Street peddlers clash with police, lift Corrientes Ave blockade

Street peddlers protesting along Florida shopping street against eviction orders put in place by the City Government, clashed with Metropolitan Police officers on Friday afternoon. Several people were detained and police later lifted the blockade they had set along Corrientes Avenue.

The incidents took place in the intersection of Florida and Viamonte streets, as tension mounted after Mayor Mauricio Macri’s administration decided to reinforce security in the area to prevent street peddlers from reinstating their selling spots along the popular pedestrian shopping street.

Clashes with the Metropolitan Police and shop owners has provoked numerous protests in recent weeks, which led to the City Government's decision to reinforce authority.

City Public Space Minister Diego Santilli, sustained that they asked for their “support of the stated policies in order to abide by the law, which is totally against illegal selling of goods” and that “due to the lack of their cooperation, we had to ask for help from the Metropolitan Police.”

Regarding the organization of the illegal vendors, Santilli stated that “I’d say that there is a little bit of everything: an organization that provides the goods, the groups that push and shove and those people who work on their own. But basically there’s an organization behind it.”