Dozens of police officers in Rosario who had risen up to demand pay rises and better mental health support on Wednesday ended their three-day protest, after the provincial governor pledged to improve salaries.
The revolt began on Monday, when dozens of officers and their relatives gathered outside Rosario’s police headquarters in Santa Fe Province.
After three days of demonstrations, the officers lifted their roadblock shortly after Santa Fe Governor Maximiliano Pullaro delivered a speech granting their demands.
“The claim has been addressed and I want to be clear: no police officer in the province, nor any member of the prison service, will receive a salary lower than 1,350,000 pesos (US$950 at the official exchange rate),” Pullaro said at a press conference.
“The protest was just and genuine … deserving of being heard,” Pullaro said
He framed the action as necessary to defuse the conflict and underlined that the dialogue remained open with security forces.
His remarks were followed in silence by groups of uniformed officers and relatives embracing at the protest in Rosario, a city of 1.3 million people 300 kilometres north of Buenos Aires.
As a result, the base salary for a police officer in Santa Fe will stand above the “Total Basic Shopping Basket” for a family of four, which, according to the INDEC national statistics bureau, amounts to roughly US$900.
Minutes after the address, patrol cars and motorbikes that had been blaring their sirens since Wednesday morning started their engines and left the avenue, clearing the area.
“We’re more than happy. It’s emotional because we’ve fought for this – the lads are going to work and the city will be protected. It’s what we were hoping for – the raise has come!” retired officer Germán Carballo said as the protest was lifted.
In addition to higher pay, the officers had been demanding greater attention to the mental health of personnel under intense pressure and with limited resources to maintain security in Argentina’s third-largest city, which has the country’s highest crime rates.
The protest
On Wednesday morning, around 100 officers had joined the demonstration, where thick black smoke rose from burning tyres. “Stop being just another number – justice for those who are no longer here,” read one banner.
Police chief Luis Maldonado was confronted and shoved by protesters. “Resign!” they shouted amid insults. Opposite them, dozens of patrol cars and police motorbikes kept their sirens sounding throughout the day.
“Police officers are extremely stressed from working so much. They finish their shifts and then do overtime. Their heads can’t cope, their bodies can’t cope,” said Yamile, a domestic worker and daughter of a police officer who declined to give her surname.
They were demanding “simply a decent salary so they can at least pay for food without having to take on overtime.”
Pullaro also announced that some 20 officers who had been suspended as a result of the protest would be allowed to return to duty. Demonstrators said the initial revoke applied to around 60.
Suicides
The spark was lit last week following the death of 32-year-old non-commissioned officer (NCO) Oscar Valdéz, the latest in a series of suicides within the Santa Fe police force.
Other officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that in addition to excessive workloads, they must pay for Internet access in their offices, their uniforms and even their own bullets.
Esteban Santantino, an official at the Santa Fe Province Justice and Security Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday that he recognised the “legitimate” nature of the demands and regretted that, “in the context of this conflict,” protesters lacked a proper “channel for dialogue.”
“Perhaps by improving certain aspects of communication channels we will of course be able to unlock this conflict,” he said.
Among those holding a vigil from Tuesday night into Wednesday was Néstor, a 68-year-old retired police officer who did not give his surname. He said that his grandson, also a police officer, took his own life last May.
He did so “pushed by this corrupt system, by so much pressure – personal but institutional as well: the money isn’t enough, you have to do overtime, you’ve got a family to support,” he said.
Located on the Paraná River, Rosario is one of the world’s largest agricultural export ports.
However, it has become known for drug-related violence and has made headlines over threats against footballers from the city, such as Ángel Di María and Lionel Messi, or their relatives.
With a homicide rate of 6.75 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, according to provincial security data, Rosario tops the national statistics. Nevertheless, the figures show a clear improvement over the past two years, after rates hovered around 20 per 100,000 in the previous decade.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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