Buenos Aires to Witness Protests After Attack on Vice President, Government Coalition Says

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - Protests and demonstrations are scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires on Friday following the attack on the country's Vice President Cristina Kirchner, the governmental Everyone's Front coalition said.

On Thursday, Argentine police detained Brazilian citizen Fernando Andre Sabag Montiel, 35, for attempting to assassinate Kirchner outside her home. The would-be assassin pointed a handgun at Kirchner but it failed to fire, according to local media reports. Kirchner was not injured during the incident.

"In defense of democracy, everyone to the Square!" the alliance, which Kirchner is a member to, said on Twitter.

The alliance added that the demonstration is scheduled to begin at 18:00 GMT.

According to media reports, rallies by various social movements are also planned to take place later in the day.

The Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported earlier in the day that the attacker in Kirchner's assassination attempt was subscribed to various radical groups on social media and criticized the work of the current government.

Earlier in the day, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez declared Friday, September 2, a national day off.

A federal prosecutor in August requested Kirchner, who served as Argentine president between 2007 and 2015, be jailed for 12 years and barred from public office amid corruption allegations. Kirchner's home has since been the site of demonstrations. Kirchner is accused of abusing her authority to steer public contracts to a construction company owned by a businessman with whom she has close ties.