“Police and security officers fired tear gas and used water cannon on Wednesday to disperse demonstrators outside Congress, who threw rocks and firebombs during debate over the government’s labour reforms”, reads a Buenos Aires Times headline. I wonder if the Congress square will become a battlefield (literally) every time our so-called “representatives” do their well-paid job. Isn’t there a more civilised, less brutal way to express opposition or disagreement? All citizens have a legitimate right to demonstrate and protest, but that shouldn’t imply hurting or killing one another, destroying private property, burning cars, causing widespread chaos or wreaking havoc. Have we run out of tolerance, of patience, of the ability to discuss, exchange ideas without resorting to violence? Unless there’s a “coup d’état,” Javier Milei will stay in office until 2027, whether we like him or not. Therefore, the opposition should try to suggest rather than destroy, to add rather than subtract, to respect democracy, abiding by the law. For everyone’s sake.
Buenos Aires Times, February 14, 2026