"Never again a Lucas", the cry in front of Courts | Emotional act by Lucas González, the young man murdered by the Buenos Aires police | Page 12

"Here it is, this is the only weapon my son used," said Cintia López, Lucas González's mother and, excited, showed some soccer boots to the crowd that was listening to her, in front of the Palace of Courts. It was almost eight o'clock on Monday night. In that square, and in front of the stage that was set up during the afternoon, thousands of people applauded her words, and accompanied her. This is how the speeches concluded, in the act demanding justice for the crime of Lucas González, a week ago, at the hands of a police brigade from the city of Buenos Aires.

After the words of Lucas's mother, Gregorio Dalbón, the lawyer for the families - Lucas's, and those of the three friends who were with him in the car that was shot by the police -, asked for a minute of silence . And raise the candles with which those present accompanied the event. "For the dreams of Lucas and all the boys who want to have a decent life, play soccer, simply -said the lawyer-, so that Lucas's soul rises".

A protective silence, even in the uneasiness that death implies, crossed the faces of the people who looked at the box and at the sky, from the flowerbeds and the paths of that square taken by photos of adolescents murdered in easy trigger cases. The banners with their faces were also raised. And their names, along with that of Lucas González, shouted at the top of their lungs, closed an emotional day, and one of high citizen awareness.

The Argentine flags on the shoulders of the young men in caps, and the children asleep in their mothers' arms, many young girls, many young men in soccer jerseys. The group that arrived at the square at 7 pm, in various buses and private cars, came from Florencio Varela, from Quilmes, from Bernal. They were summoned by relatives and friends of Lucas. They wanted to be in the demand for justice.

Lucas's mother requested "life imprisonment" for the three police officers who participated in the event because "they shot to kill." She spoke after Mario "Peka" González, Lucas's father. They were the main speakers at the event and demanded justice, demanding that the detained police officers --Gabriel Isassi, José Nievas and Fabián López-- be "sentenced to life in prison" and asked that "there be no more cases like Lucas's."

"Never again a Lucas!" the mothers of other teenagers killed by the police repeated. Nora Torres, Elías Balza's mother, explained to Página/12 : "We are all here with the same pain, against the armed causes and the evidence that is erased, today we are all the voice and hands and feet of Lucas, and of all the kids who are victims of easy triggers, that's why we're here,” he said, with his poster in hand and his Argentine flag.

From the stage, after Dalbón's words of introduction, the parents of the other adolescents who were with Lucas in that vehicle on the day of the attack spoke. Then the young men who accompanied him spoke. All with white shirts with a photo of Lucas and the claim: "Justice for Lucas" on the front. On the back, a declaration of principles: "My face, my clothes and my neighborhood are not a crime." Everyone thanked the supportive company "of neighbors, friends, soccer colleagues, from different clubs", in which Lucas had sports participation. Lucas's father was blunt: "We do not want revenge, we seek justice."

Edgardo Orellano, the father of Carlos "Bocacha" Orellano, who died in Rosario, on February 24, 2020, assured the same thing shortly before the beginning of the act. "The only thing that ensures that there is justice is the mobilization, everything we could advance in the cause of our son it is for the mobilization, that is why we came”, he affirms.

"If you watch the thing on television, you buy the version of those who cover up and lie, like those who said at the beginning that these boys were criminals," explained Edgardo. And he raised a difference: “we have to demand that justice be done to politicians because we vote for them, they are the only ones we choose. The judges are for life and the police respond to the worst deals there are: drugs, prostitution, gambling, there they are, in everything illegal," said Edgardo, while the lights of the square began to turn on and relatives and luke's friends

Since five in the afternoon, hundreds of people had gathered in front of the Buenos Aires courts to participate in the demonstration demanding Justice for the crime of the teenager. They came from Claypole, from Varela, from González Catán, from downtown Buenos Aires. "For Lucas - explained Jésica and rocked the cart where his three-month-old son Ulises was dozing -, and because it was an injustice, he does not have to go unpunished."

That was the general perception on the spot. "These boys go out to look for their dreams, and these criminals who work in police clothing took them away from them, they cannot go unpunished," said the father of one of the adolescents who survived the police attack in the Barracas neighborhood, start the speeches.

Between the participation of each of the parents, and of the three adolescents, the lawyer in the case took care to point out that they were not there for "political issues". He also insistently maintained: "we are all equal before the law", and that was repeated several times from the stage. "Here there are no political flags, they are boys who played soccer, and who went from being accused to being victims when we were able to speak," said another of the parents, thanking the journalists "for listening to us," he explained.

There was also a moment for reflection. Before the slogan that filled the square at the beginning of the act - "The hat son of a bitch, she has to pay for it" -, Dalbón asked for restraint: "not all policemen are the same" he said. People applauded him. He listened to him attentively from the square. Later, the lawyer warned that he had already asked the Judicial Council "to remove from office" the judge who treated the adolescents as "criminals." And the people once again applauded.

The three adolescents thanked, in turn, all those who came to accompany them. Julián, who was driving the Volkswagen Suran, between sobs lamented the loss of his friend, before asking: "Why did those who had to protect us attack us?" Joaquín said that he saw in the people who accompanied them that afternoon "the reward for my friend who is no longer here." He then argued that he was going to be in charge of fulfilling the dreams that Lucas could not achieve because "he lives on dreams!"

The third young man, Niven Huanca, explained: “We all have a dream, ours is to play soccer to support our families, and they don't let us do that. That is why we ask for justice for Lucas!” His words were in tune with those of Lucas González's father, who pointed out: “We are humble, villera and hard-working people, we are all good people, from Varela. Hold on Varela!”, he was heard saying before the applause, and the songs that demanded justice again.

To close, Lucas's mother lamented the small daily acts that "I will no longer have." "The last thing he told me was to make him empanadas to watch the national team play." Then he told how he found out about the attack: "I heard it on television, and I didn't give it importance because they talked about criminals," he said, "and my son He was not a criminal," he concluded.