Anti-G20 protesters in Argentina fear “provocations”

The organizers of a march planned to coincide with the Nov. 30 start of the G20 summit in the Argentine capital on Wednesday called for the protest to proceed peacefully and “without provocations.”

“We ask all the people who will attend the march not to respond to any sort of provocations. We are going to march to repudiate and with our right to protest,” Nora Cortinas, with the human rights group Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, told a press conference.

Another of the organizers, Beverly Keene, likewise urged people not to respond to any provocations that may arise, especially after what she called the government’s campaign of “intimidation.”

The two-day summit begins Friday, but some international delegations are already in Argentina.

Among the leaders who have already announced traveling to Argentina to participate in the meeting are Donald Trump of the United States, Xi Jinping of China, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Thus, President Mauricio Macri’s conservative government plans to carry out a security operation that will include the deployment of 22,000 police in Buenos Aires, a drastic reduction in public services and banning access to parts of the city for vehicles and pedestrians.

Argentine authorities say that the main objective is to prevent terrorist acts and violent street protests, like those that occurred during the 2017 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

Apart from the rejection of the G20, composed of the world’s 20 most important developed and developing economies, the demands at the national level will target economic policies that have led to growing poverty and an increase in the foreign debt.