Following the violent incidents last Wednesday during the march against the labor reform near the Congress, Minister of Security Alejandra Monteoliva announced that a series of measures are under study to tighten controls on social protest demonstrations. These measures include backpack checks and even the prohibition of flags. "We have discussed toughening the measures for holding demonstrations or this type of protest, whether it be the anti-picket protocol... the number of elements we take into account," warned the official who succeeded Patricia Bullrich in the post. In an interview with "Pan y Circo", the program hosted by Jonatan Viale on Radio Rivadavia, the minister announced that measures such as backpack checks and even the prohibition of flags are on the table due to their use as "arrows" to attack security forces. "It's not just about backpack checks," she stated. "If after that they are going to use flagpoles as arrows or throwing weapons... Last Wednesday we saw how they were removing the poles," Monteoliva indicated in statements to which Agencia Noticias Argentina had access. In this sense, Monteoliva stated that from her ministry, they will look into how to carry out other types of controls without putting absolutely anyone's life at risk. Last Wednesday, parallel to the session in the Senate where the labor reform was being debated, clashes were recorded between police and gendarme officers and protesters, some of whom threw stones as projectiles and even Molotov cocktails. The Police reacted fiercely, repressing protesters with tear gas, water cannons, and batons. I'll give you an example: flags.
