Priest arrested during pensioners protest in Argentina

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – Spanish-born Father Francisco Olvera, known in Argentina as Padre Paco, was arrested during a pensioners’ protest in front of the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires on Feb. 4.

Paco has joined pensioners in protests calling for higher retirement benefits over the past several months. A group of demonstrators has traditionally gathered every Wednesday.

The protesters were moving toward Congress Square when a squad of federal police approached them. Officers immediately intercepted Padre Paco.

“Since they don’t allow us to demonstrate freely and try to provoke us all the time, that kind of thing ends up happening,” Paco told Crux.

The priest was taken to a police truck, surrounded by several lawmakers from the Unión por la Patria (Union for the Homeland) Peronist coalition, and remained there for about an hour.

“They accused me of resisting police authority. Ten minutes later, they detained me again, accusing me of resistance and minor bodily injury,” he said.

One of the lawmakers contacted a prosecutor working in the area. After watching videos recorded by politicians and journalists covering the demonstration, the prosecutor decided to release Padre Paco.

“Of course, he saw that I hadn’t committed any crime and released me,” Paco said.

The priest, a member of a group called Curas en Opción por los Pobres (Priests for the Poor) and a prominent figure among progressive Catholics, said the demonstrators were complying with government safety measures and that there was no justification for the police response.

“They had told us we could walk along the road and even cross the street against the red light. But in the middle of the block, they came and violently repressed us,” he said.

After being hit with pepper spray, the priest had to bathe in milk to ease the irritation.

“It burns your body. It was a hell of a night. The worst part is that it happened to me, and I’m only 61. Imagine the elderly people at the protest – people who are 80 or 85,” Paco said.

The priest said police officers also took his megaphone.

“But I don’t think they have anything personal against me. We’re on the front line and won’t allow them to break up the march. But we respected all protocols,” he added.

Argentines have faced a pensions crisis in recent years, with annual adjustments that have lagged behind inflation. The situation worsened at the end of 2023, when ultra-libertarian President Javier Milei took office and implemented sweeping fiscal reforms.

Since then, a significant number of pensioners have not received adjustments in line with inflation. Many receive less than the minimum needed to cover their daily expenses.

Carlos Custer, a longtime labor leader who served as Argentina’s ambassador to the Vatican from 2003 to 2008, told Crux that Milei’s economic reforms are pushing the country toward renewed dependence on primary commodities.

“Milei relies on mining and oil projects, including lithium extraction. That way, only a small part of the population will manage to live well. The rest will become unnecessary,” Custer said.

Custer added that a labor reform Milei has been promoting would eliminate several workers’ rights, further affecting the poor – including pensioners.

Between November 2023 and October 2025, Argentina lost 21,046 companies, especially in commerce, manufacturing, real estate services and construction. That translated into 272,607 lost jobs.

“I never imagined I would see Argentina reach that point,” Custer said.

He said that while the Church has been cautious, it has criticized policies that harm the poor.

Bishop Marcelo Colombo of the Diocese of Mendoza, who heads the Argentine Episcopal Conference, has criticized Milei on several occasions. In Aug. 2025, for instance, he said Milei was organizing the economy to the detriment of “the most vulnerable.”

“The Church, both at the grassroots level and in the higher hierarchy, has been committed to the poor and has denounced Milei’s policies,” Custer said.

Although the Church sought personal dialogue with him shortly after his election, Milei has not responded till now.

“He’s always surrounded by Evangelicals and is very active in Jewish circles. But with the Catholic Church there is no relationship,” Custer said.

In Custer’s view, Padre Paco embodies Christian solidarity in times like these. Paco has also been detained on other occasions: in Nov. 2025 and in Mar. 2025, when he was beaten by police and taken into custody.

“He stands side by side with those who need it most,” Custer told Crux.