After the riots that took place in the vicinity of Congress during the debate on the labor reform, the City Police reported the arrest of 20 violent demonstrators. Seven of them belong to organizations close to national deputy Juan Grabois, including the Excluded Workers Movement (MTE) and the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP).
People close to the legislator reported that the procedure was "violent" and carried out with "intentionality," arguing that the arrests took place when the demonstrators were already dispersing after attacking the police forces, several blocks away from Congress.
Julián Catalano, uno de los detenidos.
One of those arrested was lawyer Juan Manuel Reichenbach, an MTE activist, who was accused of assault and resisting authority and who was released during the early hours of the morning. Maximiliano Melgar was also released, while on Thursday people were demanding the release on bail of activist Corina González.
Nicolás Caropresi, an MTE leader, stated that they were arrested "without any evidence" and suggested that the operation replied to a political decision. In the same vein, left-wing organizations called for a gathering in front of Police Station 14, located at Scalabrini Ortiz 1350, to demand the release of their comrades captured in flagrante delicto.
Among those arrested, there also are activists from the Justicialist Party, such as Julián Catalano and Francisco Daniel Mansilla, who were recorded on video at the time they were taken away. A photojournalist from La Plata and a motorcycle mechanic from Longchamps who had shared violent slogans against the political system on social media were also arrested.
La mayoría de los detenidos por los disturbios en Congreso responden a Grabois.
During the afternoon, the Police reported the release of nine of the twenty detainees. Later, the National Security Minister, Alejandra Monteoliva, released a video in which the Government revealed, with full names, the first individuals identified as having thrown Molotov cocktails, marking a shift in the zero-tolerance policy toward violence in protests.
Meanwhile, as Congress was debating a key reform to modernize the labor system, groups linked to Kirchnerism tried to move the discussion to the terrain of street confrontation. The official response, with arrests and identification of those responsible, reinforces the decision to uphold institutional order in the face of attempts at destabilization.
