Farmers yesterday hurled eggs at the head of the pro-government caucus in the Lower House, Deputy Agustín Rossi, as he was leaving a political rally in the Santa Fe provincial district of Venado Tuerto, official sources said today.
Talking to the press this morning, the lawmaker said some 40 people insulted the members of the Justicialst Victory Front and hurled eggs during a rally attended by more than 400 people. The deputy expressed his concerns over the increasing level of violence in political rallies ahead of the June mid-term vote.
“I’m concerned that these despicable actions seem to be spreading,” said Rossi during the interview. He is seeking reelection in the June 28 mid-term elections.
Rossi had already been attacked on a previous occasion earlier this year, when demonstrators threw eggs at him and his brother as both were entering a car in Santa Fe. Rossi also criticized the actions of another group of protesters who were involved in clashes with the police during a political rally led by Buenos Aires province Governor Daniel Scioli in Lobería.
After the incidents, the Scioli administration ousted the police chief of the district, who was in charge of the security of the ceremony. Media reports said the government has tightened controls in all public ceremonies to prevent further incidents from happening.
Scioli blamed the opposition Unión-PRO for the incidents, as the farmers who were involved in the incidents were members of that party. Nevertheless, the head of the Unión-PRO in Buenos Aires province, Francisco de Narváez, denied his party was behind the incidents and telephoned Scioli to express his support and condemn the violent incidents.
Farmers, who are at loggerheads with the government after it announced an increase to soybean export duties last year, are demanding that the government lower export levies and an aid to the agricultural sector, hit by adverse weather conditions and the declining prices of commodities in the international markets.
Buenos Aires Herald for more