Argentina’s G6, a group of the country’s main business associations, condemned the protests that took place yesterday in Jujuy against the recently reformed provincial constitution.

“We Argentines want to live ‘in union and freedom,’ as stated in the motto of the first national coins,” Natalio Mario Grinman, president of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), said in a press communiqué released yesterday. “We will not accept a small group of barbarians sullying those values.”

The self-styled G6 group is made up of the CAC, the Argentine Banking Association (ADEBA), the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BCBA), the Argentine Construction Chamber (CAMARCO), the Argentine Rural Society (SRA), and the Argentine Industry Union (UIA).

The communiqué called the protests, in which some demonstrators entered the Legislature building and set fire to parts of its facilities, “vandalous” and “violent”. The demonstrations, even the non-violent ones, were also fiercely repressed by the provincial police with dozens of people were injured and detained.

The protesters questioned some aspects of the reformed constitution, particularly Article 67, which bans certain forms of social protest.

“If there are aspects of the constitutional reform that do not satisfy a certain sector, disagreement should be expressed through institutional channels,” Grinman said. “Nothing justifies the barbaric acts we have seen.”

In the press release, the G6 highlighted “dialogue” as the way to solve conflicts, and called for the compliance of “the legitimate right to peaceful protest and within the framework of institutional order and respect for the right to move freely and carry out the daily activities of citizens.”

“We can in no way allow that violent and maladjusted people attack our republican system and our democratic way of life,” Grinman said.

The G6 press release matches the position of other business associations, such as the Argentine Chamber of Mining Businesspeople (CAEM).

 “We reject the acts of violence and attacks against the free movement of citizens,” said a CAEM communiqué released today. 

The business leaders join the opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio (JxC), of which Jujuy Governor Gerardo Morales is a member,  in speaking out against the protests. On their side, the ruling coalition Frente de Todos (FdT,) as well as international human rights organizations, heavily questioned the constitutional reform and the police repression against the demonstrators.