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LATIN AMERICA |
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Buenos Aires “Picket-City”: 340 Street
Protests Per Month
BUENOS AIRES - The numbers were released by
Nueva Mayoría, a Spanish-Argentine political
think-tank that has been recording all
protests and pickets’ actions in Argentina
which lately have multiplied escalating the
intensity of social conflicts.
Farmers, workers from the US company Kraft,
teachers, teamsters, university students,
even Malvinas war veterans have taken to the
streets of the capital Buenos Aires making
traffic in the city even more chaotic and
stressing.
Last Tuesday underground workers left a
million and a half commuters stranded; on
Wednesday pickets blocked two of the city’s
main arteries 9 de Julio and Rivadavia
avenues. “You shouldn’t block the
streets…people are late to work, are under
stress, it’s chaotic, there must be an end.
Please Mrs. President listen to the people”,
said on Tuesday Susana Gimenez one of
Argentina’s most popular television
conductor with a night program with an
audience of millions.
According to an opinion poll by Mora y
Araujo, nine out of ten Argentines are
demanding a direct intervention of the
government to stop the growing social
conflict. Of the 91% who believe the
Executive must play an active role in
addressing the protests, 42% demand “all
necessary efforts be taken to ban once and
for all blocking of streets, routes and
bridges” while 49% want immediate action to
prevent the negative effects for the
population of the protests”.
The conflicting situation has triggered
strong recriminations between government and
opposition. Cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez
addressing a congressional committee said
that protests “are not casual” and there is
an ongoing investigation “to determine some
specific actions and attitudes”. A few days
before Mrs. Kirchner claimed “there are
groups interested in destabilizing the
country”. However the opposition was quick
to distance itself from such claims and
stated protests were “the consequence of the
government’s incompetence and inefficiency”.
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