“They’re killing us all,” read banners hoisted above a crowd of more than seven thousand people demonstrating against injustice and insecurity at the Plaza de Mayo last night.
The rally was organised by the parents of Diego RodrĂguez, the 28 year old model who was killed during an attempted robbery in Liniers on Monday.
His death came ten days after the kidnap and murder of MatĂas Berardi, a sixteen year old student, in Campana.
“All I’m asking for is security. I don’t want revenge, but I want to live in peace. I can’t get rid of the image of my son, lying on the floor in a pool of blood,” Mathilde Rodriguez, Diego’s mother, said from a stage in front of the Casa Rosada.
The 24 hours following the model’s murder also saw the killings of Gloria Robledo, 33, in Flores and José Luis Musante, 42, in Villa Lugano.
Although Berardi’s parents weren’t at the rally, banners reading, “Never forget - Mati forever,” were carried aloft by his football and rugby team mates.
The crowd carried glowing candles, flags and banners. They were shouting “security and justice!” as well as criticisms of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the head of the cabinet, AnĂbal Fernández.
Placards with the faces of the recent murder victims printed on them were held up above the multitudes.
Shortly after 7pm Julio Rodriguez, Diego’s father addressed the assembled protestors, saying: “I can’t go on, I’m destroyed. I want someone to do something, I’m not asking for vengeance; just that we can go walk the streets without fear.
“I will never see my son again. Please protect us. What I want now, is that no one else has to feel as bad as we do. We wish we had been coming to the plaza for a walk, rather than coming to demand justice,” he said.
The victim’s girlfriend, Luján, said: “It’s embarrassing that someone has to explain to me why nothing is being done to protect our lives. They killed him like a dog. We want to live, we want to be protected and they’re looking the other way.”
Mathilde, who had been received by AnĂbal Fernández earlier in the day, said: “I don’t want the death penalty, but I want life sentences for murderers and rapists that take lives. I don’t want them to see the light of day again, they should suffer inside a prison.
“I am asking the president to pull the necessary strings and I am telling her, from one mother to another, that this can’t go on. People who have power and are in a position to help us, please help us!
“I want them to find the murderers, not just my son’s, but those that have killed the other young people in recent days,” she said.
