Milei’s Argentina Since President Javier Milei took office, Argentina has been going through one of the most paradigmatic crises in its recent history. While promises of growth and economic freedom fill official speeches, the reality on the streets is very different: falling consumption, mass layoffs, underfunding of the public system, and an increasingly absent state. There are demonstrations by retirees demanding decent pensions, attacks on press workers, students fighting to defend public education, and people laid off due to company closures. There is also repression: rubber bullets, tear gas, and blood. State violence is growing in parallel with social despair, and the streets are becoming an increasingly hostile environment for those who protest and defend their rights. __ A retiree is beaten by security forces during a demonstration at the Buenos Aires Congress organized to demand improvements in their pensions. Under President Javier Milei’s government, pensions have lost purchasing power, deepening the crisis among the elderly.
A disabled man living on the streets rests in Plaza Constitución, Buenos Aires, next to a tray with leftover food. In the context of fiscal adjustment implemented by the current government, assistance programs for people with disabilities have been cut, while poverty affects more than 50% of the population. Social organizations warn about the growth of exclusion and the deterioration of state support networks.
President Javier Milei waves to his supporters as he leaves the Casa Rosada, the epicenter of the Argentine government.
Retirees confront police shields to prevent security forces from advancing on the demonstration. Every Wednesday, senior citizens march to the National Congress to demand an increase in their pensions, which currently stand at around 285,000 pesos per month—less than $250 at the official exchange rate—well below the cost of living.
A water cannon truck aims at protesters in an attempt to disperse a demonstration in front of the National Congress. As a result of the violence, more than 120 people were arrested and at least 46 were injured. Organizations such as the UN and Human Rights Watch denounced the excessive and indiscriminate use of force and urged the government to investigate the repression that day.
Laura Pomillio, a journalist with the national news agency Télam, spends her days in a tent set up by workers in front of the newsroom building to demand reinstatement to their jobs. President Javier Milei announced the closure of the agency during his opening speech to the Legislative Assembly after taking office, and workers are still demanding the restoration of the service.
History student Tato Rodríguez is surrounded by desks during the occupation of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Buenos Aires. The occupation was part of a series of protests against budget cuts in public education, which threatened the functioning of universities across the country.
Olga, a retiree, cooks at home with vegetables she picked up on the street. Like thousands of older people in Argentina, she survives on a minimal pension that does not cover the basic basket of goods. Many retirees resort to community kitchens or the help of neighbors to feed themselves, in a context of sustained deterioration in purchasing power and a lack of comprehensive assistance policies.
Photojournalist Pablo Grillo was wounded in the head by a tear gas canister fired during a crackdown in front of Congress. The impact caused multiple skull fractures, loss of brain matter, and hydrocephalus. After nearly three months in intensive care, he was discharged and continues his recovery in a rehabilitation hospital. The attack is part of a pattern of systematic harassment of the press during demonstrations.
A retiree walks away from a demonstration that turned violent in front of Congress. Security forces used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons to suppress a peaceful protest calling for higher pensions. Human rights organizations have denounced the disproportionate use of force against elderly people, unarmed protesters, and members of the press during repeated days of mobilization.
Since President Javier Milei took office, Argentina has been experiencing one of the most paradigmatic crises in its recent history. While promises of growth and economic freedom fill official speeches, the reality on the streets is very different: falling consumption, mass layoffs, underfunding of the public system, and an increasingly absent state.
There are demonstrations by retirees demanding decent pensions, attacks on press workers, students fighting to defend public education, and workers laid off due to company closures. There is also repression: rubber bullets, tear gas, and bloodshed. State violence is growing in parallel with social despair, and the streets are becoming an increasingly hostile environment for those who protest and defend their rights.
