The celebrations for Argentina's victory in the World Cup in Qatar drew close to a million people to the streets in Buenos Aires, who mainly gathered at the Obelisk and on Avenida 9 de Julio, in the heart of the capital. However, and unlike what usually happens in this type of celebration, there were not as many incidents as expected. The explanation: the police crews stayed far away from the crowd and avoided giving any excuse to the violent fans to generate confrontations, as happened after the celebration of the victory against Morocco that led to the pass to the final of the Albiceleste.
The other side was that the surroundings of the Obelisk became a kind of no man's land where an event as unprecedented as the barrabravas broke the entrance door to the monument and climbed inside to the top of the top, leaving horrifying images that They left half the country frozen when several of them leaned out of the windows of the tip.
A drone from the C5N news network showed how a fan had come completely outside, standing up while being held by the ankles from inside the tower. The individual remained in that situation for several minutes while he insistently took selfies. Finally, he got inside while others of those who had climbed, less daring, stuck half their bodies out of the windows waving Argentine flags.
Given these scenes, some policemen approached the base of the monument to try to dissuade the fans from coming down, but they were ignored.
Built in 1936 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the foundation of Buenos Aires, the Obelisk is 67.5 meters high and has 206 internal steps that allow you to ascend to the top, although the stairs are only enabled for maintenance personnel and do not gather the security conditions for the massive rise of people. However, the City Council announced a few weeks ago that it is studying the construction of an elevator so that it can be visited by citizens and tourists.
In 2021, coinciding with the 85th anniversary of its construction, a small group of journalists and photographers were invited to go up and, in parallel, a handful of lucky citizens were also able to live the experience after participating in a City Hall raffle.
Although in Buenos Aires there were some incidents coinciding with the celebrations, such as robberies or a non-fatal stabbing in the subway, the traditional pitched battle between the police and barrabravas that usually always happens in the final hours of the party did not take place. late in the morning.
Beyond the capital, in the rest of the country thousands of people also took to the streets and in Córdoba the most serious event occurred, when a five-year-old girl died while playing in the patio of her house after being shot by a lost bullet.
The celebrations for the victory of the team led by Leo Messi had a worldwide reach. In Barcelona, more than 10,000 people gathered at the Arc de Triomf and, between Mossos d'Esquadra and Guàrdia Urbana, nine people were arrested for theft and robbery with violence. Three other people who were celebrating the triumph of the albiceleste were arrested in Madrid, in the surroundings of Puerta del Sol; one of them for throwing objects at the police and another two for climbing the Christmas tree in the emblematic square. However, they ran less risk than those who climbed the Buenos Aires Obelisk.
