Protests for Higher Pensions Escalate as Pensions Hike Fails

Dozens of people were injured in clashes with police this week in Buenos Aires after protests broke out in front of Argentina’s Congress following a failure by lawmakers to approve higher pensions, the Associated Press reported.  

Earlier this week, Argentine lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on various bills, including pension increases and other benefits for the retired.  

The administration of President Javier Milei, which has been focused on rescuing the economy and tackling high inflation while cutting public spending, opposed the proposals.  

Protests for pension increases have become common in Argentina after Milei implemented austerity measures over the past year. During these demonstrations, retirees are often joined by other groups, such as unions or soccer fans. 

The government says that austerity measures are necessary to bring down inflation, and promote investment and economic growth. 

Economists and business folks say the tough medicine of Milei, the self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” who rode to power in 2023 promising to “blow up” the central bank, punish elites, axe a bloated government, and defeat sky-high inflation, is working.  

And he is being rewarded for these moves, too.  

Milei’s right-wing party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), in an election upset, took first place with more than 30 percent of the vote in local elections in Buenos Aires on Sunday, traditionally considered the stronghold of the center-right Propuesta Republicana (PRO), which placed third, according to Euronews. 

The party also beat the left-leaning Peronist party, which governed Argentina for most of the past 20 years and came in second in the elections.