Understanding the May 10th Protest at Plaza de Mayo

Plaza de Mayo, the beautiful political district of Buenos Aires, is frequently used as the protest grounds for numerous demonstrations for and against the government. Tens of thousands of people gather around the plaza, just meters from Casa Rosada, to show either their support or opposition.

However, the protests seen on May 10th, were quite different. Instead of people gathering to protest against their opposing political party, Argentines of both political parties joined together to protest against the decision of the Supreme Court to grant an early release to a convicted human rights criminal, Luis Muina. This criminal kidnapped and tortured Argentines during the country’s 1976 – 1983 military dictatorship, where more than 30,000 people were killed. During the May 10th demonstration, protesters held large banners displaying all the people killed during the dictatorship, as well as signs that read “Nunca Mas”, “No al 2×1”, and many, many, more.

The Supreme Court issued Luis Muina´s early release off the interpertation of an outdated 2-for-1 law, which allowed every 1 day in jail to count as 2 days after 2 years had already been served. The ruling was immensely criticized, including by President Marci and Congress. The people of Argentina protested this decision in fear that this loophole would allow the early release of the other human rights criminals from the past dictatorship. However, congress was quick to react and passed a law forbidding the early release of human rights violators serving sentences for crimes during the dirty war.

At a press conference earlier that day, President Marci congratulated Congress on their swift resolution of “the legal vacuum left by this unfortunate 2-for-1 law” and stated that he was against “any tool that is in favour of impunity, more so when this tool is applied to crimes against humanity.”