Buenos Aires (Associated Press):
Argentine riot police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters outside the country's parliament on Wednesday, as tensions rose ahead of lawmakers voting on state and tax reform bills proposed by President Javier Milley.
The vote will be the Liberal leader's toughest test yet of his vision for governance and change.
As the Senate began debate on key legislation, thousands of protesters gathered on the outskirts of parliament, calling on lawmakers to reject Millay's policies of severe austerity and economic deregulation.
The carnival-like atmosphere that had prevailed in central Buenos Aires earlier in the day – with protesters blowing trumpets, grilling meat on makeshift barbecues and shouting – was quickly replaced by crowds shoving and shoving into lines of police armed with shields and batons.
Security forces, backed by water cannons mounted on armored vehicles, pushed back protesters who had swarmed the capital's blocked streets, with hundreds of police firing water cannons and tear gas after some of the demonstrators faced resistance, some of whom hurled rocks and other weapons.
There were no immediate reports of arrests or injuries in the melee that ensued. The opposition coalition said police used pepper spray to clear lines of protesters earlier in the day, sending at least four opposition lawmakers to hospital.
Milley came to power promising to solve Argentina's worst economic crisis in two decades, but as a relative newcomer, his party has only a few seats in Congress and is struggling to build consensus with the opposition.
Senators began debate on two bills Wednesday: a tax reform bill that would lower the minimum income tax threshold, and a 238-section state reform bill that was originally dubbed an “omnibus bill” because of its more than 600 provisions.
The watered-down version still gives the president broad legislative powers on energy, pensions and security, and includes measures to encourage investment, deregulate the economy and reduce the budget deficit.
Some sensitive issues, such as unionized health care and the privatization of Argentina's state-run oil company, were dropped in an effort to find compromise.
