Argentina declares state of siege

[Adam L. Beberg]

In future .us news...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/americas/newsid_1720000/1720265.stm

Food, shelter, sex... they must not be getting enough sex... (could be food)

- Adam L. "Duncan" Beberg
  http://www.iit.edu/~beberg/
  beberg@mithral.com


BBC News Online: World: Americas

Wednesday, 19 December, 2001, 23:13 GMT
Argentina declares state of siege

Union members resorted to violence in Buenos Aires

The Argentine Government has declared a state of siege after violence
erupted over the country's worsening economic crisis.
Argentine President Fernando de la Rua called an emergency meeting of his
cabinet after the worst civil unrest since 1989.



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It is under control and I emphasise the peaceful nature of the Argentine
people
President Fernando de la Rua

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Police clashed with rioters in the capital, Buenos Aires, and the provinces,
as protests which began at the weekend escalated.
Police said two people were killed in the violence - a man stabbed by the
owner of a shop being looted on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and a
15-year-old boy shot by an unidentified gunman in Santa Fe province, north
of the capital.

Growing debt default threat

The opposition called a special debate in Congress to try to reverse some of
the government's unpopular austerity measures, taken in the face of a
four-year recession, soaring unemployment and a threat of the biggest debt
default ever.

The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned that warned that
Argentina could default on its $132bn sovereign debt as early as next month.

"It is likely, though still not certain, that in the very short term,
Argentina will miss a payment on their debt," said the agency's managing
director of sovereign debt rating, John Chambers.

"That would be outright default."

A default would in effect cut off any lifeline from the International
Monetary Fund and send Argentina spiralling even deeper into a chaotic
economic crisis.

Emergency powers

The state of siege gives the government special powers to crack down on
lawlessness, Reuters news agency quoted officials as saying.


Dozens of stores were ransacked in Buenos Aires and the northern Entre Rios
province, while in the second-largest city, Cordoba, workers protesting at
government plans to reduce wages set fire to the town hall.


The opposition governor of Cordoba province, Jose Manuel de la Sota, said
the situation was descending into "anarchy", and put the blame on the
central government.

"The poor are helpless, and the rich are worried. No sector of society is
satisfied with what they are experiencing," he told a local radio station.

Looting of supermarkets was reported in at least half a dozen cities,
including Rosario, north of Buenos Aires, and Mendoza in the west.

In the Argentine town of Villa Florito, south of Buenos Aires, a
Chinese-born supermarket owner stabbed a looter to death in the first
fatality of the violence, according to the French news agency AFP.

Scores of protesters and about seven police officers have been hurt in the
clashes.

Some protesters said they had been shot with rubber bullets, Reuters news
agency reported.



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I feel bad about it but we're dying of hunger
Sonia Aristici, looter

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Police in riot gear guarded stores and some supermarkets handed out food
packages to prevent looting as thousands of people gathered outside shops.

As Mr de la Rua left a crisis meeting early Wednesday, demonstrators pelted
him with eggs and paving stones.

The authorities said they would start distributing free food throughout the
country, in an effort to prevent any further looting.

The Labour Minister, Jos Gabriel Dumn, said the president had already
authorised the distribution of $7m worth of food, and he called on
Argentines to remain calm.

Deepening recession

The social unrest has been provoked by a deepening economic crisis in
Argentina.




There has been a recession in Argentina for almost four years, and
unemployment has risen to almost 20%.

Mr de la Rua and Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo are desperately trying to
avoid a devaluation or a default on Argentina's foreign debt payments.

Earlier this month, the IMF refused Argentina a further $1.3bn in standby
loans, unless it balanced its budget for the year 2002.

Mr Cavallo has put forward budget proposals slashing government spending by
20% - but only by cutting public sector wages and reducing pension
provisions.