the picket zones while chaos disturbs traffic.
Most affected areas are the intersection of Rivadavia and General Paz Avenues, the Puente Pueyrredón brigde and the La Plata-Buenos Aires highway.
Earlier this morning, military police stormed a first group of protesters blocking the Panamericana highway. The picket started at around 7 am today with the gendarmes arriving soon to disperse the demonstrators who resisted the action using sticks, some of them even fire extinguishers and throwing stones at the security officers, media reported. At least, one agent resulted injured and had to be assisted.
Workers’ Socialist Movement (MST) leader Vilma Rippoll, however, granted a radio interview right after the violent clashes and accused gendarmes of «beating» protesters.
Ripoll also questioned a court decision that sentenced three oil workers to life imprisonment for the murder of a police officer in 2006 in the southern city of Las Heras in the province of Santa Cruz which became the scenario of continuing protests by unionized workers by that time. Other workers received a 5-year-term.
Demonstrations in solidarity with the imprisoned workers were taking place in other areas of the province and the City of Buenos Aires as well as in other cities across the country.
buenosairesherald.com