Argentinians hang mock body bags to protest against ‘VIP vaccinations’
- Some of the mock body bags included the names of pro-government politicians who have received the vaccine
- President Fernandez fired health minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia after it became known that people close to the government had been vaccinated out of turn
Thousands of Argentinians protested over the weekend against what they see as the privileging of politicians, their families and allies in receiving Covid-19 vaccinations.
On Saturday evening, demonstrators hung stuffed black body bags on the gates of Buenos Aires' Government House – a mansion housing the office of the president – to symbolise those dying while waiting to be vaccinated.
Some of the mock body bags included the names of pro-government politicians who have received the vaccine.
“The way to demonstrate in a democracy cannot be to display body bags with the names of political figures in front of the Casa Rosada,” President Alberto Fernandez wrote on Twitter Saturday evening.
A little over a week ago, Fernandez fired health minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia after it became known that people close to the government had been vaccinated out of turn.
In total, the former minister is said to have reserved 3,000 vaccine doses for personal use. The inoculations have been dubbed “VIP vaccinations” by the media and protesters.