Police disperse march against property bill with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon

On Thursday, a demonstration against the Inviolability of Private Property bill took place outside Argentina's Congress, resulting in clashes with security forces. Police sources indicate that twelve individuals were detained during the protest, with three arrested by Federal Police and nine by Buenos Aires City Police, all charged with assault and resisting authority.

The Security Ministry deployed around 820 officers from federal forces and the city police under an anti-picket protocol. Initial reports suggest that the demonstration started peacefully, but tension escalated when security forces positioned behind barriers began deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, and water from cannon trucks.

Other accounts claim confrontations erupted when a group removed one of the barriers. By 5 p.m., nearly six hours into the peaceful protest, Federal Police deployed tear gas against protesters pressing against the fencing. The clashes saw windows shattered, waste containers set ablaze, and pavements damaged in central Buenos Aires.

Demonstrators, representing various unions and organizations, chanted "The homeland is not for sale" and "The land is not for sale, not to be burned, not to be evicted from." Despite the governing bloc withdrawing the chapter allowing rural land purchases by foreigners, the protest proceeded. Sergio Alarcón, a Peronist organization member, expressed concern about the bill's potential impact on land and forest burning.

Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger defended the withdrawn chapter and expressed regret over its exclusion. The Senate approved the bill on Friday, excluding the land purchase chapter, with 37 votes in favor and 33 against. The bill, which retained reforms on evictions, expropriations, and the Real Estate Property Registry, now moves to the Chamber of Deputies.