State of Siege Declared in Argentina

By Kevin Gray The Associated Press Wednesday, December 19, 2001; 5:43 PM

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina –– President Fernando De la Rua signed an order declaring a state of siege Wednesday, seizing special powers after a day of looting and violence engulfed recession-racked Argentina, a ranking government official said.

De la Rua will address the nation Wednesday evening to explain why he was taking special steps to quell violence in the capital and in major cities across the country, the official told The Associated President on condition of anonymity.

-- Anonymous, December 19, 2001

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Argentina nears collapse as president declares state of siege amid violent protests; economy minister resigns

By Tony Smith, Associated Press, 12/20/2001 07:00

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) Argentina teetered on the brink of economic collapse after anti-government protests and looting prompted the president to declare a state of siege and the powerful economy minister to resign. Nine died in violence that extended into a second day Thursday.

At first light, about 100 people gathered outside the government house, banging pots and pans as a riot police were soldier-to-soldier guarding the seat of power. It was a smaller version of earlier protests countrywide against President Fernando de la Rua's measures to quell demonstrations and to decry his and Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo's handling of the economy.

Banks reopened Thursday and people went back to work on what began as a calmer day, with little police presence on the streets. But many small shops remained shuttered for fear of further unrest.

Cavallo, widely blamed for failing to halt the nation's slide into economic ruin, offered to resign Thursday. The state news agency TELAM said De la Rua had accepted the resignation.

''We're fed up with corruption, hunger and the poverty we're living in,'' said Ana Arce, a 75-year-old doctor, outside the government house late Wednesday. ''I think that if they don't go, the people will kick them out.''

Unemployment has topped 18 percent in South America's second-largest economy. Mired in a four-year recession, the nation is near default on its staggering $132 billion public debt.

On Wednesday, thousands of Argentines looted stores and supermarkets in poor neighborhoods, saying they were going hungry. Riot police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. The violence left nine dead and at least 109 injured. Police made 328 arrests.

''This is not our fault, this is the government's fault, the president's and Cavallo's,'' said Sandra Guttierez, a 28-year-old unemployed mother of two, who left one ransacked supermarket loaded with bags of food Wednesday. ''We feel we've got no future, for us or for our kids.''

Austerity measures introduced by Cavallo, including a partial freeze on bank withdrawals designed to prop up the financial system, have sparked widespread anger, especially in poorer areas.

In a televised address Wednesday night, De la Rua said he was imposing a 30-day state of siege to guarantee order.

''I urge those who are exercising violence to cease such acts,'' De la Rua said. ''With violence and illegality, we will not solve our problems.''

Wednesday's decree marked the first time in 11 years an Argentine president has seized special powers that effectively grant security forces greater powers of arrest and allow them to ban public gatherings.

Such measures were last used by Carlos Menem De la Rua's Peronist predecessor in 1990 to quash an uprising by a right-wing antidemocratic militia group. A year earlier, a state of siege failed to stop widespread looting and social chaos that eventually forced then-president Raul Alfonsin out of office.

But De la Rua's emergency measures only provoked more anger. As the protests swelled around government house and the presidential palace, where De la Rua's cabinet was meeting, the government's future appeared to hang in the balance.

Outside the residence, crowds of thousands gathered shouting ''Cavallo out,'' also calling for De la Rua's resignation.

Thousands more thronged the central Plaza de Mayo at the Casa Rosada government house, until riot police charged them, firing tear gas. Others rallied outside Cavallo's home on the swanky Libertador Avenue.

''It's great that Cavallo's gone,'' said Elena Sicilia, an actress rushing toward government house after hearing about the minister's resignation on television. ''But they all have to go, we don't want De la Rua and we don't want Menem back. We want a fair government of the people.''

Sick for years, the economy has nosedived during De la Rua's two years in office.

His government has tried to fix the economy with nine different economic plans and has faced eight general strikes.

Until Tuesday, Cavallo had been working on enacting another punishing austerity plan, pushing a belt-tightening 2002 budget through Congress and staving off a default on Argentina's staggering debt.

Rising social tensions are expected to make it more difficult for De la Rua to push 2002's austerity budget slashing an extra $4 billion in public spending through Congress.

Agreement on the budget is seen as key in persuading the International Monetary Fund to release $1.3 billion of emergency funds that cash-strapped Argentina needs to keep up payments on its debt.

Failure to secure IMF funding could lead to a default, which would probably spark more chaos and social unrest.

In his speech, De la Rua called for a broad political consensus to assume the ''historic responsibility'' of pulling Argentina back from the brink of economic and political collapse.

But he made no concrete proposals, nor did he mention the fate of Cavallo.

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001