Clashes outside Argentina Congress after pension hike blocked

A member of the Argentine Naval Prefecture uses pepper spray during a protest against Argentina's President Javier Milei's decision to veto a pension reform, outside the National Congress, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 11, 2024. /Agustin Marcarian

BUENOS AIRES - Argentine protesters clashed with police outside the country's Congress on Wednesday, after lower house lawmakers voted to block a planned hike to pensions that had been opposed by right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei.

The chamber of deputies voted 153 in favor of the pension hike with 87 against it, falling short of the two-thirds needed to approve the bill after Milei had previously vetoed it saying that it put the country's plan for a fiscal balance at risk.

As news of the vote spread, hundreds of people protesting in central Buenos Aires broke down barriers erected by police and clashed with security forces with in riot gear in the streets.

Argentina's government is pushing a tough austerity package of spending cuts to overturn years of fiscal deficits and tame high inflation, which has helped bolster the state's finances, but hit the real economy and left more people in poverty.