Argentina: Right-wing frighteners for female activists

[Judi Lynn]

Argentina: Right-wing frighteners for female activists

Oct Monday 10th 2016
posted by Morning Star in World



ATTEMPTS to endanger the lives of delegates at an Argentinian women’s conference in the northern city of Rosario were revealed at the weekend.

Communist Party of Argentina national gender chief Solana Lopez said unknown agents had placed home-made caltrops — metal spikes devised to disable vehicles — on the tyres of a minibus and car used to take delegates to the 31st National Women’s Meeting.

Ms Lopez said their aim had been to cause an accident while delegates were being ferried to and from the conference centre, but the planting of the caltrops was seen as mainly an act of intimidation and provocation.

She said it was “not an improvised act” and accused President Mauricio Macri’s right-wing government of failing to institute minimum security measures.

“Today we see a state at the service of repression and social control, as a meeting like ours turns into a ‘risk’ for its political objectives’,” Ms Lopez said.

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-de12-Argentina-Right-wing-frighteners-for-female-activists#.V_y-eUkVAq0

(Short article, no more at link.)

[forest444]

1. Thank you for covering this, Judi.

The speakers at the conference hit Macri hard for everything from terminating Cristina Kirchner's employment program for women leaving abusive husbands/boyfriends, to slashing domestic abuse abatement budgets, to appointing health officials who've tried to restrict access to birth control in public hospitals, to coddling brothel owners who contributed to his campaign, and other misogynist policies. Little wonder Macri and his goons saw fit to go after them.

This is what the conference, with 70,000 participants, looked like:

And this is how it ended (@ 2:00; five women, and one tv correspondent, wounded):