19/06/2026 15:20 - Politica
Gráfico representativo de una balanza de justicia sobre un documento legal con el numero 6961, simbolizando la nueva legislación porteña.
The City of Buenos Aires has taken a decisive step in the fight against illegal occupation of public spaces. The Legislature approved Law 6961, known as the "Anti-Trapitos Law," which drastically toughens sanctions for informal parking attendants and windshield cleaners who operate illegally, introducing effective prison sentences and million-peso fines.
In Argentina, "trapitos" (literally "little rags") are informal workers who claim public parking spaces as their territory. They demand payment from drivers for "watching" or "helping" park their vehicles. While some started as informal workers, many have evolved into organized extortion networks that intimidate citizens into paying for access to public streets. This phenomenon is similar to "flanelinhas" in Brazil or illegal parking attendants found in other Latin American and Mediterranean countries.
The new legislation replaces the low-fine system with severe detention and economic penalties:
Penalties double in cases of intimidation, persistence, or exploitation of driver vulnerability.
The law exponentially expands control and enforcement capabilities:
The Buenos Aires government based the legislative change on the diagnosis that the "trapito" phenomenon has evolved from an informal service into an extortion structure. "If you're a trapito, you go to jail," summarized Mayor Jorge Macri on his X (formerly Twitter) account, emphasizing that these are mafias appropriating public streets.
Official data shows that between May 2025 and May 2026, authorities recorded 13,149 violations related to these practices, a figure that demonstrated the insufficiency of the previous penalty system.
| Violation Type | Previous Penalty | New Penalty (Law 6961) |
|---|---|---|
| Street-level operator | Small fine (often unpaid) | 10-30 days detention |
| Organized group member | N/A | 20-50 days detention |
| Leader/Organizer | N/A | Up to 60 days jail |
| Economic fine (minimum) | ~$50,000 pesos | $1,139,988 pesos |
Law 6961 empowers the City Police to detain those who appropriate public space, marking a paradigm shift in urban security toward a stance of "zero tolerance" for citizen extortion. The legislation passed with 36 votes in favor and 19 against on June 18, 2026, demonstrating broad political consensus on this public safety priority.
Source: Buenos Aires Legislature, Government of the City of Buenos Aires. Official Gazette.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
