Massive protest in Argentina after failed attack on vice president: “Fortunate that the gun refused” | Abroad

Squares in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires filled up on Friday, according to images from Argentine media. Hundreds of thousands of protesters were even present, according to the Reuters news agency. Many would be supporters of Fernández de Kirchner, one of Argentina’s most important and polarizing politicians. The politician faces a 12-year prison sentence for alleged corruption.

Over the past week, hundreds of protesters have gathered at Fernández de Kirchner’s home to show support for her. That’s where the incident also took place on Thursday night, when a man from the crowd stepped up to the vice president and brought a loaded gun within inches of her face. His motive is unclear. Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández said it was “the most serious incident to affect Argentina since the country returned to democracy in 1983”.

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“Fortunately, the gun refused,” one of the protesters in Plaza de Mayo told Reuters news agency. According to reporters from the British newspaper The Guardian, the protesters in Buenos Aires chanted: “If they touch Cristina, we’re going to cause chaos!”. “We knew something like this could happen, the social climate is quite tense here,” said another protester.

Pope Francis, who was born in Buenos Aires, responded to the attack by “praying for social harmony and respect for democratic values ​​in beloved Argentina.” Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was convicted of corruption but is now running again in the presidential elections, warns of political violence in his country. “I think we as politicians need to be aware of the violence provoked by those who don’t know how to live democratically,” said Lula.