IJ@
International Journal of Anarchism
ifa-Solidaritet - folkebladet - © ISSN 0800-0220 no 6(31) editor H. Fagerhus - Contact IJA
Bulletin of the Anarchist International
THE SITUATION IN ARGENTINA
20.12.2001: President Fernando de la Rua has resigned. Some of the international newsmedia have called the present riots and ochlarchical situation in Argentina "anarchy", or close to "anarchy". This polyarchical, chaotic situation has however more than 67% authoritarian degree on the Economical Political Map, and thus far from anarchy, i.e. less than 50% authoritarian degree. The International Anarchist Tribunal reacts immediately to this authoritarian mix of anarchy and chaos. Anyone who calls this chaotic situation "anarchy" may receive a Brown Card from the tribunal. A chaotic mix of polyarchy, ochlarchy and plutarchy, rivaling "states within the state" have nothing to do with anarchy or anarchism.
Furthermore the Anarchist Federation of Argentina, "Federatión Libertaria Argentina", so far plays no important role at all in the situation. It will however certainly contribute to real anarchy, i.e. real order, and a libertarian development, as far as it has resources. The F.L.A.and F.O.R.A., the workers' federation, have full solidaric support from the AI-IFA-IAF and the Anarchy of Norway in this work. Down with the corrupt bureaucracy, economical and political/administrative, in private and public sector in Argentina! Towards a libertarian economical and political/administrative development! 22.12.2001: The Argentinian Congress will elect an interim president, Mr R. Saa. 23.12.2001 - Adolfo Rodriguez Saa named new interim president, says Argentina will suspend foreign debt payments. Fresh protests in anger over Rodriguez Saa's appointment of officials seen as corrupt and his decision to maintain unpopular banking curbs.
The anarchists say a ca 25% general demand hike is necessary as soon as possible. Mr Rodriguez Saa's proposals so far are neither necessary nor sufficient to solve the problems. He seems to be a "neo-mercantilist", a policy that will not do Argentina any good in the present situation. F.O.R.A. has got new adress. Mr. Rodriguez Saa is still far out and very authoritarian; the anarchists have some more advice. The economic chaos continues and protesters, waving the national flag, protests. The new interim government offers to resign. The anarchists are warning R. Saa about printing too much of the new money "argentino". Report from F.O.R.A. in Spanish. Anarchists say R. Saa seems to have no real plan for solutions, just more chaotic populist/fascist neo-mercantilism. 31.12.2001: R. Saa resignes. 01.01.2002: New riots initiated by leftists, and Eduardo Duhalde, another "Menemist", is elected to president. When will these corrupt "mercantilists" ever learn.
02-4.01.2002: The peso will be devaluated. BBC has got a brown card from IAT. The anarchists say the expected ca 30% devaluation of the peso is not enough. About 70% is more realistic. Furthermore the prices have hiked 40% at some goods already. A ca 50% price hike means that total demand must increase about 75% to do away with most of the unemployment in the present situation. 07-08.01.2002 Mr. Duhalde's measures are not at all sufficient to deal with the problems. Anarchists criticize it, stick to their economical advice, and recommend a broad based democratic assembley with mandate to take majority decisions. Worried savers and 'home-made crisis'. Inflation fears, unemployment hike? Anarchists have further comments and advice. A mob protests against Duhalde's policy, and say they are "tired of being treated like dirt". F.L.A. reminds about the fight for a less authoritarian society is not new in Argentina, in Spanish.
10-12.01.2002 New mass protests and devaluation of the peso, floating down to 1,7 peso per US $. More riots and ochlarchy. 12-16.01.2002 Trade unions, policy and actions, i.e. general strikes etc. Duhalde calls the chaos "anarchy", calls for an "arch", i.e. strong rule, and gets a Brown Card. Labor federations with anarchist banners are marching in the streets. 17-19.01.2002 The peso is so far devaluated about 50%. New chief of the federal reserve (central bank) is appointed. Duhalde says he is sitting on "a ticking bomb". Anarchists have more advice. People are still marching in the streets. 20-22.01.2002 The AIE demands: "Stop the ochlarchy! Protest with reason!" Duhalde declares bank savings will be converted to peso at the official rate 1,4 peso per US $, and large demonstrations occured. Protesters call it looting of their future.
23-26.01.2002 More protests, and Duhalde organizes more police against the demonstrations. Later the police in Buenos Aires fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters in the streets. 28-30.01.2002 Unemployed demonstrate and the government discusses with the IMF. The anarchists put up a plan for economical recovery. 31.01 - 01.02.2002 The anarchists are giving more advice according to the plan. The bank plutarchs will sabotage supreme court's decisions about normal bank-services. 02-3.02.2002 Duhalde mainly supports the supreme court's decisions. 04-7.02.2002 President Eduardo Duhalde changed his mind and moved on to ban the Supreme Court from meddling. This is harming the economy. The anarchists analyse what went wrong with the economy, and thus why anarchist economics, included demand managent are necessary, and they give further advice. More demonstrations against Duhalde. "Duhalde should take the message! Cut the mercantilistic as well as monetaristic crap "plans", and prepare for anarchist economics!" - the anarchists say.
08-21.02.2002 The protests continue! G7 meeting with discussion about Argentina. The people fear inflation! Down to 60% devaluation! Report and summary - December 2001 - January 2002 from F.L.A., in Spanish (partly translated to English). Anarchist criticism of the Argentinian Trotskyite type "wannabe libertarian" party, i.e. the so called "Partido Autonomía y Libertad". Updated figures and new scenarios of anarchist economics. Duhalde continues on the wrong track. Protest marches! Germany, USA, IMF and the anarchists have something to say about the chaotic populist looting system of Duhalde. More about the floating peso. Comment from AIE. Brown Card to La Prensa from IAT. Anarchist comment on Guillermo Perry's note on Argentina. Hundreds of Argentines angry over a freeze of their bank deposits smashed banks' windows with hammers and rolling pins. The anarchists are warning Duhalde. Unemployed are marching in the streets. Anarchists are warning about marxist-lubbeism, and call for anarchist demand management to hike employment.
22.02-02.03.2002 Discussions at the parliament, economical data, more protests and more anarchist comments. Report from F.O.R.A. - Organización Obrera Nº55 - in Spanish. 03-26.03.2002 More news and comments. F.O.R.A. - INFORME DE LA SITUACIÓN EN LA ARGENTINA 27-28-03.2002 The people's story. 29-31.03.2002 Argentina's New Neighborhood Associations - more comments. 01.04-19.05.2002 Flip-flops in Duhalde's government - more useless bureaucratic tricks, a.s.o.. 20-31.05.2002. Report from F.O.R.A. - Organización Obrera Nº56 - in Spanish. 1º DE MAYO ¡ORGANIZACIÓN! More news and comments. 01-30.06.2002: More flip-flops - and riots. 01-31.07.2002 The heat is on but there is no one to cook. Report from F.O.R.A. about State killings. Wage hike. Demonstrations. - More demonstrations. Galtieri arrested. Politics. More about Galtieri & Co. Peso down. IMF-meeting. 01.08-14.11.2002 The populist chaos is spreading to Uruguay. US aid. Banks open. Worse in Argentina. Unemployment hike. Junta history. Call for solidarity. Madness. IMF. Mutualism? Default on payment of debt to World Bank.
15.11.2002-31.03.2003 Report from F.O.R.A. 01-24.04.2003 Cooperatives. 27.04 - 14.05.2003 President election. 15.05 - 09.07 2003 About 300 small cooperatives are established. 10.07.2003-31.12.2004: Economic recovery due to anarchist economics/demand management. 16.12.2005: Argentina has said it will pay its $10bn debt to the International Monetary Fund three years early. As of 2005, there were roughly 200 worker-owned businesses in Argentina, most of which were started in response to this crisis.
04.04.2007: Teacher killed during demonstration. 28.10.2007: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner elected to president. Argentina is ranked as no 45 of countries according to libertarian degree, with a point estimate of ca 37, 8% libertarian degree, i.e. ca 62,2% authoritarian degree. It is more authoritarian than the USA, with ca 42,5% libertarian degree and ca 57,5% authoritarian degree. It is also more capitalist than the USA, with a ginindex at 52.2, while the USA has a ginindex at 40.8. Argentina is located in the conservative sector, a little to the left, and a bit downwards, of USA, in the quadrant of liberalism on the economical-political map. The coordinates of the economic-political system in Argentina are long term average structural estimates.
27.03-18.07.2008: Argentine farm tax crisis - it ended with victory for the anarchists and farmers. 20.03.2009: Argentine farmers to halt grain, beef sales. The anarchists support the direct actions of the farmers! 28.06.2009: Parliament election. 04.08.2009: A bomb exploded. The anarchists suspect a marxist leftwing extremist ochlarch. 30.12.2009. There are now more than 250 worker-recovered businesses in Argentina. 10.01.2010. There are pressure and demonstrations for more cooperatives. 29.01.2010. Argentina's Central Bank president resigns. 20.04.2010.
Last Argentine dictator jailed for 25 years. 27.04-03.05.2010:
Arrest of five ochlarchists in Buenos Aires. 14.05.2010. Argentina: Greek financial rescue doomed to fail. 27.10.2010.
Argentines mourn dead former president
Nestor Kirchner
who steered the country out of crisis via advice of anarchist economics, by the libertarians. F.O.R.A.'s 110th anniversary. 07.11.2011. F.O.R.A. on G20 in France, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and "anarcho"-capitalism. 14.01.2012. Problems in F.L.A. 09.11.2012. Anti-corruption protests. 31.07.2014. Argentina has defaulted on its debt. 30.12.2020 Legalized abortion. And more... 19.11.2023. Green policy NOW. Brown Card to Milei. Far right Milei is the new president of Argentina. 10.12.2023. To the international newsmedia: Javier Milei is an authoritarian, anti-climate, far right liberalist, and not LIBERTARIAN (= libertaire), the opposite of authoritarian. LIBERTARIAN i.e. anarchist = liberal social-democracy, real democracy included green. Report the truth! 24.01.2024. Nationwide strike. 02.02.2024. Protests continue as lawmakers debate reforms. Police fired rubber bullets and water cannons at protesters outside Argentina's Congress.
Translation tool Spanish to Norwegian, English, French, German, Arabic, Russian, Chinese etc., and vice versa: Google Translate.
Contents:
I. Argentina 1916 - 2001. Facts about the country. President Fernando de la Rua has resigned
1916 - Hipolito Yrigoyen of the Radical party is elected president. He introduces a minimum wage to counter the effects of inflation. Irigoyen is elected again in 1928.
1930 - A coup involving all services of the Argentine armed forces and led by General Uriburu overthrows Irigoyen. Civilian rule is restored in 1932.
1939 - Outbreak of World War II. Argentina proclaims its neutrality.
1942 - Argentina, along with Chile, refuses to break diplomatic relations with Japan and Germany after the Japanese attack on the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour.
1943 - Military regime seizes power. It is known to favour Japan and Germany. One of its leading figures is Colonel Juan Peron.
1944 - Argentina breaks diplomatic relations with Japan and Germany and declares war on them in 1945.
1946 - Peron wins elections for the presidency. He had promised workers higher wages and social security. His wife, Eva Peron ('Evita'), is put in charge of labour relations.
1949 - A new constitution strengthens the power of the president. Congress - dominated by Peron's supporters - passes legislation providing jail terms for anyone showing disrespect for the government. Regime opponents are subsequently imprisoned, independent newspapers are suppressed.
1951 - Peron is re-elected president with a huge majority.
1952 - Peron's wife dies of cancer. Peron's support begins to decline.
1955 June - An attempted coup by the Argentine navy is crushed as the army remains loyal to Peron.
1955 September - Coup by all three branches of the armed forces succeeds after three days of fighting, during which thousands are killed. Peron resigns and takes refuge on a Paraguayan gunboat. He subsequently goes into exile in Paraguay, and later in Spain. The federal constitution of 1853, based on that of the United States, is restored.
1966 - Military rule is imposed again with a coup led by General Juan Carlos Ongania.
1973 - The Peronist party wins elections in March. Hector Campora is inaugurated president. Argentina is wracked by terrorist violence. Peron returns to Buenos Aires in June. Campora resigns and Peron becomes president in September.
1974 - Peron dies in July. His third wife, Maria, succeeds him. Terrorism from right and left escalates, leaving hundreds dead. There are strikes, demonstrations and high inflation.
1975 - Inflation rises to more than 300%.
1976 - A military junta under General Jorge Videla seizes power. Parliament is dissolved. Opponents of the regime are rounded up in the 'Dirty War', which is to see 25-30 000 thousands of people 'disappear', i.e. killed.
1981 - General Leopoldo Galtieri heads the military regime.
1982 April - Argentine forces occupy the British-held Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls Islas Malvinas and over which it had long claimed sovereignty. The United Kingdom dispatches a force to re-take the islands, which it does in June. More than 700 Argentines are killed in the fighting. Galtieri is replaced by General Reynaldo Bignone.
1983 - Argentina returns to civilian rule. Raul Alfonsin becomes president. Argentina begins to investigate the 'Dirty War' and charge former military leaders with human rights abuses. Inflation is running at more than 900%.
1989 - Carlos Menem of the Peronist party is elected president. He imposes an economic austerity programme.
1990 - Full diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom are restored, with Argentina still maintaining its claim to the Falklands.
1992 - Argentina introduces a new currency, the peso, which is pegged to the US dollar. A bomb is placed in the Israeli embassy, 29 people are killed.
1994 - A Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires is bombed. 86 people are killed and more than 200 injured.
1995 - Menem is re-elected.
1996 - Finance Minister Domingo Cavallo is dismissed. Economic hardship leads to a general strike in September.
1997 - A judge in Spain issues orders for the arrest of former Argentine military officers on charges of participating in the kidnapping and killing of Spanish citizens during the 'Dirty War'. Argentine amnesty laws protect the accused.
1998 - Argentine judges order arrests in connection with the abduction of hundreds of babies from women detained during the 'Dirty War'. Recession starts.
1999 - Fernando de la Rua of the centre-left Alianza opposition coalition wins the presidency, inherits 114 billion-dollar public debt.
2000 - Strikes and fuel tax protests. Beef exports slump after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Soya exports suffer from concerns over the use of genetically modified varieties. An IMF bail-out package of nearly 40 billion dollars was agreed in December 2000. But planned austerity measures - tax rises and cuts in social welfare programmes - led to a political crisis later on.
2001 February - Argentina recalls its ambassador to Cuba after President Castro accuses Argentina of 'licking the yankee boot'. Castro made the remarks in an apparent reference to Argentina's support for US condemnation of Cuba's record on human rights. Argentina and the United Kingdom agree that Argentine private aircraft and vessels may now visit the Falkland Islands again.
2001 March - President de la Rua forms a government of national unity and appoints three finance ministers in as many weeks as cabinet resignations and protests greet planned austerity measures.
2001 July - Former president Carlos Menem is charged with heading an 'illicit organization' that violated international arms embargoes against Croatia and Ecuador in the early 1990s. A court throws out all arms trafficking charges against Menem, freeing him after five months of house arrest.
2001 July - Much of the country is brought to a standstill by a general strike in protest against proposed government spending cuts. Country's credit ratings slip.
2001 October - The opposition Peronists take control of both houses of parliament in Congressional elections.
2001 November - President de la Rua meets US President George W Bush in a last-ditch attempt to avoid an economic crash in Argentina. Share prices reach record lows.
2001 December - Economy Minister Cavallo announces sweeping restrictions to halt an exodus of bank deposits.
2001 December - The IMF announces it won't disburse $1.3 billion in aid for the month, pushing Argentina closer to the brink of default.
2001 13 December - Much of Argentina grinds to a halt due to a 24-hour general strike by public workers protesting against new government curbs on bank withdrawals, a delay in pension payouts and other economic measures. Corruption in the judiciary, police and civil service still remains to be tackled. The legacy of military rule from 1976-1983 is still an open wound. The fate of many of the thousands of 'disappeared' - opponents of the junta - is still unclear. And investigations are under way into what happened to the babies of women detained by the regime.
ARGENTINA FACTS 2000/1 Population: 37 million, Capital: Buenos Aires, Major language: Spanish, Major religion: Christianity, Life expectancy: 70 years (men), 77 years women), Monetary unit: 1 peso = 100 centavos, Main exports: Food and live animals, mineral fuels, cereals, machinery, Average annual income: US $7,550 Internet domain: .ar, International dialling code: +54. A country of diverse terrain, Argentina is nearly 4,000 km long from the subtropical north to the subantarctic south. It encompasses part of the Andes mountain range, swamps, the large plains of the Pampas, and a lengthy coastline. Argentina is rich in resources and has a well-educated workforce. Argentines gave the world the tango. They are mad about soccer, and are reckoned to be the best polo players. Their love of horses is best personified by the figure of the Argentine 'gaucho', the solitary, independent ranch-hand, who has become known throughout the world.
2001 20 December Widespread street protests and rioting leave at least 25 people dead. Argentine President Fernando de la Rua has resigned amid some of the worst unrest in his country for a decade, Argentine Government officials say. Mr de la Rua submitted his resignation on Thursday after a day of running battles in the capital Buenos Aires between police and protesters. Rioters set fire to the finance ministry and two major banks as police tried to control the crowds with volleys of tear gas. -- Facing the worst economic crisis in Argentina's history and after the rejection of his call for a government of national unity, President Fernando De la Rua submitted his resignation on the second day of nationwide rioting, government sources said. He was expected to announce his plans in an address to the nation Thursday evening, his third speech in 24 hours. Hundreds of angry Argentines demonstrated outside the presidential palace, demanding the president's resignation and rejecting his call for an end to the violence.
Riot police fired volley after volley of tear gas and used water cannons to beat back the protesters. Across the city, rioters smashed in store windows and ransacked buildings. Fires were set on street corner after street corner, in trash bins and at bus stops. Argentina's economy was wobbling under the weight of a $132 billion debt and skyrocketing unemployment, prompting protests Wednesday that quickly escalated to violence. At least six people were killed and dozens wounded as rioters looted stores and set fires. Earlier, at an afternoon news conference, the president defended his economic policy. "I am acting in the sense of responsibility to introduce the changes that are necessary so we can meet the people's demands," he said. He also called for the cooperation of the opposition party to form a multi-party cabinet to pull Argentina through "these difficult situations." "We cannot be led by those people who provoke violence," he said. "We must secure peace, preserving stability for our state. This violence in the streets cannot continue. Danger is increasing." The opposition Peronist party lawmakers in Argentina's lower house of Congress rejected De la Rua's proposal for a government of national unity, about an hour after his news conference, according to Reuters. "Peronism will continue to exercise its role as opposition and will not participate in any co-government," the Peronist bloc said in a statement. Down with the populist fascism, say the anarchists. De la Rua had said through a spokesman that he would quit if the Peronists declined to form the coalition.
II. Ochlarchy and looting
On Thursday, the
protesters rallied outside De la Rua's presidential palace, where
riot police on horseback repeatedly pushed them back with batons,
water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Hundreds more have
been arrested. The protesters also called for the resignation of
Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, who tendered his resignation
early Thursday. De la Rua accepted the resignation, and began a
search for a replacement. De la Rua, trying to quell the
violence, declared a state of siege, a 30-day declaration that
suspends constitutional rights and gives the government wide-ranging
power to quell the violence. Rioters, who ransacked
and set fire to grocery stores and other shops around the capital
on Wednesday, said they are hungry and complained the government
has not helped them. These actions, looting
included, have of course nothing
to do with anarchism or anarchy! Amongst
the people fighting there were all sorts, from a couple of
thousand leftists, old workers (people in their 50s and 60s
with bandannas and rocks), people in suits and ties straight from
work, to socker hooligans, everyone...
Responding to the protests
and attempting to quell the violence, the government agreed to
release $7 million to provide food for the most needy. On
Thursday, the protesters waited impatiently for the food's
distribution. Looting turned to protest late in the day as tens
of thousands of people beat pots and pans, clapped, waved flags
and took to their cars, honking horns to protest what they see as
an insufficient reaction to the problems they are facing.
Firefighters rushed to extinguish fires set off around the
Presidential Palace by incendiary devices. The
largest labor federation of Argentina called for a general strike.The embattled Cavallo,
author of the austerity measures put in place this summer,
stepped into the Economy Minister's seat last March after two De
la Rua-appointed ministers stepped down in succession. Hailed for
stopping hyperinflation during a 1991-1996 stint in the same post
under President Carlos Menem, Cavallo faced opposition for his
reform measures this time from members of Menem's Peronist party. And in a
further sign of Cavallo's troubles, a judge investigating
allegations of arms tracking to Croatia during Menem's tenure
ordered him not to leave the country while he, too, is
investigated. De la Rua planned to
meet with Argentina's governors on Thursday in search of an
agreement that would guarantee his ability to govern. Observers
speculated that he would bow to opposition calls for a multi-party
cabinet to save his post. The current cabinet was in
emergency session as the protests rumbled throughout the city.
Stumbling under a four-year recession, the Argentine government
implemented stark austerity measures over the summer. But the
International Monetary Fund has so far refused to release a $1.3
billion loan payment, saying Argentina has failed to balance its
budget despite the plan. Argentina, where unemployment is near 20
percent, owes $132 billion, mainly to bond holders.
III. Cut bureaucracy costs
Economists say that without international help, there's little hope the South American nation can avoid history's worst debt default from a sovereign nation. Earlier in the week, people were swarming banks in an effort to withdraw their savings. The government is considering seizing pension funds and has already capped bank withdrawals to $1,000 dollars per month. President de la Rua had earlier called for the formation of a national unity government, saying he planned to stay in power to help Argentina through the crisis. Public fury worsened after the president called a state of emergency - giving the police special powers - in a bid to stem widespread rioting and looting, in which at least 20 people have died.
All the
members of President de la Rua's cabinet have already handed in
their resignations, although so far the Argentine leader has only
accepted that of the Economy Minister, Domingo Cavallo."If
Argentina works extremely hard, it can lay the groundwork for a
recovery in 2003," said John Welch, Latin American economist
at Barclays Capital. "But, right now, 2002 looks very
difficult for Argentina." If
Argentina cuts bureaucracy costs, it will recover more soon!
Possible solutions for Argentina, which is about $132 billion in
debt, include more government i.e. the
bureaucracy, belt-tightening,
a plan to swap short-term debt for long-term debt and plans to
change the country's currency. The task has been made more
difficult by political unrest and the resignation of six economic
advisers this year. In any event, most observers think
Argentina's small size and isolation, among other factors, will
likely keep a debt default from causing too much trouble for the
rest of the world.
IV. Argentina is not a potential nightmare
"Argentina is not a potential nightmare," said Wells Fargo's Sohn. "It's a relatively small economy compared to Mexico and Brazil." Still, one of the lessons of 2001 is that no problem in the world is so small that it can be ignored forever. "There are no longer really state economic systems that can function by themselves," said Delos Smith, chief economist at the Conference Board. "Most of our largest corporations are in every major market in the world. We're intertwined." The AIIS and AI/IFA/IAF will contribute to a libertarian, less plutarchical bureaucratic and corrupt development in Argentina, together with F.L.A., as far as there are resources. We have among other things, powerful economical models that can be used in planning of the new economy! Towards a liberating economy!
21.12.2001: Report on the social struggle in Buenos Aires; medical services (SAME: Servicio de Asistencia MEdica) have confirmed three deaths caused by the repression of the police "clearing" the Plaza de Mayo. The struggle is also symbolic. "Taking" the Plaza de Mayo represents the taking of an area where the national decisions are made. For this reason, both the government and the popular resistance give importance to taking this plot of land which is a symbol of the historically important decisions taken in Argentina. For the time being, this plaza (square) has been cleared of protestors. The last reports from Argentina talk about isolated protests in the areas known as "once", (eleven), "obelisco", (obelisk), "congreso", (Congress) and surroundings. In contrast to anarchists, that always are interested in real changes, these demonstrants are mainly interested in symbolic things. Argentina is a land full of resources, it has been ruined by plutarchical, oligarchical bureaucracy broadly defined. It is not a potential nightmare - it is a nightmare. However it should not continue to be so for ever.
V. State of emergency lifted
The state of emergency in Argentina has been lifted - just two days after being declared during steet protests that left more than 20 people dead. The decision was made by outgoing president, Fernando de la Rua, as the Argentine Congress prepared to meet to name his temporary successor and try to find a way out of the political and economic crisis engulfing the country. Ramon Puerta, the man expected to be named interim president following Mr de la Rua's resignation, has said he will remain in office "only for 48 hours". He said the constitution stipulated that Congress had to decide whether to name an acting president for a longer period, or call elections. Mr Puerta, who is first in line for power because he is president of the Senate, said provincial governors from his Peronist party were in favour of early elections. But with the country facing economic and political turmoil, correspondents say the next president's job could be a poisoned chalice. Mr de la Rua made a surprise return to Government House in Buenos Aires on Friday morning, blaming the crisis on the opposition Peronists for refusing his offer to form a government of national unity. His last act as president was to lift the state of emergency he had declared on Wednesday, in the midst of riots and impending economic chaosOn Thursday, Mr de la Rua left Government House by helicopter after a day spent watching battles outside between protesters and police. It was the worst unrest since Argentina's return to democracy in 1983, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to protest at economic hardship. At least 28 people were killed in the protests. Mr de la Rua's departure drew cheers from protesters and some danced in the streets. Earlier, police tried to restrain the crowds by charging them on horseback and pummelling them with water cannon and volleys of tear gas - often firing directly at protesters. More than 2,000 people were arrested nationwide. In Buenos Aires, one woman's toe was cut off when stamped on by a police horse, others were carried kicking and shouting to police vans. In other large cities, looters ransacked homes and supermarkets.
VI. Economic challenge
Public fury was sparked by government austerity measures aimed at reviving the economy, plagued by huge debts and unemployment at almost 20%. All the members of Mr de la Rua's Cabinet have already handed in their resignations, although he only accepted that of the Economy Minister, Domingo Cavallo. The BBC's Tom Gibb in Buenos Aires says urgent efforts are now under way to craft an alternative economic policy. One idea is to end the system tying the Argentine peso to the US dollar. That would mean a devaluation and almost certainly a default on the country's $132bn debt. The correspondent says the big problem is that many ordinary Argentines have mortgages and other debts in dollars, as do businesses and farms. The Peronists have not yet explained how they would fund the costly conversion of all of the debts into pesos. Protests had been escalating since the government halted pension payments and froze bank accounts in an attempt to deal with the massive debts. Savers only allowed to withdraw $250 a month; Pensions to 1.4m retirees delayed; Unemployment at 18%; 2,000 people drop below poverty line each day; Economy in recession for four years, are the keywords in this connection. A default would in effect cut off any lifeline from the International Monetary Fund and send Argentina spiralling even deeper into economic crisis. Similar unrest marked the last financial crisis in Argentina in 1989, forcing the then president, Raul Alfonsin, to leave office early. Argentina has been in a recession for almost four years.
Earlier this month, the IMF refused Argentina a further $1.3bn in standby loans, The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned that Argentina could default on its sovereign debt as early as next month, unless it balanced its budget for the year 2002. Mr Cavallo had put forward budget proposals slashing government spending by 20% - but only by cutting public sector wages and reducing pension provisions. The plutarchy in private sector is however a larger problem. 22.12.2001. The Argentinian Congress will elect an interim president on Saturday.The man named Argentina's interim president - Adolfo Rodriguez Saa - has said he will pursue a strict economic policy to try and deal with the crisis in the country. "I am going to propose to the country a severe austerity plan", he says. Mr Rodriguez said he would keep the national currency, the peso, pegged to the dollar - and promised to announce his economic plan after he is confirmed in his post by Congress later on Saturday. Mr Rodriguez will serve as president until elections on 3 March. Mr Rodriguez was chosen by the Peronist party, which controls parliament, after the resignation of President Fernando de la Rua, following the violent street protests over the government's handling of the economic crisis, which left more than 28 people dead. Police action is now being investigated. Two judges have barred Mr de la Rua from leaving the country, as an investigation is launched into police conduct in dealing with the disorder. Police on horseback charged demonstrators and looters, pummelling them with water cannon and volleys of tear gas - often firing directly at protesters. More than 2,000 people were, as mentioned, arrested nationwide. Rodriguez; how long can he keep smiling?...the anarchists ask.
VII. US appeal and default fear
The announcement of an interim president came as US President George W Bush urged the country's new leader to push through an austerity programme proposed by the International Monetary Fund. Mr Rodriguez said he would impose "a severe austerity plan" and announce an economic programme which would be "very simple, made up of a few clear ideas". After a four-year recession, with official unemployment at 18%, (in reality it is more) Argentina is in danger of defaulting on its $132bn of debt. A default would in effect cut off any lifeline from the International Monetary Fund and send the country spiralling even deeper into economic crisis. Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo has resigned, and Oscar Lamberto appointed in his place - but it is unclear how long Mr Lamberto will remain in office. About fifty-year-old Mr Rodriguez is governor of San Luis province, one of only two in the country that enjoys a budget surplus. "I hope everyone understands the job I am being given is highly difficult and comes at a very serious moment for the country," he said after his selection by the Peronists. The BBC's Tom Gibb says the big problem is that many ordinary Argentines have mortgages and other debts in dollars, as do businesses and farms. But they earn money in pesos - so any devaluation would only increase the size of their dollar debts. The Peronists have suggested converting these debts into pesos, but some newsmedia says that this would be massively expensive and no one has explained how it would be funded. The peso has been pegged one-to-one to the dollar for the past decade.
VIII. Emergency reimposed
In his last act in office, President de la Rua lifted the state of emergency imposed on Wednesday after the worst unrest since Argentina's return to democracy in 1983. An unofficial spokesman of the Argentinian people said: "If only the name of our president changes and not the course of our economy, then we will have lots more days like 20 December." But it was reimposed later on Friday in Buenos Aires province by acting President Ramon Puerta, after reports of some looting around the capital. This so called looting was mainly violent secret service ochlarchy, groups going from house to house, doing all sorts of crimes. By Friday evening, however, the country was reported calm. Mr Puerta was appointed to head the government for 48 hours after Mr de la Rua's departure. Argentina has been in a recession for almost four years. Earlier this month, the IMF refused Argentina a further $1.3bn in standby loans, unless it balanced its budget for the year 2002. The public fury had been sparked by government austerity measures aimed at reviving the economy. Under a complicated deal agreed between Peronist party leaders, Mr Rodriguez Saa will remain in office until presidential elections on 3 March next year.
IX. Ca 25% increase in total demand for national product is necessary as soon as possible say the anarchists
The anarchist economical law of employment, i.e. approximately the % increase in employment = % increase in total demand (nominally) - inflation % - % increase in productivity (i.e. average worker's productivity), must be fulfilled. As an example 20% increase in employment + 3% inflation + 2% increase in productivity = 25% increase in total demand, i.e summa % increase in consumption plus investment (public + private) and exportsurplus. It is a lot of slack in use of the capacity at the moment, so this should be realistic as a first approximation estimate. The right mix of devaluation, public deficit, cut in bureaucracry costs and redistribution of income from the plutarchist bureaucracy to the people, to stimulate demand and get the economical circulation going again at a reasonable level, the Argentinian politicians and organizations broadly defined must analyse and decide quick. The anarchists will continue to give comments on the development. It is of course necessary to leave the bureaucratical tie of the peso to the US $. 1/3 of the population are below the powerty tresholds. Rodriguez a) announces a suspension, and this will trigger the biggest debt default in history, and b) indicates he will stick to an economic course that will benefit the Argentinian people. Mr Rodriguez Saa has said he will announce "very solid, simple ideas" for the economy once he has been confirmed in office. These are expected to include continuing an austerity programme, selling bonds to raise fresh funds, and providing food aid. The anarchists so far don't think this is enough to increase the demand ca 25%, and probably even more demand hike is needed, to do away with the severe unemployment and powerty problems. Thus, Mr Rodriguez Saa's proposals so far are neither necessary nor sufficient to solve the problems. The anarchist criticism will continue.
X. Mr. Rodriguez Saa - an anarchist criticism
Mr R. Saa is known as an authoritarian, populist, municipal, small thinking bureaucrat, basing his policy on primitive instincts, and without any real competence in economical political management of the society seen as a country, all in all, and in international perspective. Furthermore he has not in any way demonstrated perspectives and visions for the future of Argentina, necessary means and ends meeting the demands of the people. Some leftist groups demonstrated outside the congress 22.12.2001, reminding the politicians that the people were watching their impotent "work". The Peronists must not forget that they also are monitored by the Anarchist International; Southern and Northern, world wide, we are all united to support the Argentinian people in different ways. Furthermore the international newsmedia, and organizations and politicians all over the world are watching. Thus, the Peronists should know they are not operating in vacum. The international society may wery well take different kinds of actions if the statist and plutarchist ochlarchy and disorder are going to far! 23.12.2001. The Argentinian congress has decided to make mr R. Saa interim president. Later same day Adolfo Rodriguez Saa named new interim president, says Argentina will suspend foreign debt payments. Fresh protests in anger over Rodriguez Saa's appointment of officials seen as corrupt and his decision to maintain unpopular banking curbs. An unofficial spokeswoman of the people said he was a demagog.
This seems to be correct. One of the problems with R. Saa's concept is the vague term "surplus". An economy as a whole cannot be properly run similar to a private profitseeking firm. Thus, public sector surplus and exportsurplus (mercantilism) is not a proper aim, especially not in an economy with a lot of unemployment and slack in the use of the production capacity. This is mercantilism, and this kind of system is not considered as a valid way to run the economy. It was rejected already by Adam Smith (liberalist), Pierre Joseph Proudhon (anarchist), Karl Marx (statism-socialism) and Vilfred Pareto (authoritarian, later works adopted by the fascists as their ideology). Thus, mercantilism is an especially authoritarian ultra-fascist bureaucratic ideology, that cannot solve the economical-political problems of Argentina. Although mercantilism in a way is a negation of the present situation, with large foreign trade deficit, etc, it is a wrong, equally authoritarian concept, that as mentioned cannot be used as a proper policy in the present situation in Argentina.
XI. It could have been heaven, but a greedy plutarchist bureaucracy made it hell.
However, it may certainly take long time for Argentina to reach anything close to the anarchist quadrant on the economical political map, not to mention the anarchist ideal, with selfmanagement and co-operation without coercion on equal footing, minimal rank and income differences, maximal efficiency and fairness, etc. What may very well happen is the quite opposite, i.e. introduction of a mafia populist/fascist state, were the plutarchist bureaucracy in private and public sector not only is looting the people at home, but steal almost the whole amount from the people that have lent them money outside the country as well. By the way, the state of emergency must be lifted again as soon as possible, and the secret police ochlarchy stopped. The politically prisoned must be released.Argentina is by now internationally knowned as "the land of mutual ochlarchy and looting," clearly below the 67% authoritarian degree on the economical-political map. Americans have called the Anarchy of Norway heaven. This is a bit exaggerated. But for sure the "system" in Argentina is hell; a country with an approximately optimal population, rich on almost all kinds of resources from oil and minerals to highly productive agricultural areas, but almost totally vasted and ruined by a greedy bureaucracy economical and political/administrative in private and public sector. Thus, it could have been heaven, but a plutarchist bureaucracy made it hell.
Now it is getting worse, even more authoritarian, day by day. The anarchists and the people of the world in general cannot accept that the blood shed by our fellows is assumened by the Partido Justicialista (Peron's followers), which, with great smiles, formed their new cabinet . These smiles may soon be stiffened. Mr R. Saa said under the appointment to be the new interim president that he relied on the help of "God". We can assure the newly fledged president it is better to listen to anarchists and the people, than to wait for an answer from above. More of the old Argentinian policy: Statism without plan and capitalism without markets, in a neo-mercantilist approach, will just make things worse. The path to socialism and freedom, i.e. a) public sector with plans and without statism & plutarchy, and socialist markets, i.e. regulated in a libertarian way without plutarchy & statism, is not broad and easy to travel, but it is the right way to go, step by step, without ochlarchy and looting. Excuses for a military junta must not happen. Furthemore, the leftists must not be given opportunity to take over. A new Cuba is not in the interest of libertarians and the people.
XII. F.O.R.A. has got new adress
Compañeros y compañeras: Estamos teniendo problemas con nuestra casilla de correo electrónico (fora@data54.com), por eso hemos decidido abrir una nueva casilla de correos: fora5congreso@hotmail.com A partir de ahora, todos los mensajes serán recibidos y enviados desde este nuevo mail. Por favor difundan esta información. Salud. Jesús Gil, secretario general. We are having problems with our e-mail (fora@data54.com), for that reason have decided to open a new e-mail: fora5congreso@hotmail.com From now on, all the messages received and envoys from this new mail. Please spread this information. Salud. Jesús Gil, Secretary General Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (F.O.R.A.) Coronel Salvadores 1200 167 Buenos Aires - Argentina. fora5congreso@hotmail.com . Sacá tu cuenta de e-mail gratis en http://www.data54.com y pasá a ser parte de nuestra comunidad.
Compañeros y compañeras: Aquí va el informe
que preparamos sobre lo ocurrido la semana pasada:
XIII. ESTALLIDO SOCIAL EN ARGENTINA
Desde la madrugada del martes 18 de diciembre se sucedieron 72 horas de respuesta popular a la decadencia política, al caos económico y a la desesperación social. Los sectores más empobrecidos tomaron los supermercados para sacar alimentos, lo cual rapidamente se extendió a varias provincias y municipios. Debemos destacar la influencia ejercida por los medios masivos de comunicación, sobre todo la televisión, que tergiversaba los hechos en todo momento, haciendo valer sus propios intereses. Mientras el canal oficial (canal 7) pasaba dibujos animados, otros canales mostraban como la gente ingresaba a los supermercados sin que la policía interviniera. Con el correr de las horas, las noticias se extendieron a todo el pais. A medida que se sucedian los saqueos, proporcionalmente iba aumentando la actividad policial, lo cual no impedia los saqueos, pero organizaron junto a los empleados de los supermercados, la entrega de pequeñas raciones de alimentos. Sin embargo esto no frenó la acción espontanea de la gente que salía de las villas miserias para continuar con los saqueos. Es significativa la no intervención policial ante los hechos ya que una semana antes se venían registrando saqueos en las ciudades de Rosario (provincia de Santa Fe), Concordia (Entre Ríos) y Mendoza; además existían informes de inteligencia que preanunciaban intensos reclamos sociales, los cuales habían sido elaborados en las provincias y enviados al Ministerio de Defensa el 15 y 16 de diciembre, antes de los saqueos masivos en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Se sospecha que la no intervención policial fue por motivos políticos, buscando desestabilizar al gobierno.
De esta forma se comenzó a cuestionar al gobierno de Fernando De la Rúa. Poco después el malestar se extendió a la clase media, que se horrorizaba de ver gente desesperada llevándose cuanto alimento puidiese cargar. Unos días antes del estallido, los pequeños y medianos empresarios organizaron un "cacerolazo", que consistía en salir a la vereda golpeando elementos de cocina; además, cada comerciante o vecino apagaba las luces de su negocio o casa. Esta "protesta" de la clase media se produjo a raíz de las últimas medidas económicas decretadas por el ministro de economía Domingo Cavallo (imposibilidad de sacar del banco más de 250 pesos por semana, bancarización compulsiva, tasas de interés usurarias, etc.). El miércoles 19 de diciembre la población esperaba el discurso presidencial, el cual iba a anunciar las medidas a tomar para reactivar la economía y calmar los ánimos, pero el discurso fue un balde de gasolina sobre el incendio, ya que no propuso ninguna solución e implantantó el estado de sitio, provocando la indignación que movilizó espontaneamente a la clase media. Así se generalizó el malestar en la población que fue masivamente a pie o en automóvil a Plaza de Mayo. En la casa de gobierno no había la cantidad suficiente de policías para controlar a las aproximadamente 70000 personas que en horas de la noche colmaban la plaza. Paralelamente, en los barrios aledaños de la Capital Federal la gente se reunia en las esquinas para protestar. Mientras los saqueos continuaban, la manifestación en Plaza de Mayo terminó en una fuerte e indiscriminada represión que más tarde generó el repudio desde distintos sectores al ya agonizante gobierno de De la Rúa.
En pocos minutos la plaza quedó vacía producto de los gases lacrimógenos y las balas de goma y de plomo, lo que hizo que la gente se trasladara al Congreso. La represión continuaba pero el pueblo siguió llegando, prolongándose las corridas hasta la madrugada. En ese momento un sector de retiró, continuando la lucha los más combativos. Por su parte, la policía cerró los accesos al centro del ciudad y a la Capital Federal, patrullando las calles y arrestando a miles de personas. La feroz represión no pudo doblegar al pueblo, que utilizaba unicamente piedras para defenderse. Mientras unos veían la durísima batalla por televisión, otros dejaban su vida luchando en las calles, desatándose más tarde una crítica ante la masacre. "Oficialmente" fueron asesinadas por la policía siete personas solo en el centro de Buenos Aires. Es significativo que cinco de estas muertes se produjeron por tiros en la cabeza. A nivel nacional hay veinticinco muertos, 440 heridos y 3300 detenidos. Através de la televisión y de testigos, detectamos gran número de servicios policiales infiltrados entre la multitud provocando desmanes y realizando arrestos en forma brutal. Mientras el microcentro se convertía en el epicentro de la lucha popular, la casa de gobierno y el congreso eran escenarios de la lucha por el poder político. El intenso reclamo del pueblo en las calles, los saqueos y la feroz represión que no daba los frutos esperados por el gobierno, más la falta de apoyo político del peronismo (partido opositor), debilitaron al gobierno de De la Rúa y al ministro Cavallo hasta hacerlos caer, debiendo renunciar ellos junto con todo el gobierno de la Alianza (UCR - Frepaso).
Por otro lado, las centrales sindicales fueron
desbordadas por las circunstancias, convocando demagógicamente a
un paro por tiempo indeterminado, pero a las pocas horas el paro
fue levantado después de la renuncia de De la Rúa. Por ahora (23
de diciembre) los ánimos se han apaciguado, al menos
aparentemente. Pero en cualquier momento, todo podría estallar
de nuevo debido a que la situación económica y política no ha
mejorado. En efecto, el gobierno provisional (de aquí a marzo,
momento en que se convocará a elecciones), es del mismo signo
político que la gente rechazó y rechaza gracias a la enorme corrupción
organizada durante el gobierno de Carlos Menem. Sin ir más
lejos, el justicialista Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, designado como
presidente provisional, está envuelto en varias causas penales
por hechos de corrupción. Hoy en día se vive una incertidumbre
pacífica, pero luego de lo sucedido, la economía y la política
del sistema se han derrumbado aún más. Todo este clima está
empapado de un chauvinismo creciente, inentendible aun por las
mismas personas que lo enarbolan, pero propicio para el
surjimiento de un movimiento nacionalista. Aquí es donde
nosotros debemos accionar por medio de la propaganda y la acción,
llevando los ideales de la libertad, igualdad y solidaridad.
Depende de nosotros saber aprovechar este momento en que el
pueblo reacciona contra la explotación y la miseria
sistematizada implementada ayer por la dictadura militar y hoy
por la "democracia". Dándole un buen y justo cauce a
tanta fuerza potencial, se podría crear un proyecto libertario
que plantee una nueva sociedad pero repetimos que también está
latente una iniciativa nacionalista que derrumbaría el esfuerzo
por salir de la opresión y el autoritarismo.
Sociedad de Resistencia de Oficios Varios (Buenos Aires,
Capital Federal) Adherida a la F.O.R.A. - A.I.T. fora5congreso@hotmail.com
XIV. Mr. Rodriguez Saa is still far out and very authoritarian, the anarchists have some more advice
Argentina's economic crisis has become impossible to manage for the country's government, forcing its interim president Adolfo Rodriguez Saa to ask other governments for assistance. Mr Rodriguez Saa on Friday 28.12.2001 spoke with the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund on the telephone, asking for "patience" and "understanding", he said. Also on Friday, the US President George W Bush said the US would offer technical assistance via the IMF to Argentina. Bush was also talking about a plan of the economy. The anarchists however say the "argentino" local money introduced by R. Saa is not convertible to other currency, and thus is far from compatible with anarchist NAT, "Normal-Arbeids-Times-anvisninger" i.e. Average Labor Credits, ALC, that are recommended, i.e. if local money units should be introduced on a larger scale. It is however possible to solve a lot of the economical problems without introducing local ALC, but stick to one single national money unit, peso, but as mentioned, the ties to the US$ must be cut. Furthermore local, municipal plans, must be coordinated on regional and confederal level. And redistribution of income from the plutarchists in private and public sector must be done fast. Means to reach these aims are taxation of property, expropriation and a land "reform", i.e. a revolutionary change in the distribution of wealth in a social just way. Furthermore, the anarchists remind Argentina that the public sector in fact has no budget restriction, it can make as much money as it wants. However this must be according to the production capacity, and also the mentioned redistribution of income and wealth, must be taken into account, to prevent a large inflation. The IMF does not understand much of real economics, they are to much occupied with Milton Friedmans monetarist ideology, which has very little to do with reality in the economy, and thus they are quite incompetent in this case. Thus, the Argentinians should not listen too much to the IMF, but to the anarchists. The Anarchist International world wide has full support for F.L.A. and F.O.R.A. in the present difficult situation. A little basic anarchist economics are found at http://www.anarchy.no/aneco1.html .
XV. Economic chaos and protests
The violence subsided for a few days, but returned to the capital on Friday when protestors set light to a train and damaged one of the main railway stations in Buenos Aires. Fire fighters arriving at the scene were pelted with stones and rubbish bins. Some analysts say the new populist government is searching for quick solutions to placate a population which has been plunged from a relatively wealthy society into economic chaos. "It is just too much," said one protester. "All the politicians are as corrupt as each other and all we can do is take to the streets to protest." BBC reports "The patience of many Argentines with their political leaders has now worn very thin." Police in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters, less than a week after a new government came into office to deal with the country's economic crisis. Demonstrators broke into the Congress building in the early hours of Saturday, setting fire to curtains and breaking furniture. A bank and a McDonalds restaurant were also ransacked, and one of the main railway stations was attacked. Protesters were angry that the new government has maintained emergency restrictions on withdrawing money from banks. They also complained that some members of the new government had links with previous regimes' corruption. The protests triggered the first resignation from the new government when Carlos Grosso, newly appointed as chief adviser to the cabinet, stepped down.
XVI. Show of anger
Amid occasional violence, two policemen were reported to have been injured after police in riot gear cleared the plaza in front of the government building where protesters had gathered. However the Associated Press news agency reported that teenagers continued to throw stones at police once the crowd dispersed. Protesters are angry at months of recession. People had congregated in the early hours of the morning, bashing saucepans and drums. Waving the national flag, they came from all directions to gather in the Plaza de Mayo in the centre of Buenos Aires in front of the government house. Others headed for the nearby congress building waving their shirts in the air on a hot and humid night. The demonstrators, in what appears to be a spontaneous show of anger, said they were demanding an end to corruption. Their anger is directed at the country's economic crisis and the interim Peronist government of President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, who came to office following the resignation of former president Fernando de la Rua. Mr de la Rua resigned after street protests and rioting triggered by economic hardship left at least ca 28 people dead. Mr Rodriguez Saa announced new measures to control the economic crisis including a suspension of foreign debt payments and plans to provide cash to cope with poverty and unemployment. Argentina's economic woes are, as indicated above: Public foreign debts of $132bn; Unemployment at 18%; Economy in recession for four years; Savers only allowed to withdraw $250 a month in cash; 2,000 people drop below poverty line each day; Pensions to 1.4m retirees delayed
XVII. Interim government have offered to resign. Mr R. Saa shows further incompetence
All the ministers in Argentina's entire week-old interim government have offered to resign following a night of violent protests over the country's financial turmoil. After spending a day in emergency meetings with the cabinet, the caretaker President, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, said he had not yet decided whether to accept the resignations, the French news agency AFP reported. In a statement, he condemned Friday's violence, when tens of thousands took to the streets. Many demonstrators called for the resignation of several members of the new administration they perceived to be corrupt. The BBC reports the mass resignation will give Mr Rodriguez Saa space to manoeuvre, allowing him to choose whether to sack the least popular ministers.The US President, George W Bush, telephoned Mr Rodriguez Saa shortly after a government spokesman announced the resignations. Mr Bush urged the Argentine leader to work closely with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and other financial institutions to develop "a sustainable economic plan". The anarchists say this is a vague concept, with no real scientific value.
Furthermore the IMF doctrine of Monetarist, Friedmanist, policy, is bureaucratic, and based on assumptions of a relatively stable circulation velocity of means of payment (money), which practically never is valid and especially not in this case. An urgent demand hike of at least 25% is necessary, as mentioned above. If mr R. Saa mainly prints fresh money "argentino", instead of transfers of income etc. from the rich to the poor, the inflation will increase more, say, about 25%, and the necessary demand hike must be approximately 20% + 25% + 2% = 47 %, to do away with the unemployment problem. This is not recommended by the anarchists!With more meetings planned to thrash out rescue measures for the beleaguered economy, Mr Rodriguez Saa called on the Argentine people to be patient with his administration. The president's top adviser, Carlos Grosso, was singled out in Friday's protests, for alleged corruption during a stint as Mayor of Buenos Aires under former President Carlos Menem. Mr Grosso stepped down earlier in the day. The night's violence flared at the edges of a large, noisy rally in the Plaza de Mayo square. Twelve policemen were injured and 33 people were arrested as protesters ransacked shops, banks and a McDonalds restaurant. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators, some of whom set fire to railway carriages and broke into the Congress building, smashing furniture and burning curtains.
XVIII. Cash curbs and populist chaos economics are no solution
As well as protesting against corruption, the demonstrators railed against curbs on cash withdrawals of more than 1,000 pesos ($1,000) a months from banks. The new administration eased the policy on Friday, but did not abandon it. Employment minister Oraldo Britos said the banks did not have sufficient funds to ease the current restrictions. With continued fears that the currency will eventually be devalued or that the government will seize money held in banks, many account holders fear they will lose their savings. "I put my money in the bank for them to look after it - not to be stolen," read one protester's banner. The interim Peronist government has already announced new measures to control the economic crisis. Mr Rodriguez Saa has suspended repayments on the country's $132bn debt, announced plans to create one million jobs (this is in no way enough, the anarchists say) and promised to introduce a new currency, the "Argentino", in the hope of boosting consumer-spending. Some analysts say the new populist government has been searching for quick solutions to placate a population which has been plunged from a relatively wealthy society into economic chaos. Lawyer Diego Fumagalli, 45, protesting at the Plaza de Mayo, said the new administration had misread last week's unrest. "The message was that we want a new political system without corruption, and then they go and name all these corrupt politicians to the new government," he said.
Again, Argentina should listen more to the anarchists, and analysis made with anarchist economics, than listen to R. Saa and IMF. 30.12.2001: Protesters accused cabinet members of corruption. NRK reports 3 young people were killed. Argentine interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa is considering whether to accept the resignation of his entire cabinet, in office for less than a week, after renewed protests about the collapsing economy. The ministers' offer came during an emergency session convened after police used tear gas and water canon early on Saturday to disperse thousands of angry protesters in the capital, Buenos Aires. Mr Rodriguez Saa, who appealed for calm, has been holding talks with the heads of the country's banks, and with regional governors, while he decides what action to take. He has urged banks to remain open for extended hours on Monday, to enable customers to withdraw salaries and pensions. The interim government was appointed after 27 people died in riots which forced the resignation of former President Fernando de la Rua. Many of the protesters believe that several senior members of the cabinet are responsible for the economic crisis, and are calling for their removal. BBC' reports the mass resignation may give Mr Rodriguez Saa space to manoeuvre, allowing him to choose whether to sack the least popular ministers. Some analysts believe the president may replace them with the regional governors. Anarchists say Argentina's authorities have tried quasimoney several times before, lecop and argentino are not new, only bureaucratic noncovertible quasimoney manipulations, similar to "peso argentino", "austral", "moneda nacional" and "ley". As mentioned, if a "third money" should be introduced, "hard currency" convertible NAT , i.e. Average Labor Credits, ALC, known from anarchist economics, are recommended.
XIX. Argentine interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa has resigned
31.12.2001: Argentine interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa has resigned, just seven days after taking office. In a dramatic late night televised address, he told the nation he had failed to win the backing of his Peronist party for a way out of the economic crisis. His departure came after renewed protests over the collapsing economy and corruption prompted a mass resignation offer by his cabinet. Power should have passed automatically to Senate Chairman Ramos Puerta, but he too resigned minutes later on grounds of ill-health. Mr Rodriguez Saa spent Sunday trying to hold emergency talks with Peronist provincial governors in the resort town of Chapadmalal, but most of them failed to turn up. He then flew back to his home province of San Luis to make his shock announcement. He said his resignation took effect immediately - he had been due to hold office until elections in March. "I did not have any other choice," he told stunned viewers. Mr Rodriguez Saa listed his achievements during his short time in office as suspending payments on the country's foreign debt and announcing new austerity measures. There are no obvious candidates to replace Mr Rodriguez Saa from his own party. Technically, however, the next-in-line after Mr Puerta is believed to be another Peronist, Eduardo Camano, who heads the lower house of deputies. Mr Camano would hold the post for two days to allow parliament to choose a new interim president, who has three months to call fresh elections.
Mr Rodriguez Saa did manage a breakthrough in talks with the country's banks. They agreed to remain open for extended hours on Monday, to enable customers to withdraw salaries and pensions. The agreement was "a contribution to civil peace". But a controversial 1,000-peso ($1,000) monthly limit on cash withdrawals remains in place. The streets of the Argentine capital were largely calm on Sunday after riots on Saturday left 12 policemen injured and led to 33 arrests. The demonstrators have railed against the curb on cash withdrawals as well as alleged corruption within Mr Rodriguez Saa's cabinet. Many account-holders fear they will lose their savings if the currency is devalued or the government seizes money held in banks. During his brief tenure, Mr Rodriguez Saa suspended repayments on the country's $132bn debt, announced plans to create one million jobs and promised to introduce a new currency, the Argentino, in the hope of boosting consumer spending. The protesters' accusations of corruption had already forced the resignation of his chief adviser, Carlos Grosso - a former mayor of Buenos Aires. Observers say there is a feeling in the country that it is ruled by an unsinkable political class and this at last has found a voice on the streets. R. Saa tried to please both the people and the bureaucracy economical and political/administrative in private and public sector. This populist/fascistoide policy of course didn't work in the present situation. There will be no peace between the people and the upper classes! Towards a less authoritarian system in Argentina!.. the anarchists say. The parliament will meet 01.01.2001 to elect a new interim president.
XX. New riots and new president
01.01.2002: Argentina's parliament meets in emergency session to name a new president, while demonstrators have been fighting running battles in the streets of the capital. The election comes after the resignation of interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa after only seven days in office. Mr Rodriguez Saa said he had no support. The successor that is elected is Eduardo Duhalde, a former vice-president and current senator of Buenos Aires province. The violence broke out between supporters of Mr Duhalde's Peronist party and the opposition United Left, Argentine radio said. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to bring the stone-throwing rioters under control. Thousands of police had their leave cancelled ahead of the vote and extra guards were drafted in to protect the government palace and congress buildings, the scenes of violent demonstrations at the weekend. Some 45,000 police were on standby in and around the capital, with soldiers also helping guard the nearby government palace known as the Casa Rosada. The new frontrunner reportedly enjoys the approval of other congressional parties, which have indicated their agreement that whoever takes over now should remain in office until December 2003 - the official end of the term of President Fernando de la Rua, who was forced out by popular protests on 20 December. New presidential elections had been scheduled for March, but the MPs say they want the new leader to stay in power for longer, in the hope of bringing some stability back to the country. BBC's reports the election of Mr Duhalde may well meet with hostility from the public at large. They say he may be tainted by his close ties with former president Carlos Menem and other key Peronist Party figures, whom many blame for plunging Argentina into its current economic and social crisis.
The anarchists repeat that a broad based council with workers' organizations, etc. and some of the least corrupt politicians (of course not corrupt at all are the best if possible), should be made, and a new economy based on anarchist economics, as indicated above, should be introduced.There are indications that a "soft" devaluation of the peso vs the US $ will be made. Anarchists think this (a devaluation) is necessary. Furthermore, a transfer of income in pesos from the plutarchists to the people with large debt in US $ may be necessary. The demonstrations continue, and some rivaling between different factions of protesters may also be mentioned. These rivaling fights have mostly been between leftists and the Menemist's ochlarchical groups, under command of E. Duhalde. There are rumors that these ochlarchists of Duhalde also have used false anarchist flags, to make chaos and provoke. A broad based state council is discussed.03.01.2002: Argentina's new President Eduardo Duhalde has been putting together the government team he hopes "will lead the country out of economic crisis". Mr Duhalde was sworn in at a brief ceremony on Wednesday, before immediately entering into talks on forming a cross-party cabinet which he says will deliver a "programme of national salvation". There have been five presidents in two weeks: Fernando de la Rua, Ramon Puerta, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, Eduardo Camano and now Eduardo Duhalde.
Perhaps Dualde should listen more to the anarchists, and form a broad based council rather than another corrupt government. The new economy minister will be Jorge Remes Lenicov, from the president's Peronist party, while Buenos Aires Province Governor Carlos Ruckauf is being suggested as foreign minister. Some senior Peronists have turned down posts in the new administration, unhappy that Mr Duhalde lacks the democratic credentials to govern. Mr Duhalde, who failed to win the presidency two years ago, was voted in by Congress to complete the term of the unpopular Fernando de la Rua, his then opponent, who resigned amid protests a fortnight ago. Argentines have been continuing to hold protests and government buildings remain under heavy guard, although the protests are smaller than those seen in previous days. The United States has urged Mr Duhalde to work closely with international financial institutions. A state department spokesman said he hoped Mr Duhalde would persevere in developing a sustainable economic plan. The anarchists say the "new model" should be based on anarchist economics, not bureaucracy economics and monetarism.
XXI. From the populist left. Expected devaluation
Unemployment in the country is as mentioned running at 18% and last week Argentina halted payments on its massive public debt, which figures out on Wednesday showed had risen to $141bn. Mr Duhalde - Argentina's fifth leader in two weeks of mutual ochlarchy and chaos - used his acceptance speech to pledge a "new model" to deal with the country's problems. He said he would announce his government's economic plans on Friday. There is growing speculation he might be forced to devalue the national currency, the peso, which is formally pegged at one-to-one to the US dollar. An unnamed adviser to ca 60 year old Mr Duhalde told that the peso could be depreciated by more than 30%, setting a new rate of 1.3 pesos to the dollar. This is probably not enough, the anarchists say. But experts say any devaluation would be extremely unpopular with the country's middle class. Their debts are mainly denominated in dollars and would become more expensive to pay off if the peso fell in value. Mr Duhalde, a senator from the populist left of Argentina's dominant Peronist party, blamed the crisis on a decades-old "model of social exclusion". He said government policies had pushed two million Argentines into poverty, destroyed the middle class and bankrupted industries. Perhaps Mr Duhalde is likely to last longer than his predecessors, having won the support of political colleagues. But the Argentine people - who blame corruption and mismanagement by politicians for the crisis - have made it clear they want action not more promises.
Anarchists mean Mr Duhalde sounds very much like another corrupt demagog, but perhaps not equally "mercantilist" as R. Saa. As mentioned, just to print "fresh" money will not put and end to the chaos economy. Transfer of income etc. as mentioned above must be done, quick, and demand must be hiked generally at least 25%. 02.01.2002 the people shouted: "Duhalde, garbage! You are a part of the dictature! Get out!" Anarchists usually don't use such language, but the demonstrants may very well be right. The unemployment has risen to ca 20% on average, and is about 40% several places. "Junk-jobs" renumerated with "junk-money", lecop" or "argentino", will not solve the problem. The "dirty civil war" 1976-83 where 20 000-30 000 people "disappeard"/were tortured and killed, and inflation hiked to 2340 % per year, must not be forgotten. The junta-killers are still out of jail. The people of Argentina demand efficiency, fairness and social justice. So far Mr Duhalde and his corrupt friends have shown no real signs to take the necessary grips. The people, anarchists, media and authorities world wide, are not very pleased with the situation, to put it mildly. We are all waiting for a broad based council as mentioned above, to take the necessary grips. Mr Duhalde may at best be a symbolic president for a while, similar to the president in the Swiss Confederation.
XXII. The measures of Mr Duhalde are not sufficient according to anarchist economics
04.01.2002: BBC calls the ochlarchy and chaos in Argentina "anarchy", and thus gets the first "Brown Card" from IAT in this case. The anarchists say the expected ca 30% devaluation of the peso is not enough. About 70% is more realistic. Furthermore the prices have hiked 40% at some goods already. A ca 50% price hike means that total demand must increase ca 23 + 50 + 2 % = 75% to do away with most of the unemployment. It is now necessary that the Argentinian organizations and politicians plus the "president" that the people don't want, meet in a "general assembly" and "think BIG" according to anarchist economics as mentioned above, i.e. real transfers of wealth/income and a general demand hike. 04-6.01.2002: Mr Duhalde has done negotiations with the labor federations, etc. to deal with the chaos, but has not put up a broad based assembly that is able to take majority decisions in favor of the people, not the bureaucracy economical and political/administrative in private and public sector. The anarchists recommend such an assembley should be put up and mandated as soon as possible.The congress has also discussed the matter and the military leaders have also been involved.
07.01.2002: Argentina's Congress has approved a plan to grant the president sweeping powers to devalue the peso and tackle the country's deepening economic crisis. The upper house, the Senate, passed the bill after an eight-hour debate following its passage through the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, early on Sunday morning. The crisis in Argentina is so deep that drastic measures are needed to even begin tackling the problem. Both houses are dominated by the Peronist party of the new president, Eduardo Duhalde. Mr Duhalde - who took office on Wednesday - says his new powers will enable him to overhaul the country's exchange, financial and banking systems, and restore the confidence of both Argentines and the wider world. The measures, which he is hoping to start implementing on Monday, appear to include: 1. Devaluing the peso by 30-40% (not enough, say the anarchists). 2. Converting debts of up to $100,000 into pesos at the old rate of one peso to the US dollar, to protect consumers from the full impact of devaluation. (not enough, say the anarchists, and how shall this be financed?) 3. Setting price caps on fuel, medicines, and other utilities to avert hyper-inflation (not enough, and not according to anarchist economics, the anarchists say.) 4. Fixing the exchange rate against the US dollar for strategic transactions, including essential imports (How shall this bureaucratic tie be financed?... the anarchists ask) 5. Renegotiating Argentina's $140bn international debt (Looting the foreigners also? the anarchists ask.) 6. Imposing a 180-day freeze on job layoffs and double compensation for workers made redundant ("Artificial breathing", not according to anarchist economics, the anarchists say). All in all just some bureaucratic left populist "neo-mercantilist" chaos economics, i.e. "to piss in the pants to get warm" at more than 67% authoritarian degree "cold", see several maps at http://www.anarchy.no/a_e_p_m.html , the anarchists say. (see also link above for a "Short note on the general theory of anarchist economics" used to analyse the situation.)
XXIII. Uncertainty ahead and conflicting interests
The devaluation of the peso will bring enormous hardship for many people, but the government believes lower labor costs and improved exports will boost the economy in the long term. "In the long term we are all dead", say the anarchists. There is widespread concern that the devaluation will diminish the value of people's savings, but the government says it will protect investments and limit the price rises of basic items such as petrol and medicine. "Things we'll like to see", say the anarchists. Mr Duhalde has warned business people not to raise prices to make up for earnings lost from the devaluation, amid reports that prices in some shops were already up by as much as 20% - 40%. Banks and big business have protested against some of the new measures. Mr Duhalde has insisted, in keeping with the populist tradition of his Peronist party, that the Argentine people must come first. Perhaps the "menemists" and the anarchists have a bit different interpretation of the concept of "people"? The people are fast losing faith with their politicians - and their financial institutions. The president is facing a race against time to rescue Argentina from the economic turmoil that triggered mass riots and looting in December and brought down President Fernando de la Rua's government. Do measures to hike the demand quick according to anarchist economics, the anarchists say!The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it is ready to work with Argentina to solve the debt-ridden country's problems. But IMF managing director Horst Koehler said Argentina's difficulties were "home-grown" and finding a solution would involve pain. Argentina's president has devalued its currency by 30%-40% in a bid to tackle the country's economic problems, including its inability to repay $141bn of overseas debt. Anarchists say this is not enough. Argentina's crisis was triggered when demonstrators rejected austerity measures put forward by the previous non-Peronist government after the IMF refused a fresh loan of $1.3bn last month. Anarchists say the austerity measures were reactionary and would probably have choked economic growth, determined by the anarchist economical laws of employment and full employment.
XXIV. Worried savers and 'home-made crisis'
President Eduardo Duhalde, who is the country's fifth president in two weeks, met on Monday with leaders of the workers' federations and the popular protests that turned into riots and brought down the previous administration shortly before Christmas. The streets are quiet again, though Argentines were queuing up at banks before the weekend to withdraw their savings. The government has imposed a two-day bank holiday from Monday. More protests may happen. Following the devaluation on Sunday, the IMF chief and other international financial leaders have expressed support for Argentina's new course but stressed the country must solve its own problems. "What Argentina needs now is growth and growth requires savings, investment, and a working banking system", said the IMF's Mr Koehler, who was in the Swiss city of Basle for a meeting of the Bank for International Settlements. "But one also must recognise that without pain, it won't get out of this crisis, and the crisis -- at its root -- is home-made," Mr Koehler told Reuters news agency. An IMF technical mission was due in Buenos Aires on Monday. Anarchists say a large hike in total demand is necessary to do away with the unemployment. Total demand is summa investment, consumption and exportsurplus. Growth is determined by the anarchist law of employment, i.e. employment = total demand/(productivity x pricelevel), i.e. production volume = total demand/pricelevel = productivty x employment.
XXV. 'No quick fix', but new business taxes? Inflation fears, unemployment hike?
The Bank of England's govenor, Sir Eddie George, who was chairing the Basle meeting, said "it is not going to be a quick fix" for Argentina. He said the "good news" is that Argentina's economic problems do not appear to have spread to the rest of South America. The current chair of the European Union's finance ministers was similarly non-committal, saying Argentina was "on the right path" but needs to find "maximum consensus with national and international investors." Rodrigo Rato of Spain said he was sure European finance ministers would have "a positive role to play...in the light of Argentina's problem at the moment." Spain is the European country whose firms have most exposure to Argentina. Spanish firms - such as oil company Repsol - could bear the brunt of the Argentine government's attempts to pass the costs of devaluation onto banks and private firms while cushioning consumers. Argentina's economy minister plans to tax petrol exports to cover the $15bn cost to banks of converting the dollar denominated debts of ordinary Argentines into pesos. Economy minister Jorge Remes Lenicov is expected to meet with foreign investors on Monday.
Anarchists say looting of the foreigners will reduce foreign investment in Argentina. The "fix" of the necessary demand hike combined with a moderate development in pricelevel and productivity must be done quick!To protect consumers and stave off further unrest, the economy minister is now grappling with the threat of inflation and has urged local firms not to hike prices in the wake of the devaluation. "We spoke with supermarkets yesterday and they promised to only mark up imported goods," he said. Although the protests have calmed down, one fear for the government now is that many middle class Argentines will start to quit he country. Some financial analysts warned the devaluation could make the country's economic problems worse. "We have to be very cautious: considering the long recession and people's lack of cash, we could be provoking more recession and inflation, the opposite of what the plan aims to achieve," said stock broker Alfredo Ferrarini. One risk is that international investors will quit the country. French auto parts firm Valeo said on Monday it will close its Argentine plant at Carmen de Areco and switch production to Brazil to improve its competitiveness in South America. The plant employs 90 people. Anarchists say price hike, without demand hike, will reduce employment, according to the anarchist economic law of employment. A mob protests against Duhalde's policy, and say they are "tired of being treated like dirt". 08.01.2002: More protests by the people. The scavengers have dumped garbage in front of governmental buildings to demonstrate what they mean about it.
XXVI. The F.L.A. reminds
about the fight for a less authoritarian society in Argentina is
not new:
Memoria
y presente de la lucha social. By two
militants of FLA
(Federación Libertaria Argentina)
La memoria es
una de las herramientas más nobles y eficaces de la resistencia
. La persistencia en la memoria popular de las luchas por la
dignidad humana, es el desafío contra el ocultamiento que
ejercen los poderosos, es la confrontación entre la resistencia
cultural de los de abajo y el afán de impunidad de los que a lo
largo del tiempo con arteras maniobras, pretenden borrar las
huellas de la rebeldía. El viernes 4 de enero desde las 21 hs.
en el local la Federación Libertaria Argentina se desarrolló un
acto por la memoria y contra la impunidad, el recordatorio de la
Semana Trágica de 1919. Un panel en el que Roberto Guilera de la
FLA, Carlos A. Solero de la Biblioteca y Archivo Alberto Ghiraldo
de Rosario (Adherida a la FLA), Raquel Dissenfeld del Colectivo
Mujeres Libres, Cecilia Moretti de la Biblioteca Popular José
Ingenieros y Juan Carlos Espinoza (Independiente), expusieron su
visión de los acontecimientos de enero de 1919 y de cómo se
entrelazan con las protestas callejeras del pueblo de Argentina
en estos días.
R. Guilera dió comienzo a la actividad, que contó con una
importante concurrencia, explicando que desde hace cuatro años
junto a los vecinos de los Barrios de Nueva Pompeya, Parque
Patricios y San Cristóbal se realizan muestras de artistas plásticos,
exposiciones y debates para recordar la gesta proletaria del
’19. C. Solero, orador en nombre de la FLA, reseñó los
antecedentes y los hechos que desembocaron en la huelga de los
obreros de la fábrica Vasena y la solidaridad de los sindicatos
de la FORA (Federación Obrera Regional Argentina), el
protagonismo de los anarquistas y la represión policial, militar
y para policial del gobierno de Yrigoyen a través del Gral.
Dellepiane y la liga patriótica, que realizó el primer pogrom
en el Barrio de Once.
Raquel Dissenfeld, del Colectivo Mujeres Libres, leyó dos
testimonios de mujeres que protagonizaron la lucha popular del
’19: Salvadora Medina Onrubia de Botana y Juana Rouco Buela;
y realizó el análisis de esas jornadas y las recientes
manifestaciones populares como los cacerolazos y movilizaciones
callejeras. Cecilia Moretti explicitó los objetivos de Mujeres
Libres y su accionar por la construcción de una sociedad sin
racismo ni exclusiones, donde la solidaridad social reemplace al
egoísmo y la autogestión al poder patriarcal y autoritario.
Juan Carlos Espinoza expuso sus reflexiones sobre el
acontecimiento y leyó su poema Romance de los obreros de
Vasena. El debate entre el público asistente y los oradores
se prolongó hasta la medianoche. Las jornadas recordatorias de
la semana de enero de 1919 continuarán el próximo sábado 12 de
enero cuando, desde las 19 hs., partan las columnas de militantes
anarquistas junto a vecinos, organizaciones sociales, culturales
y políticas, desde la esquina de Pepirí y Amancio Alcorta hasta
la Plaza Martín Fierro, donde estaba la empresa Vasena. Han
transcurrido más de ocho décadas desde la trágica semana de
enero, pero como dijo alguna vez Van Gogh: el molino ya no está,
pero el viento sopla todavía. Quedan aun muchas luchas que
librar para que la libertad y la justicia tengan vigencia en esta
latitud.
XXVII. New mass protests. New devaluated peso
Mass protests have erupted in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires hours before currency markets reopen and the peso's devaluation becomes a reality. Demonstrators overturned cars, lit fires in the street and threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets to force about 1,000 people back from the presidential palace. Tens of thousands of demonstrators converged on the central square, in the first major protest since Eduardo Duhalde became president on 2 January. President Duhalde faces his first big protest. The peso is expected to plunge when trading resumes at 1000 (1300 GMT) on Friday following a three-week freeze imposed to prevent volatile trading. The government has put an end to 10 years of enforced parity with the US dollar in a bid to save the collapsing economy. The protests began in neighbourhoods across Buenos Aires when people came onto their balconies bashing pots and pans and saucepan lids - anything that would add to the ear-splitting noise. Then, in what appeared to be a spontaneous move, the demonstrators marched to the Plaza de Mayo, the main square in front of Government House. Old-age pensioners, families and people in wheelchairs were among their ranks as calls were made for the resignation of the government and supreme court judges. Thursday night's protests seem to have been provoked in part by the government's announcement of its short-term plan to protect banks from mass withdrawals by panicking depositors.
Banks must switch current accounts above $10,000 and savings accounts above $3,000 into fixed-term deposits. Dollar deposits will only be returned to savers from Jan 2003. Smaller accounts will be able to convert dollars into pesos at the official exchange rate of 1.4 pesos to $1. Smaller accounts can be accessed, but will be subject to withdrawal limits Bank loans and mortgages of less than $100,000 will be converted into pesos. Banks must re-negotiate a cut in interest rates on all foreign currency loansTrading in the devalued peso had been due to restart on Thursday but the central bank said the government had been too slow in implementing the last details of its economic plan. A dual exchange system is being introduced whereby the peso will have a fixed exchange rate for government and international operations, and a value set by the markets for all other transactions. Currency operations were suspended and banking restrictions introduced after the former president, Fernando de la Rua, resigned at the height of the protests over austerity measures aimed at ending the economic crisis. Under the new currency system, the peso - which was previously pegged at one-to-one to the dollar - will be devalued by ca 30% for a beginning. The devalued peso will stand at 1.4 to the dollar for international transactions, but Argentines will be forced to purchase dollars at a freely floating exchange rate. Some analysts believe the system is flawed, and investors had become increasingly nervous while the currency market remained closed. The anarchists remind of their former advice. Nothing sufficient is changed.
XXVIII. Reducing foreign trade deficit - more ochlarchy
Devaluation is expected to ease pressure on Argentina's exporters by making their products more competitive on the international markets. Importers, however, will be hurt by the ca 30%devaluation of the currency - although the controlled exchange rate is designed to prevent the price of imported goods from rising in an inflationary spiral. The government will allow people to convert any dollar loans or mortgages under $100,000 into pesos to protect them from the devaluation. But for ordinary Argentinians, the near future looks bleak. "If the government doesn't solve this situation soon, there will be violence," said an unofficial spokeswoman for the people in Buenos Aires. Violence will not do anything good, especially as long as the armed forces and the police support Duhalde; the anarchists say. Ochlarchical violence will probably just start a second "dirty war".
11.01.2002: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Argentina will have to introduce a "coherent" economic recovery plan before it offers the country any more assistance. The comments came on the day trading in the Argentine peso restarted after a three week break. The rate for international money transfers has been fixed at 1.40 pesos to the US dollar. But trading in the free floating rate saw the peso weaken immediately, and by the close of trade it took 1.70 pesos to buy one dollar. Speaking to reporters, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said the new dual exchange rate system was "unsustainable" in the medium term, and that the IMF would prefer a fully floating currency. But she said that if the government were to introduce the right polices, the Fund may be able to offer more help. The IMF is to travel to Buenos Aires on Monday for talks. The Argentine government halted foreign exchange trading just before Christmas, to give itself more time to work out an economic reform plan. But only hours before trading restarted, riots had erupted again on the streets of the capital Buenos Aires. Demonstrating ochlarchists overturned cars, lit fires in the streets and threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The anarchists say such utopian radicalist marxist ochlarchy probably will not affect the rulers significant in a progressive way, and if it escalates it will only provoke an even more authoritarian regime. The middle class calls demonstrations via Internet and e-mail. The people of Argentina must look to foreign media to follow the news about demonstrations. Argentine media, say Cronica, don't report from the demonstrations anymore, because of pressure from the government and Duhalde. The peso is expected to fall to ca 2,50 per US $ in April, a very uncertain estimate. The choking of the total demand by restrictions on bank accounts and remuneration, is reducing the gross national product and employment, according to the anarchist economical law of employment. Although the devaluation has increased the demand for export, and redused import a bit, so trade deficit is reduced, the choking of demand all in all must soon be finished. As mentioned, a transfer of wealth from the plutarchy to the people on a large scale is probably necessary to increase demand sufficiently to do away with the increasing unemployment. Bureaucratic repression of peoples ordinary demand, is creating more unemployment, not less. Furthermore, there are too little real investments, because of pessimism among potential investors. And the bureaucratical ties of the peso, about 1,4 US $ for special foreign trade, must of course be stopped.
XXIX. Trade unions, policy and actions, i.e. general strikes etc.
In addition to the anarchosyndicalist F.O.R.A, there are three main trade union confederations in Argentina. The official trade union is the Peronist-dominated CGT, which has allied itself with every government since the dictatorship - and even had arrangements with the dictatorship. Theres the CGT-Moyano, i.e. a dissident CGT led by Hugo Moyano, which has been critical of the official CGT for being so closely tied to the government. But in turn, this federation is run by another set of bureaucrats who utilize their opposition to the status quo to pressure the government to make concessions to their followers while maintaining a distance from any structural challenges. The Moyano trade union bureaucracy has been more eager to engage in general strikes and to mobilize around specific issues. They use a great deal of populist rhetoric, but later negotiate on more narrow sectoral issues, constantly negotiating behind the backs of the workers. Thats why they are distrusted by many sectors of the working class as being essentially an opportunistic opposition that is capable of putting people in the streets, but is also quite capable of bringing them out of the streets.
The fourth major union is the CTA, which emerged as a rejection of the CGT and has many of the public-sector workers, who haven't had any relief with the shutting down and cutting off of services and the firings of hundreds of thousands. The CTA has been the most active and radical of the trade unions, led by the ATE, the public employees union. They have been involved with the "piqueteros" and other unemployed. The unemployed workers movement has been gaining strength for the last five years. But in the last year, its spread throughout the country and has played a role in securing subsistence programs from the government and public works for at least a sector of the unemployed. Its tactics are to paralyze the circulation of commodities and transportation. So the piqueteros, as theyre called, meaning "the picketers," block off major highways in order to make their demands. The ranks of the unemployed movement include a preponderance of women, especially woman heads of households, which has grown with the unemployment. In some areas, unemployment is probably 50 to 60 percent. So many of the piqueteros are factory workers with trade union experience. Many are young people whove never had a job. They organize and block the highways. Traffic piles up, trucks cant move, factories cant get supplies. These are the functional equivalents of factory workers downing their tools. In this case, instead of directly stopping production, they stop the inputs and outputs from production. Then the government can send the police down, in which case theres a whole confrontation.
People have been killed, five or six recently in the north of Argentina. The CTA has raised some important issues. However, they have not at any point called into question the statist and plutarchist system. Moreover, they have a tendency to engage in militant actions and then step back and negotiate. They have been conscious of their position as state employees - and therefore very much engaged in negotiating with the state and paying lip service to the rest of the working class. Most of the middle class are people who have lost all their savings. They dont have money to pay their grocery bills, or their rents, or go on vacations, or what have you. You have the great mass of unemployed who were involved in some kind of informal economy and employed workers who have not been paid because the accounts of their employers are frozen. And you have a great mass of public employees and shopkeepers and others forming a very broad front against the bankers.But the small leftist parties - all the Trotskyist and Marxist parties - spent most of their resources recently in electing officials to an impotent parliament. And nowhere have these parties - or the center-left, of course - exercised any kind of leadership. They have mostly been out of sight. They issue manifestos; they sell their newspapers. They have organized smaller actions, but in none of the large mass confrontations - that are reaching proportions of hundreds of thousands in different cities - has there been any significant marxist "vanguard". More than any recent events, were dealing with a country that has a long tradition of trade union, collective action.
General strikes are more common in Argentina than in any country in the world. This time, there are many, many more activists and militants than there were at the height of the mobilizations in the 1960s and 1970s. You can't just speak of a general strike in Argentina. There are general strikes, and there are general strikes. And everybody knows that in Argentina. You can talk to a cab driver, who, when you ask, "What do you think of this general strike?" will tell you that the bureaucrats are using it to blow off steam. They are one-day affairs with no active mobilizations or factory occupations. The employers know it, and the government knows it - that if they sit on their hands for one day, everything goes back to normal. So they have little consequences. There is little mobilization and little in the way of activating the workers and educate them in autogestion, etc.. They are decided from above, and theyre shut off from above. All in all, the people in general, i.e. not the bureacracy broadly defined, have not yet got the necessary ideas, organization, strategy and tactics, to reduce the bureaucracy significantly and introduce a less authoritarian economical political system, according to anarchist economics. Also the largest trade unions, etc. have a neo-mercantilist, marxistoid and populist tendency. Except for the necessary devaluation, there have been no signs of a policy that may hike demand sufficiently to do away with the unemployment, in a relatively fair and efficient way, except from non-ochlarchical actions done by the anarchists broadly defined. And they are relatively few. So far it seems to be no quick solution to the political economical problems in Argentina, i.e. in the short run. The chaos, mercantilist policy and economics will probably still go on for a while, with more or less blind popular protests, equally impotent as the government broadly defined, in doing away with Argentina's large problems, say anarchists.
XXX. Duhalde calls the
chaos "anarchy", calls for an "arch", i.e.
strong rule, and gets a Brown Card.
Middle class and unemployed demonstrate. Anarchists put up an
economical recovery plan.
15-16.01. 2002: BBC reports about Duhalde calling the populists' selfmade economical chaos "anarchy", indirectly calling for an "arch", i.e. strong rule and dictatorship, and he gets a Brown Card from the IAT, together with BBC, which joins in this false song. BBC says Argentina is on "the brink of anarchy". The fact is that it has never been more far from anarchy since the "dirty war". The media should stop making such disinformation. Call it what it is, i.e. an authoritarian populist chaos and ochlarchy, etc. Duhaldes' ochlarchists, both secret police and hooligans, as well as the leftists' ochlarchists are out in the streets, looting and making chaos and destruction. Pensionists and middle class people are demonstrating to get their money out of the banks. Criminal mobs are using the demonstrations as a cover for looting. Poor people looting shops are fighting with the low paid service-workers, etc.
People are putting up primitive direct exchange markets, without means of payment or money. This of course is not sufficient to hike the necessary demand to do way with the unemployment. The anarchists stick to the advice mentioned in the chapters above in this article. NRK, finally in Argentina, reports about the situation, quite similar to IJ@, also mentioning labor federations with anarchist banners are marching in the streets. 17-19.01.2002 The peso is so far devaluated about 50%, and expected to fall more, may be more than 70% as the anarchists have suggested. New chief of the Argentinian federal reserve, Mario Blejer, earlier working for the IMF, is appointed. Duhalde says he is sitting on "a ticking bomb". The hard pressed banks put the blame on the government for the bureaucratic measures that is choking the demand. The International Monetary Fund throws Argentina a lifeline by postponing $933m in loan repayments for one year. The budget of the public sector, very much used to pay public servants and bureaucrats that do very little useful, is expected to be cut 15%, and still not be balanced. However a balanced public budget, as IMF says is needed, is far from smart in this case. But it is necessary for the public sector to reallocate the workers to productive front line purposes, according to anarchist cost benefit analysis, based on efficiency and fairness, what is in the benefit of the people, not the bureaucracy broadly defined, i.e. the top above the grassroots, economical and/or political/administrative in private and public sector.
Some of the public bureaucracy and other public sector "dead meat", may also be sacked and reallocated to private sector, and money transfers to the poor and unemployd increased a bit. As mentioned, some expropriations, not nationalisation, but local for municipal and co-operative purposes, perhaps based on autogestion as far as the people are trained for such management, may be useful, but a significant increase in property taxes may also work, to redistribute wealth and income, to increase public and private demand, without too much inflation. A local and national income-political co-operation, "a new fair deal", increasing the lower wages, may help in the same direction. More bureaucratical ties on employment, as suggested by Duhalde, must be avoided. When the peso is down at a realistic level, the demand will be directed mainly towards domestic goods and services, and the anarchist law of employment may be set to work, i.e. say 25-30% increase in total demand, minus 3-8% inflation and 2% productivity hike, will increase employment ca 20%, without severe problems with the foreign trade deficit. A balanced economy in this non-bureaucratic way, will also be interesting for foreign investors, and boost real investments, so the old and little productive manufacturing industries of Argentina may be renewed or replaced by something else. A semipublic low interest rate investment bank, to boost investment in housing, industries producing goods, and infrastructure, may also be useful. Money used on little productive service industries must be avoided.
Argentina must do away with the bureaucratic neo-mercantilist policy! In politics and economics, labor federations included, everybody above all must think economic circulation at a reasonable level, and work to do away with every bureaucratic tie that strangle the circulation; according to the anarchist economic laws of efficiency and fairness, employment and full employment, and the price laws, to avoid too much inflation, seen all in all. This is the advice from the anarchists so far. The people are still marching in the streets! BBC 20.01.2002 reports once more that Duhalde says Argentina "is on the brink of anarchy". The demonstrations, especially against the banks, should not get out of hand, the anarchists say. Another "dirty war" is not in the interest of the people. The changes should be done according to anarchist economics and the anarchists advice. The protests should continue, but not be ochlarchical. The AI-Embassy demands: "Stop the ochlarchy! Protest with reason! 21-25.01.2002 Duhalde declares bank savings will be converted to peso at the official rate 1,4 peso per US $, and large demonstrations occured. Protesters call it looting of their future. IMF calls for severe cut in public expenditures as a condition for new loans. Such monetarist symbolic and semi-mercantilist politics will not solve Argentinas problems, the anarchists say, repeating their advice about hard and real economic means and actions, mentioned above. The IMF is expected to send a delegation of economic experts to Buenos Aires in late January, tasked with hammering out a recovery plan in cooperation with Argentine officials. The anarchists say the IMF "experts" are full of outdated monetarist and neoclassical liberalistic, that will do the people of Argentina no good. They will mainly only serve the rich plutarchy and bureaucracy. The floating-rate peso was flat on Friday 25.01, selling at 1.78 per dollar, buoyed by another bout of intervention by the Central Bank, which stepped in for the ninth straight session and said it would continue to do so if need be.
The Argentine government, mindful of recent bloody rioting, began a major security operation on Friday to contain a planned mass demonstration by protesters fed up with financial crisis. Loosely affiliated middle-class and leftist groups coordinating over the Internet have vowed a peaceful protest of banking curbs in the capital on Friday night. Groups of unemployed people blocked a main bridge into the capital, while small groups of banner-carrying jobless protested peacefully outside several supermarkets in the suburbs, demanding food handouts. Scattered protests from the northern province of Jujuy to Cordoba province northwest of Buenos Aires were also peaceful. 26.01.2002: Police in Buenos Aires have fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse Argentines who had taken to the streets in protest at banking restrictions imposed to try and salvage the country's crippled economy. There were protests outside the presidency. The demonstration, which was echoed in major cities across the country, was the biggest since new President Eduardo Duhalde came to office three weeks ago, adding to pressure on his government to find a way out of the crisis. Protests began peacefully, with people ranging from middle class professionals to the unemployed banging pots and pans and jangling their keys in an almost carnival-like demonstration. But as the march petered out around midnight in pouring rain, police fired on the 1,000 or so who remained in the Plaza de Mayo, fighting running battles with the protesters. At least 10 police officers and three people in the crowd were reported to be injured. At least a dozen people were arrested, witnessed said.
Although the march ended badly, it was nowhere near as vitriolic as previous demonstrations, which had erupted into violence and anger at political leaders. Friday's demonstration was mainly organized to demand an end to the freeze on savings accounts which has been imposed to prevent a run on the banks. It has left millions of Argentines short of money. Protesters also wanted members of the Supreme Court - who approved the restrictions - to resign. But the government says it has no choice but to continue with the measures. Some demonstrators blockaded supermarkets, calling for food. The protest was a sign of the unpopularity of the bureaucratic, mercantilistic, monetary policy adopted by President Duhalde. Moreover, he has reneged on a promise that savings made in dollars can be recouped in dollars, saying there are simply not enough dollars in the banking system. The president is torn between demands from a public that wants access to its savings, and fears that relaxing the rules would trigger a run on the banks that could cripple the country's financial system. The anarchists stic to their advice about the demand management mentioned above. 28-29.01.2002: Argentina sought on Monday to secure vital U.S. financial support while thousands of jobless protesters marched against a government caught between the demands of the IMF and its recession-weary people. With the sound of beating drums in the background, several thousand unemployed Argentines gathered by the presidential palace and blocked highways to demand jobs in the latest protest against President Eduardo Duhalde as he battles to jump start the economy after a traumatic currency devaluation.
IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler on Monday again urged Argentine authorities to develop a comprehensive and coherent economic strategy that the lender can back with new loans. The anarchists say this should be socialist anarchist economics, but the IMF thinks about more hard plutarchy. Duhalde "will have to choose between the policies of ... President Bush and the Argentine people," said a leader of the "Argentine Workers Association", a radical leftist unemployed group that organized Monday's march. The leftists have however not put up a real alternative to the neo-mercantilist policy of the left populists, talking of nationalisation, etc. With demonstrators again taking to the streets of the capital Buenos Aires on Monday night, the deputy economy minister, Jorge Todesca, admitted that the economy could shrink by as much as 5% in 2002. Argentina's government has begun crucial financial talks in Washington, as forecasts show the economy is set to contract sharply this year despite the devaluation of the peso. Foreign Minister Carlos Ruckauf met White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, explaining the country's grim situation and the new government's hopes for financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
30.01.2002. SUMMARY OF THE ANARCHIST ECONOMICAL PLAN SO FAR: The anarchists say this shrink indicates a large fall in total demand, while they have adviced about a necessary increase about 25%, with an inflation at 3% and ca 30% at 8% inflation, to do away with most of the unemployment. Furthermore of this demand hike a large part should go to investments, both domestic real investment to create new jobs, and financial, i.e. through an exportsurplus, to stop an increase or reduce, the foreign debt. Total demand, i.e. the general budget, is real investment plus consumption and exportsurplus. The mentioned hike in total demand of 25-30% could be devided with ca 1/3 on each post on the general budget, and most of the consumption hike should go to the poor, i.e. the new employment should not be with slavecontracts, but free contracts. The Peso must also be devaluated more, ca 70% vis-à-vis US $, as mentioned. Horst Koehler, managing director of the IMF, urged Argentine authorities to develop a comprehensive and coherent economic strategy. The anarchist plan is just such an economical strategy, and they have also indicated ways to implement it, i.e. through expropriation, property tax, redistribution of income, semipublic investment banks, and free contracts, autogestion, etc. IMF, Duhalde, and most of the Argentinian labor unions have not come up with anything serious compared to the anarchists. More details of the plan and the basical anarchist economical laws, are mentioned above in the different chapters, with links to other web-pages, in relevant context.
XXXI. The anarchists are giving more advice according to the plan. More protests. G7 meeting. Inflation hike?
31.01 - 01.02.2002. Thousands of angry Argentines lined up at banks on Thursday to protect their savings by buying dollars, frightened that government efforts to end a brutal recession and financial chaos could soon throw the peso currency into a tailspin. Argentina's December trade surplus totaled $1.013 billion compared with a $323 million surplus in the same month last year, the national statistics office said on Thursday. Exports in December totaled $1.944 billion, down 19 percent from a year earlier. Imports fell about 55 percent, to $931 million from a year earlier. Argentina posted a $6.343 billion trade surplus for all of 2001 versus a $1.166 billion surplus in 2000. Imports fell 20 percent over the course of 2001 compared to the year before while exports edged up less than one percent. According to the anarchist economical plan a major export boost together with a minor import hike (mainly investment goods) is necessary. As authorities battled to ensure monetary stability, investors said the watered-down bankruptcy bill passed by Congress Wednesday could make many debts uncollectable - a further blow for the government trying to shed a left populist image to secure vital aid from the International Monetary Fund and stop angry protests from the poor and the economical middle class .The IMF, meeting with the government, said "discussions are going well". The multilateral lending agency insists on drastic spending cuts and a floating currency as a condition for vital aid needed to avoid a financial meltdown in Latin America's third-largest economy after the peso was devalued this month.
A floating currency is a part of the anarchist economical plan, but cut in public sector spending will not do anything but shrink the economy more. The public spending should be increased and directed away from bureaucracy costs and "dead meat" towards investments, and public health and other valuable grassroots services for the people, and transfers to the poor. The spending should be financed by property and other taxes and transfers from the rich plutarchy in public and private sector, and not mainly by printing fresh pesos. During a muggy summer day in the capital, lines snaked up to three blocks long as sweating Argentines took out what peso savings they could, i.e limited, from one bank and then walked across the street to change them to dollars, a safehaven currency in Latin America. The Central Bank said it would intervene again to prop up the currency, but the peso still has fallen to more than two pesos per dollar (> 50% devaluation). More than 70% devalutation is recommended, the anarchists say.Duhalde is due to announce this weekend more reforms that could spread the burden of devaluation by further transforming a heavily dollarized economy into devalued pesos. This will probably only be more neomercantilist populist policy, and no real solution. To do away with the bureaucratical dual currency system - an official 1.40 rate for exporters and bank transactions and a floating rate for cash deals is of course a right step, but not at all sufficient to hike demand enough to do away with the unemployment, anarchists say. On Thursday, IMF spokesman Tom Dawson said the lender was not "looking for rash action" as Argentina considers floating the currency. IMF aid would also help the government loosen the hated banking freeze which has become a lightning rod for criticism of the government and politicians of any hue. Savers, especially white collar workers whose frozen dollar life savings are at risk, protest daily against the government. Mobs of well-dressed women and men in suits have accosted legislators in streets and in posh shopping malls.
Financial tricks and marching in streets will really make no solution say the anarchists - only a real non-bureaucratic demand management with free contracts, not slavecontracts, will do. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on Friday said that last year when he was examining Argentina's economic problems, he discovered that the nation had signed away its right to restructure its debts. "We should learn from that experience and seek to convince (borrowing) countries not to give away important flexibility for a few basis points of advantage when they issue debt," O'Neill said. Argentine plutarchy market authorities may declare a bank and foreign exchange holiday for part or all of next week after a Supreme Court ruling against banking restrictions, a Central Bank source said on Friday, thus sabotaging the supreme court's decisions . The country's top court ruled that restrictions on cash withdrawals and a freeze on savings are unconstitutional and that banks, which have been saved from a huge run on deposits by the strict measures, must return cash on demand. The restrictions were first imposed in early December and, as mentioned above, contributed to rioting that ousted elected government. The local foreign exchange market and banks have been closed for some or all activity for weeks at a time.
Argentina's new government was poised on Sunday 03.02.2002 to unveil an economic crisis strategy that it said would include partially lifting a freeze on bank accounts that has triggered public outrage and bloody riots. The government intended to lift the unpopular cash withdrawal limits on Argentines' salary accounts, implemented to stop a run on the banks by nervous savers. The strategy is tipped to include tax breaks to help jump-start Latin America's No. 3 economy after a four-year recession. The plan is also expected to contain details of a 2002 budget that must include deep spending cuts to appease international lenders like the International Monetary Fund. The plan will seek to counter the effects of a Supreme Court ruling on Friday that overturned the government's savings freeze and left the banks and the currency facing possible collapse. It will also aim to head off a holiday in the foreign exchange market that authorities are planning for Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the court ruling, which analysts fear could trigger a wave of bankruptcies among the banks. The savings freeze has choked consumer spending and left many retailers facing bankruptcy. "I don't care what rate they give me, I just want my money back," one elderly woman told a local radio show that aired people's grievances. Government curbs currently limit Argentines to monthly withdrawals of no more than 1,500 pesos a month, or less than $750 at the market rate.
Friday's Supreme Court ruling plunged the economy into fresh uncertainty just as Argentina's crisis appeared to be bottoming out, with raised hopes of fresh international aid. Duhalde has described the decision that the bank curbs are unconstitutional as tantamount to blackmail by the Supreme Court's judges, who have faced mounting pressure to quit amid allegations of corruption and cronyism. IMF Chief Horst Koehler said on Saturday the ruling complicated "tremendously" an intended gradual release of bank deposits. Economists said it could send Argentines rushing to withdraw their deposits. That, in turn, could destroy many banks, already on their knees after a debt default and peso devaluation, and possibly spark another massive depreciation of the peso. The country's leading daily newspaper La Nacion on Sunday urged Argentines not to lose hope as their economy teeters on the verge of total collapse. "Nothing is more urgent in Argentina today than the need to rebuild hope," the paper said in a front-page editorial.
The anarchists say 1. New hope is not enough to increase demand according to the plan, but may influence real investments a bit. 2. The tax cuts may increase consumption a bit, together with the released savings, but also contribute to inflation. 3. If the banks turn over, expropriate some of them to low price and make semipublic investment banks. 4. We stick to the rest of our plan - approximately it's the only good road ahead! President Eduardo Duhalde changed his mind and moved on Monday (04.02.2002) to ban the Supreme Court from meddling in his freshly announced economic plans while his government defended an embattled local currency by effectively stopping banks from using U.S. dollars. As a major constitutional crisis loomed, the government forbade Argentines from going to court to take advantage of the supreme court judges' ruling on Friday that overturned a reviled freeze on bank savings implemented two months ago to stop a disastrous run on banks.
The government-controlled Congress sped up action to fire Supreme Court members, whose shock ruling Duhalde said was tantamount to "blackmail" from judges who are being probed for alleged corruption and cronyism. Duhalde's government ordered banks to convert their dollars into devalued pesos in the latest move to force Argentines to squash dollar usage. Most deposits and loans were held in dollars after a decade of having the peso linked one-to-one to the greenback. "These financial tricks by Duhalde will probably do the real economy and total demand no good", the anarchists say: "Get the peso floating down to the real value at once, and open the banks!05-06.02.2002: As indicated, on Sunday, the Argentine government said it would fully float the devalued peso and partly lift a freeze on savings that sparked public outrage and bloody riots. The measures were scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday, but the Argentine Central Bank said late on Tuesday, after Chilean markets closed, that they would likely be implemented as of next Monday. The bank said it would extend a two-day foreign exchange holiday through to Wednesday but would permit partial bank operations that day. The stocks of enterprises exposed to Argentina fell due to nervousness of investors, in Chile.
What did we say! ... said the anarchists... How did Argentina lose its way after being a former economic power? In the 1930s Argentina was, thanks largely to beef exports, a global power, boasting income per capita similar to that of France. But from the 1940s the country tumbled from the international stage, weakened first by isolationism and a mercantilist policy, then military rule and internal conflict, and even more mercantilistic bureaucracy economics. In 1991, during Domingo Cavallo's first spell as economy minister, the government decided to peg the peso to the US dollar to restore confidence and combat hyperinflation. At the time, the strategy worked for a while, but in time Argentina suffered the disadvantages of such a bureaucratic fixed peg. By linking the peso to the dollar, Argentines adopted a currency whose exchange rate bore little relation to their own economic conditions, i.e. mainly the development in labor productivity, total demand, employment and unemployment. Furthermore, the production was twisted towards low productive services, both in private and piblic sector. The peg was a boon in times of hyperinflation. With the crisis-stricken government printing cash wholesale, instead of taxation of the rich, inflation soared to 200% a month by the end of the 1980s. Shoppers would pay more for goods in the afternoon than they had in the morning. How did the country "escape" that particular crisis? Carlos Menem, on gaining presidency in 1989, liberalised trade, privatised many state businesses and cut red tape in a bid to foster industrial growth. The payment for selling out public possessions, contributed to finance public spending, bit of course this cannot go on for long. The programme initially failed, undermined by concerns over levels of state deficits. But the decision in 1991 to peg the peso to the US dollar boosted confidence and optimism - investors deemed dealing in greenbacks a safer bet. The move also fostered financial stability - prices denominated in dollars could hardly be adjusted so quickly. With world economic conditions fair, and seeds of recovery sown, Argentina became locked in a virtuous circle of foreign investment fostering growth which attracted further cash. This was however a bubble economy, that couldn't last.
From 1991-94, Argentina's economic output expanded by an average of 7.7% a year, however not in an economically sound way. When stability returned to Argentina, the inability of its currency to respond proved more of a burden than a benefit. Argentina had, in effect, 1. ceded control over monetary policy (consider the benefit of cutting of interest rates in the US and UK, which together with optimism vis-à-vis the future, may boost real investment in private sector). 2. This invited to borrowing in US $ to pay for import instead of domestic production, which over time, together with slave contracts and powerty among a large part of the labor force, relatively reduced total demand for products made in Argentina, and increased the foreign trade deficit as well as "dead meat" among frontline workers and bureaucracy costs. Thus "Buenos Aires was left dancing disco when the tango would have been wholly more appropriate." How did the 1997-99 currency crisis affect Argentina? While Argentina was able to sidestep the fallout from the Mexican currency collapse of 1995, the so-called Asian currency crisis, which began two years later, provided a more troublesome beat. When the Brazilian real plummeted in 1999, the peso was unable to follow suit, leaving Argentine exports vastly more expensive than those of its neighbour. A decline in world prices for farm products, and the global economic slowdown of recent months, only worsened Argentina's problems. Lower export takings have limited the country's ability to earn the foreign currency needed to repay dollar-denominated debts. Decling industrial activity has denied the government the cash to balance budgets, while levels of unemployment and "underemployment" top 30%.
How will devaluation help? Argentina has now de facto devalued its currency by at least 50% and ended the fixed link with the dollar, despite of some governmental tricks to give the peso artificial breath. This will boost exports and reduce imports and help restore Argentina's foreign currency earnings which may ultimately be needed to pay off its huge foreign debts. That is because exports will become cheaper in comparison to the Argentinean peso, and foreign goods, imports, become more expensive. But it will hurt businesses which have invested in Argentina by making their investments in the country less valuable, and probably their profits smaller. And it will be bad news for those people in Argentina who have borrowed money in dollars and are paid in pesos - for example, some small businesses and many with mortgages. They would then have to pay back their debts in a currency that was worth less than before, so the real value of their debts will increase. But that could be expensive for the government. And devaluing the peso could boost inflation, as imported goods will become much more expensive, i.e. unless imports are cut to a minimum, while demand for domestic production is increased. To avoid all these problems, an economical policy approximately implementing the above given anarchist economical plan, is necessary. "Think real economics, i.e. anarchist economics, not money illusions policy.." the anarchists say. In the explanation above we have, among other relations, used the anarchist economical law of employment, written in the following ways:
(consumption + netrealinvestment + exportsurplus) = (nominal netproduct) = pricelevel x (average labor netproductivity) x employment <=>(consumption + netrealinvestment + exportsurplus)/(pricelevel x (average labor netproductivity)) = employment
When the exportsurplus is negative, i.e. an importsurplus, it contributes to negative netfinance investment, and foreign debt, here in US $. This must regularly be paid back with interest by a larger exportsurplus later on. With a relatively low or falling production, due to underemployment and unemployment because of disoptimal demand policy, consumption may go on at a relatively high level by looting the future, by cutting netrealinvestment, which usually also contributes to lower than optimal productivity in the future, and/or looting the foreigners by having an importsurplus, and refusing to pay the debt. That's in short what has been going on in in Argentina.
What about Argentina's debt? In the meantime, Argentina's huge debt problems had not gone away. The country went on borrowing on international financial markets, until debt reached more than US $140bn. Now the government has said it will default on these payments. The default may bring the country some breathing space, but it is sure to make negotiating a final deal with its creditors that much harder. And it will make it much harder for Argentina if it tries to borrow money again on international financial markets. However, the sums Argentina owes are so massive that it is very much in its creditors' own interest to eventually come to an arrangement. To paraphrase the old adage, if you owe the bank $1,000, it's your problem, but if you owe it $140bn, it's the bank's. Argentine shares rose sharply on Wednesday 06.02, as investors sought more stable investments, fearful the recently devalued peso could slide further. This however is more of being financial tricks, not really boosting realinvestments. The Argentine government chided the IMF on Wednesday for not voicing support for its recovery plans, aimed at averting economic meltdown and calming public anger, saying it was in a "chicken and egg" dilemma with multilateral lenders. "There should have been a stronger reply" from the International Monetary Fund, Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov told reporters, complaining of a situation where lenders demand a solid plan before sending aid, but the plan itself depends upon aid guarantees. The minister's criticism highlighted the troubled relations between a month-old government, besieged by daily street protests, and the IMF, criticized for wasting billions of dollars on a near-bankrupt Argentina over the past year. The neomercantilist plans of Duahalde is neither sufficient from anarchist point of view, nor from liberalistic "free marketers" as the US.
In the latest demonstrations, several hundred Argentines, including businessmen in blazers, kicked at bank doors in the capital and scrawled graffiti on windows as they banged pots and pans to protest bank curbs. So far the IMF has kept mum on the plans announced at the weekend as well as the austere 2002 budget that Remes Lenicov sent to Congress on Tuesday. The U.S Treasury, a key powerbroker to win IMF help, said Argentina had more to do such as shoring up troubled banks bearing much of the cost of January's currency devaluation and the forced conversion of frozen dollar savings into pesos. From anarchist point of view there is even more to do, befor the economic policy is sound. Remes Lenicov said the beleaguered peso would be floated fully, a key plank of the country's latest economic policy. From Monday, the unit will trade at market rates and not fixed rates against foreign currencies. "OK!", say the anarchists, "but that is not sufficient to hike demand, i.e. consumption, plus realinvestment and exportsurplus; the necessary amount to do away with the unemployment".
Without vocal IMF support the peso could plummet, sparking price rises that still haunt Argentines who remember 1980s hyperinflation and who have increasingly protested on streets against the government. Prices of some key imported goods, such as medicines and sugar, have already jumped by up to 40 percent, as indicated above. "For now the prices of your coffee, croissants and newspaper are unchanged," said a Buenos Aires waitress as she served breakfast. "If these prices rise, then we'll all be on the streets protesting." Remes Lenicov has also announced deep cuts in public spending and a partial lifting of a bank accounts freeze to turn around a crisis in Latin America's No. 3 economy that in the past two months has led to food riots, massive street protests, the resignation of two presidents and the biggest ever sovereign debt default. President Eduardo Duhalde's government wanted the "icing on the cake" to be the presentation of its 2002 budget bill, seen as key to restarting a stalled $22 billion loan from the IMF. Yet IMF backing has so far been lukewarm awaiting signs of how Argentina, with a history of overspending that forced it to default on part of its $141 billion public debt in January, will save the banks and keep provincial spending in check. The government is also due to announce cuts in unpopular "political" bureaucracy spending - the inflated administrative costs of legislators and their staff. Argentina has hundreds of members of Congress, from the national legislature to small provinces. "Cut in bureaucracy costs is necessary", the anarchists say, "but that must be combined with an anarchist economical demand hike, in the above indicated way!"
Argentina's plan will cost battered banks billions of dollars and there are doubts whether many of them, including foreign-owned institutions, will be able to stay afloat. John Taylor, the U.S. Treasury's under-secretary for international affairs, on Wednesday urged Argentina to push ahead with talks on debt restructuring and reforms of its tax and budget systems. Taylor said the IMF was analyzing the government's economic plans, but he "was not aware of any particular timing at this point." The plans must be according to the anarchist economical law of full employment". the anarchists say. If the budget numbers add up and the IMF is convinced the government is serious about cutting spending, then aid could resume by March, according to experts in Washington. "Argentina should not cut public spendings", the anarchists say, "but act according to the anarchist economic plan, mentioned above."Duhalde, who came into office with a reputation for populist "free" spending and protectionism, has already had diplomatic spats with the IMF. Another local official told the IMF last month it should stop telling Argentines they should accept "painful" policies. Adding to public frustration, consumer prices rose 2.3 percent in January, the highest rate of price increases in a decade during which the peso's one-to-one peg to the U.S. dollar kept inflation in check. Food, drink and transport prices rose the most, adding to the squeeze on a population suffering 20 percent unemployment. A third of the country lives in poverty while many white collar workers have seen their savings shed a third of their value as dollar deposits were forcibly converted into devalued pesos.
"The hike in pricelevel will reduce the employment, if not compensated by increased demand," the anarchists say. Since the peg was ended in January, the peso has fallen by more than 50%, raising prices and making imports - from medicines to candy - scarce. With stringent banking curbs a black market has emerged where desperate Argentines are buying cash - peso notes - from shops with guaranteed checks at a 15 percent premium. On the street, marketeers known as "arbolitos," or "little trees" because they sprout green dollar bills, are selling safe-haven dollars despite foreign exchange markets being closed. Official figures showing that unemployment rose to a record 22% in January, up from 18.3% in December, underlined the severity of the country's problems on Wednesday. Before markets closed last week the peso traded at 2.10 to the dollar on the free market. Argentina's mainly foreign-owned banks have most to lose from the latest reforms, as loans taken out in dollars will now be converted into pesos at a rate of one to one. This means adjusting the necessary demand to do away with the official unemployment upwards ca 2%, i.e. to 27% and 32% respectively, with the same other conditions as mentioned in the scenarios above.06.02. The Argentine Government has extended the closure of banks and foreign exchange centres until 11 February, giving the market more time to prepare for a full flotation of the peso. Thursday 07.02 the people are again marching in the streets, saying Duhalde is looting them and breaking his promises. "Everybody know the people of Argentina are good, and the bureaucracy and politicians are bad", an unofficial spokesman of the people says. The anarchists say: "Duhalde should take the message! Cut the mercantilistic as well as monetaristic crap "plans", and prepare for anarchist economics, with efficient and fair demand management, free contracts - not slavecontracts, etc.," as mentioned above in several chapters... (Search in file for "anarchist economic" in the browser menu)
08.02.2002 BUENOS AIRES - Argentina scrambled Friday to win support from local exporters and international lenders alike to help avoid a mauling when it puts its peso at the mercy of the markets next week. As sporadic protests against everything from a savings freeze to unemployment simmered across Argentina, the government called for urgent help from the International Monetary Fund as the government prepared to allow the peso to float completely on Monday. The government met with agricultural firms to forge a debt deal vital to jump-start the nearly paralyzed sector, which is Argentina's biggest foreign currency earner. The government is desperate to avoid a peso crash and needs to ensure that grain and oil companies can generate U.S. dollars with new exports.Hundreds of angry savers banged pots and pans at banks downtown to protest a continued freeze on savings, while others blocked the capital's elegant 9 de Julio avenue demanding medicines now in short supply as health suppliers go broke. "Give our dollars back," read signs written in English that protesters waved in front of television cameras. One man held aloft a funeral wreath emblazoned with the word "thieves," while others thumped their fists against bank facades now protected by sheets of metal after their windows were smashed in recent protests. Argentine pharmacies stayed shut to protest against price rises by drug manufacturers suspected of hoarding stocks to avoid losing out as the newly devalued peso currency slides, forcing diabetes patients to rely on insulin handouts from abroad.
The government is struggling to appease a public fed up with a grinding recession in its fourth year, woo business and banks hard hit as devaluation followed on the heels of default on part of the $141 billion sovereign debt, and secure aid. The state owes grain exporters, which account for half of all exports, $720 million worth of tax rebates - a standoff that has paralyzed trade and choked its dollar revenues. But it is unclear how that money, held originally in pesos pegged one-to-one to the dollar, will be paid after January's devaluation left the peso trading at around 2.0 to the dollar on the foreign exchange market. Argentina's ambassador-designate in Washington, Diego Guelar, appealed for economic help fast. "We are at a stage for decisions, help in six months time would obviously be out of time and place," Guelar said. IMF chief Horst Koehler Friday welcomed the reopening of banks and imminent reopening of the foreign exchange markets as "a good step forward" ahead of a planned visit by Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov next Tuesday. "The fund is continuing to work closely with the authorities in their efforts to formulate a comprehensive and sustainable economic program," Koehler said in a brief statement. A U.S. government official warned Thursday, however, the Remes Lenicov's visit did not necessarily mean IMF lending to Argentina would resume. "Neo-mercantilism or monetarism will not work properly", the anarchists say, sticking to their advice mentioned above.The IMF had until now remained silent about Argentina's new economic crisis strategy, which includes measures to ditch the dollar, completely float the devalued peso and partially lift a savings freeze that has sparked deadly riots. Argentina's government said on Friday it would begin renegotiating its debt with foreign creditors in the "near future," said to be a key condition for IMF aid. The economy ministry provided no specific details. Remes Lenicov's imminent visit suggests the government has a platform for talks on how to craft a new loan program with the IMF, which put its $22 billion loan program to the country on hold in December after Latin America's No.3 economy failed to sufficiently rein in rampant public spending.
"Follow the anarchist economical demand hike plan", the anarchists say!The timing of Remes Lenicov's trip is important because market watchers had been concerned the peso could plummet on Monday if the IMF has not signaled its support by then. An Argentine Congressional commission meanwhile sifted through charges of corruption and cronyism leveled against the country's Supreme Court judges. The judges triggered strong criticism after throwing out arms trafficking charges against ex-President Carlos Menem in November. Four of the nine judges were appointed during the 1989-1999 rule of Menem, whose administration was plagued with corruption scandals. The probe by the congressional commission follows a court ruling that declared a government's freeze on bank deposits unconstitutional. The high court decision stoked fears the teetering economy might collapse after months of inconsistent policies aimed at ending the crisis. President Eduardo Duhalde, Argentina's fifth leader since December, was forced to bar lawsuits against the freeze for six months after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an individual who wanted access to his savings. By barring copycat lawsuits against the freeze, Duhalde has fended off the court's precedent-setting ruling for now. Some analysts fear lifting the freeze wholesale - as the judges intended - could destroy many banks, already on their knees after a debt default and peso devaluation and possibly spark another massive depreciation of the peso.
"No big problem" say the anarchists, "Then they can be expropriated cheap, and turned into semipublic investment banks to promote societal real investment at best, i.e maximal benefits minus costs, for the people." The BBC reports that Duhalde is afraid of anarchy, and has discussed the situation with the generals of the armed forces, but so far he has not got much support for a new junta rule. "Anarchy is nothing to be afraid of", - the anarchists say, "but it will probably take a long time before Argentina reach anything close to it, as, say, the Anarchy of Norway." Ottawa 08.02.2002: Rich country finance ministers gathered to discuss the issues weighing on the world economy on Friday as dozens of demonstrators, banging pots and pans, complained noisily about the capitalist way of life. The protesters, bundled up against Ottawa's sub-zero winter weather, blame policies promoted by the Group of Seven wealthy countries for the problems of the poor, and for troubles in Argentina - one of the main topics at the weekend G7 meeting. "What we are really hoping to do is to get the message out to the public and to make it clear to the ministers themselves that a lot of people who know what is going on and abhor it," said Jamie Kneen, of "Global Democracy Ottawa", which organized the protest, modeled on those that erupted in Argentina in recent weeks.
"Support actions may be very well", the anarchists say, "but they should be in support for anarchist economics, and not marxism." Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin, chairing the meeting, singled out Argentina, Japan and Germany as countries under the spotlight and he said he was more optimistic than in the past about economies of Canada and the United States. He said the G7 hoped very much that Argentina would be able to come to an accord with the International Monetary Fund. "We obviously stand ready to support Argentina in their discussions with the IMF and are very hopeful that they will result in a satisfactory outcome," he said. A senior French source, asking not to be identified, warned that Argentina's democratic system could be at risk if, in a worst-case scenario, the country failed to come up with ways to. "We hope that they will arrive at a solution," the source said. "If not it will pose major social and economic problems. I don't even want to think about it, but at the end of the process you could have threats to democracy." Argentina, struggling to cope with recession, its own pots and pans street protests and the impact of a painful currency devaluation, wants support from the international community for its packages of economic moves, including a currency float. G7 officials said other issues on the agenda for Saturday included ways to prevent Argentina-style crises in other countries, debt relief for poor countries, and economic problems at home. 09.02.2002: Thousands of Argentines took to the streets in the early morning hours on Saturday, banging pots and pans in the latest peaceful protest against a "government of thieves" unable to end a chaotic recession in its fourth year.
"Yes", the anarchists say, "the upper classes has been looting the people, the future as well as foreigners, and this must be put to an end as soon as possible." The Group of Seven industrialized countries said on Saturday that Argentina was moving the right way with its newest policies, and told the Latin American nation to work with the International Monetary Fund to climb out of its economic morass. "We welcome as steps in the right direction recent announcements by Argentine authorities," said a G7 statement issued after a two-day meeting. "We encourage them to continue to work closely with the IMF and the international community on a financially and socially sustainable economic reform program that will enhance prospects for growth and future foreign investment." Argentina, struggling to cope with street protests, debt default, recession, devaluation and a crumbling financial system, had been looking for G7 backing ahead of negotiations with the IMF next week. It wants the IMF to resume lending to help cushion the float of the peso currency, pegged to the dollar until pressures on the system became untenable last year. "I think there's clarity that the G7 are anxious for Argentina to establish a sustainable base and go forward, that no one's happy...about the social unrest that exists in Argentina," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who has long rejected the idea of early help. "But at the same time there's a strong sense of resolve that...conditions that are associated with sustainability be put in place." Spanish finance minister Rodrigo Rato, attending the G7 talks in his role as chairman of the European Union's Economic and Finance Committee, said there had been positive "new elements" in Argentina in the last three weeks.
"The Argentine government has presented its budget. It still needs some clarifications in the sense of relationships between spending at the central level and spending at the regional level, but nevertheless it certainly has aims that are positive," he told a news conference. Referring to Argentina's decision to float its currency, rather than trying to tough it out with a special rate for exporters, he added: "We also value as positive the disappearance of the dual exchange rate and we consider it very important that the Argentine authorities implement a sound...policy that will give credibility to its monetary policy and to its price stability policy," Rado said. "In the near future Argentina would need to reschedule its foreign debt and restructure its banking system, he added." "Of course the double currency must be done away with," the anarchists say, "and the banking system must be changed for anarchist economical purpose."The one bright spot in the Argentine crisis, from the point of view of the G7 ministers, is that its problems have not spread to other developing countries, unlike the situation in the emerging markets crisis of 1997-99 when a currency crash in Thailand infected countries around the world. G7 officials said that was partially due to improvements to the world financial system since the crisis and the group promised to play "a leading role" in crisis management. It welcomed an IMF proposal to create what would effectively amount to a bankruptcy court for sovereign states. "Recent events have highlighted the importance of an improved, predictable and fair framework, involving the private sector, to prevent and resolve international financial crises," the G7 communique said. "This may be very well", the anarchists say, "but we want deeds, not words! The Argentinian system should be set for progressive anarchist economics!" Argentina's month-old government said on Sunday 10.02.2002 it would fight to keep the peso currency from plummeting when it is fully floated on markets this week, but people on the street nervously prepared for a new bout of financial chaos. With the recently devalued peso set to trade freely on Monday after a week-long ban on foreign exchange trade ends, many Argentines stocked up on groceries and canceled normal weekend dinner plans out of fear spiraling inflation could be just around the corner.
"The Argentinian system should be set for progressive anarchist economics!" - the anarchists say, "this is the best means against hyperinflation." 11.02.2002: Argentina's currency, the peso, has fallen sharply on the currency markets after a one-week suspension of trading. It was the first day banks opened and the peso was allowed to float freely since the failure of the government's dual-exchange rate system of fixed international rates and floating domestic rates. Long lines formed at many banks, as Argentines fearing peso devaluation rushed to convert their cash into US dollars. Soon after the markets opened, it took up to 2.5 pesos to buy $1, compared with the $2.05 a week ago before the suspension of the market, reports said. But by afternoon, the peso had recovered to a range of 1.9-2.2 to $1. Averagely the peso has been devaluated clearly more than 50%. 2.5 pesos to buy $1, is 60% devaluation. 12.02.2002: Some people fear about 90% devaluation, but the anarchists say about 70% may be realistic, if the anarchist economical plan is implemented, i.e. the demand hike should be financed mainly by increased property tax a.s.o., and not by printing to much fresh pesos. However if Duhalde will ommit the taxation and print fresh pesos to hike the demand to do away with the unemployment, he would be on the wrong track, and inflation may take off very much. If so, the total demand must hike even more to do away with the unemployment, according to the anarchist law of employment and full employment. This is of course the same problem if any new system are taken over for Duhalde. No system is able brake the most basic relations of anarchist economics, which is practically always valid, i.e.regardless of system, populist/fascist, marxist, liberalistic or anarchistic alike. The special significant non-bureaucratical relations of anarchism are however only present in an anarchist system, while the populist/fascistoid system of Duhalde is typically bureaucratic and chaotic. (See links to anarchist political economy at the foot of the page)
XXXII. Report and summary - December 2001 - January 2002 from F.L.A. with commentA. LA ARGENTINA ENTRE LA MISERIA Y EL «CACEROLAZO»
La «crisis» en la Argentina ha
tenido vasta repercusión internacional y, como están las cosas,
seguramente la seguirá teniendo. Por eso creemos que información
no es lo que falta, aunque siempre es difícil distinguir entre
la veraz y la distorsionada, entre la de buena y la de mala fe. Y
esto vale tanto para los que están fuera de la Argentina cuanto
–y quizá en mayor medida– para quienes estamos dentro
de ella. De modo que intentar un análisis medianamente acertado
del fenómeno argentino no es, desde luego, una tarea sencilla.
En primer lugar porque los hechos están mediados por múltiples
factores de muy diversa índole –históricos, sociales, económicos,
políticos, culturales–, que hacen imposible su comprensión
si no se los abarca en su conjunto. Pero, como por algún lado
debemos comenzar, creemos conveniente hacerlo a partir de
nuestras convicciones (o de nuestros «pre-juicios», si se
prefiere).
Sería simplista, además de torpe, tratar de explicarse el
estallido de los días 18 a 20 de diciembre pasado como una
reacción ante las medidas que el tándem De la Rúa-Cavallo
disparó contra el pueblo en las últimas semanas o meses de su
gobierno. La reacción ante esas situaciones irrumpió cuando el
expresidente De la Rúa estimó proteger a la sociedad
capitalista denegando el principio de libertad del pueblo
mediante el decreto de estado de Sitio. Es decir el significado
de que, sumado a su hambre y desesperación, se le quitaba su máxima
expresión de dignidad : la libertad. Ya antes de terminar De la
Rúa su discurso, los vecinos (familias enteras, con niños,
ancianos y hasta discapacitados) ocuparon los silencios
autoritarios caminando al son de las cacerolas ya vacías, en
comunión de objetivos. Gritando: ¡Que se vayan todos, que no
quede ni uno sólo! ¡que boludos, el estado de sitio se lo meten
en el culo! los vecinos recorrieron las calles de la ciudad para
enfrentar a los poderes ejecutivo en la Plaza de Mayo,
legislativo en la Plaza de los dos Congresos, y político-financiero,
representado este último por los bancos y empresas instalados en
los alrededores de la plaza y en Avenida de Mayo. En verdad, la
caldera de la bronca popular venía acumulando presión desde
mucho antes. Ya durante su administración, Menem aplicó un
programa inverso a lo prometido, en vez de un salariazo hizo un
desalariazo, empezó a corromper abiertamente todos los ámbitos,
despreciando todos los principios de humanidad. Hace varios años que vienen
produciéndose en distintas regiones del país manifestaciones
sociales, algunas pacíficas y otras violentas. Sería largo
enumerarlas, pero digamos que las protestas recorrieron el país
de Norte a Sur – desde La Quiaca a Tierra del Fuego, no
obstante los 4.500 kilómetros que las separan–, siendo
destacables, por su magnitud y por el saldo de víctimas fatales
a mano de la policía, los casos de Neuquén, Corrientes, Salta,
Ushuaia y, recientemente, en la Capital y el conurbano
bonaerense, donde la represión cobró alrededor de 30 muertos.
Las causas: falta de pago de salarios a empleados estatales, la
desocupación incesante (ronda el 25 por ciento, sin contar la
subocupación), el no cumplimiento de los llamados «planes
trabajar» (unos 150 pesos que no alcanzan para cubrir una quinta
parte del consumo mensual de una familia), la falta de
medicamentos e insumos esenciales en los hospitales, en fin, la
inactividad en las escuelas por huelgas de maestros que pasan
meses sin cobrar sus salarios; todo esto potenciado por la caída
de los ingresos – no admitida oficialmente en términos
reales.
Lo grave no es sólo que los sueldos no llegan y la asistencia
tampoco, sino que la mayoría de las veces, a pesar de estar
contemplados en los presupuestos nacional o provinciales, ellos
van a parar a los bolsillos de funcionarios corruptos y su «clientela»,
que no sólo actúa como «fuerza de choque» sino que en ciertos
lugares se constituye en factor preponderante para volcar el
resultado de una elección en favor de aquéllos. Se ha dado el
caso, inclusive, de que un político cuya vivienda había sido
incendiada en una pueblada resultara al poco tiempo electo
gobernador en «democráticas» elecciones. El feudalismo con que
aún se gobiernan muchas provincias en la Argentina asombraría a
más de un observador extranjero acostumbrado a las reglas de ese
juego que se llama democracia. . Esto unido al narcotráfico,
posibilitó el ingreso de la mafia política con la fórmula
electoral Menem-Duhalde, la que luego se vende a la hermandad
carnal con los EE.UU. y Bill Clinton. Tradicionalmente, la Argentina fue
considerada un país «potencialmente» rico, por sus recursos
naturales, por la extensión de su territorio, por sus praderas,
sus bosques, su litoral marítimo, su petróleo. La situación
actual es totalmente diferente. Las políticas económicas
implementadas por los diferentes gobiernos en beneficio de
entidades como el Citibank, Federal, Boston, HSBC, BBVA (aquí
Francés), Santander, Galicia, entre muchas otras, y de las
empresas privatizadas y las multinacionales, refrendadas por los
legisladores de todos los partidos políticos (con muy escasas
excepciones) dieron como resultado la destrucción de todas las
empresas nacionales, públicas y privadas. Esta situación se
hace hoy evidente con mayor claridad en el caso Repsol-YPF: el
estado argentino – por medio de sus corruptos
administradores y legisladores – enajenó el recurso mineral
y el subsuelo, favoreciendo a la empresa española con increíbles
exenciones del pago de impuestos a la renta, entre otras
prebendas; sólo las comunidades originarias y el pueblo donde se
encuentran los yacimientos defienden al ecosistema desde el
principio, llegando a subirse y atarse a los árboles para
impedir el avance de las topadoras por donde se pretende instalar
oleoductos.
Felizmente, el pueblo argentino parece despertarse de ese sueño
de grandezas que suelen repetir los manuales escolares, y hace
tiempo que desconfía de las promesas preeleccionarias y de
quienes las propalan, pero hasta ahora había adoptado una
actitud de egoísta indiferencia con tal de disfrutar las migajas
que los vaivenes de la política le deparaban. El «sálvese quién
pueda», el consumismo, la aspiración de devenir un buen burgués
o la posibilidad de «estar en la cosa», parecían ser las
consignas, cuando no se les ofrecía abiertamente la posibilidad
de privilegios y de formar parte de ese show del que participan
con fruición políticos y funcionarios de todo pelaje y con los
cuales, a bajo costo, la TV satura nuestras pantallas. Nuestro
periodismo, con pocas excepciones, no realiza investigaciones
independientes, sino que simplemente adhiere a las directivas de
las empresas mediatizadas en connivencia con los poderes político-financieros.Dijimos
que el pueblo «parece despertarse», pero...no debemos bajar la
guardia. Persiste también en la sociedad argentina una fuerte
presencia de una cultura fascista de derecha – de la cual el
gobierno es un fiel exponente – y en menor medida de una
izquierda autoritaria y verticalista. No creemos que haya margen
para esas experiencias. Pero el coronel Seineldin pretende
mostrarse como una opción para los nacionalistas de derecha.
Desde la izquierda, atomizada y desangrada por eternas disputas,
no cabe esperar grandes aportes. Como novedad, podría apuntarse
la irrupción en la escena política del partido Autonomía y
Libertad, liderado por el hoy diputado Luis Zamora, otrora líder
de un fuerte grupo trotsquista – el MAS, Movimiento al
Socialismo–, quien aparece con un discurso fuertemente crítico
al sistema.
La confiscación de los ahorros, la desocupación, el hambre y el
desamparo generaron una forma de lucha inédita en nuestro país:
los cacerolazos y las asambleas barriales. Estas asambleas
barriales y sus comisiones nuclean a los desocupados,
subocupados, los marginados y excluidos de la sociedad
capitalista: profesionales, obreros, pequeños comerciantes,
artistas, artesanos, todos vecinos. Cada una tiene características
propias, pero no delegar, autogestión, horizontalidad y no voto
son consignas libertarias que escuchamos con frecuencia. En este
punto debemos señalar que estas asambleas barriales, que se reúnen
en esquinas de varios barrios de Buenos Aires (Belgrano, San
Telmo, Almagro, Caballito, entre otros), además de realizar
semanalmente una reunión general de coordinación en Parque
Centenario, se han constituido en valiosos espacios de debate y
deliberación, no sólo por su concurrencia sino también por los
temas que se plantean. Son abiertos y participa todo quien quiera
hacerlo, por lo que es frecuente que algún dirigente político o
sindical pretende llevar agua hacia su molino. Pero la
concurrencia ha aprendido a distinguir cuando escucha algún
discurso con olor a «cocinado».
Como anarquistas, sabemos que las soluciones no se encontrarán
«dentro» del sistema, aunque no debemos descartar que con un
recambio a todos los niveles de esta dirigencia la situación
podría encauzarse hacia el atemperamiento de las condiciones
actuales.
En otro orden de cosas, la remoción de la Corte Suprema de
Justicia es uno de los puntos exigidos con mayor énfasis.
Creemos ilustrativo señalar una pocas «hazañas» de este
tribunal: las privatizaciones de Menem – viciadas de nulidad
por las coimas que las facilitaron –, el «Plan Bonex» de
Cavallo en el 92, la flexibilización laboral, el sobreseimiento
a funcionarios corruptos y, como broche final, la liberación de
Menem de su decisiva participación en el tráfico de armas
–que incluye la voladura del polvorín de Río Tercero. Para
colmo, sus miembros tienen sueldos exorbitantes – que no se
pueden disminuir según la Constitución –, y están exentos
de impuestos pordecisión de ellos mismos .
Cada expresión de nuestros vecinos se convierte en un
pensamiento comunitario cargado de preguntas, donde lo importante
justamente son las preguntas y no sus respuestas conjeturales.
Hoy podemos decir con alborozo que la acción directa comenzó a
coincidir con la palabra. Sería de esperar que todos los
argentinos tengamos en claro quiénes fueron los que coartaron
nuestras libertades, marginaron, excluyeron y empujaron al exilio
a nuestros familiares y amigos e hipotecaron el futuro de
nuestros hijos y de nuestros nietos.
Hoy el miedo en nuestra sociedad se convirtió en coraje...
Federación Libertaria
Argentina
Consejo Local B. ANEXO - CRONOLOGIA DE
UN PAIS A LA DERIVA
1º de diciembre de 2001:
El gobierno de Cavallo-De la Rúa lanza la primera versión del
«corralito». Se «dolarizan» los depósitos, pero se pone un
tope de $ 1.000 mensuales para su retiro.
3 de diciembre/01:
Mensaje de De la Rúa: «Estamos ganando la batalla». Y agregó:
«No habrá devaluación», para terminar aconsejando «volver a
depositar con toda tranquilidad»( en un solo día, el viernes 30
se habían fugado 1.000 millones de dólares de los bancos). En
verdad, más que un consejo, fue una imposición. El gobierno
bancarizó toda la economía hasta para las más minúsculas
operaciones. Dejó a la gente sin plata en el bolsillo.
5 de diciembre/01
Domingo Cavallo admite que la convertibilidad (1 peso = 1 dólar),
esa ficción que el creó y auguró que sería para siempre, cayó
como un castillo de naipes.
6 de diciembre/01
El Fondo Monetario Internacional anuncia que no girará los 1.260
millones de dólares prometidos para el corriente mes de
diciembre. Segunda versión del «Corralito».
18 y 19 de diciembre/01
Saqueos a supermercados en todo el país. CINCO MUERTOS Y DECENAS
DE HERIDOS POR LA REPRESION. El gobierno, paralizado, sólo atina
a decretar el estado de sitio, que, entre otras cosas prohíbe la
reunión de personas. El pueblo, en reuniones multitudinarias,
responde con un «cacerolazo» generalizado, que determina la
renuncia (o despido) de Domingo Cavallo. Masivas concentraciones
en Plaza de Mayo y del Congreso. Las centrales sindicales
anuncian paros generales.
20 de diciembre/01
RENUNCIA DE LA RUA, quien prácticamente se fugó en helicóptero
de la Casa de Gobierno. LOS MUERTOS YA SON VEINTICINCO. La mayoría
de éstos son jóvenes que la policía eligió como «blancos».
El peronista Ramón Puerta, presidente del Senado, asume
interinamente la presidencia hasta que la Asamblea Legislativa (Senadores
+ Diputados) designe un nuevo presidente. El peronismo (no se
sabe bien qué fracción de él) otra vez en el gobierno.
22 de diciembre/01
Contra todas las hipótesis previas, el gobernador de San Luis,
Adolfo Rodríguez Saa –peronista, ex menemista–, asume
la Presidencia con el mandato de convocar a elecciones generales
en el lapso de 60 días.
27 de diciembre/01
Como si fuera a quedarse para siempre, el presidente Rodríguez
Saa anuncia enfáticamente lo siguiente:
SUSPENSION DEL PAGO DE LA DEUDA EXTERNA; creación del «Argentino»,
una nueva moneda que circularía juntamente con el peso; la
devolución del 13 por ciento de los salarios que Cavallo le había
quitado a empleados estatales y jubilados, y la derogación de la
ley laboral cuya sanción se lograra mediante coimas a senadores
durante el gobierno de De la Rúa. Tercera versión del «corralito».
29 de diciembre/01
GRAN CACEROLAZO EN BUENOS AIRES. ¿Motivos?: los políticos
corruptos (se incluye al novísimo pres idente) y el «corralito»
bancario. Por la noche, un polícia que trabajaba como custodia
en un comercio mata a mansalva a tres jóvenes que en un bar veían
las manifestaciones por televisión y desaprobaban la represión
policial.30 de diciembre/01
RENUNCIA DEL GABINETE. Se descarta la idea del Argentino, la moneda que no fue.
Bush le dice a Rodríguez Saa que «debe» negociar con el FMI. Por las dudas,
el gobierno anuncia un severo ajuste en el presupuesto del 2002.
31 de diciembre/01
RENUNCIA DE RODRIGUEZ SAA. Aduce que el partido lo abandonó (¿qué parte del
partido?). Su sucesor constitucional, el senador Ramón Puerta, también renuncia.
Por algunas horas no hay gobierno, pero nadie se da cuenta, hasta que un ignoto
diputado, Eduardo Camaño, de la provincia de Buenos Aires, asume el cargo, a
fin de convocar a la Asamblea Legislativa para que ésta decida cómo sigue la
historia. Los «padres de la patria» se pasan la brasa ardiente que tienen en
sus manos.
2 de enero de2002.
DUHALDE PRESIDENTE. La Asamblea Legislativa lo elige para completar el mandato
del renunciante De la Rúa, es decir, hasta diciembre de 2003. Es el quinto presidente
en doce días. Anuncia: que el país está quebrado, que terminará con el modelo
económico, que constituirá un gobierno de unidad nacional, que investigará si
hubo fuga de divisas por parte de bancos y funcionarios (¿no lo sabía?) y, sobre
todo que «el Estado garantizará los depósitos en la moneda en que fueron hechos»
(¡ja!). Todo esto acompañado con un nuevo –y sabio– cacerolazo.
3 de enero/02
DEVALUACION. Se fija la paridad oficial de 1 peso = 1,40 dólar, pero habrá también
un mercado de cambios libre. Sigue el «corralito» pero los dólares de los depositantes
se alejan.
4 de enero/02
Las empresas privatizadas ponen el grito en el cielo. Pretenden que se las indemnice
por la suba de sus deudas –en dólares– con los bancos y un aumento
del 40 por ciento en las tarifas. El jefe de gobierno español, Aznar, reclama
a Duhalde por las medidas, que afectarían a las compañías españolas de petróleo,
teléfonos y electricidad.
5 de enero/02
Largo feriado bancario y cambiario por las descomunales protestas del día anterior
frente a los bancos.
7 de enero/02
Ley de Emergencia Económica. Quinta versión del «corralito».
10 de enero/02
Gran cacerolazo en Plaza de Mayo y del Congreso. Sexta versión del «corralito»,
que extiende la devolución de los depósitos hasta el 2005.
11 de enero/02
DEBUT DEL DÓLAR «LIBRE»: 1 dólar = 1,70 pesos
14 de enero/02
Duhalde lanzó una «Mesa de diálogo» liderada por la Iglesia Católica
15 de enero/02
Pueblada en Casilda, provincia de Santa Fe, durante la que se destruyen los
cinco bancos de la ciudad. En Jujuy sólo les tocó al Citibank y al Boston.
17 de enero /02
Bloquean en Suiza cuentas de Carlos Menem por 10 millones de dólares.
18 de enero/02
Protestas y cacerolazos en Santiago del Estero, Entre Ríos y Córdoba, con el
saldo de muchos heridos y decenas de detenidos. Octava versión del «corralito».
La jueza Servini de Cubría investiga la fuga de entre 10 a 30 millones de dólares
que consiguieron «saltarlo» fugándose al exterior.
20 de enero/02
Mil vecinos de distintos barrios se reúnen en asamblea en Parque Centenario
para coordinar sus actividades.
22 de enero /02
«No hay salida sin sufrimiento», dijo en Buenos Aires el titular del FMI, Horst
Köhler.
23 de enero/02
Novena versión del «corralito. Uno de los banqueros de Menem, Carlos Rohm, es
detenido por «subversión económica» y por favorecer la fuga al exterior de los
depósitos de notorios personajes de la aristocracia y la farándula.
25 de enero/02
Otro gran cacerolazo en Buenos Aires. Miles de personas marcharon hacia la Plaza
de Mayo. Al final, cuando se dispersaban por la lluvia, la policía persiguió
con saña a pequeños grupos de jóvenes que se alejaban pacíficamente.
27 de enero/02
Palabras de Duhalde al preguntársele por esa persecución tan feroz e injustificada:
«Entiendo el sufrimiento, pero...los países no toleran la anarquía; no caigamos
en la tentación de creer que los temas se solucionan haciendo líos o barullo».
Aparentemente, el periodista se calló la boca.
29 de enero/02
Gran marcha de desocupados de La Matanza (provincia de Buenos Aires) a Plaza
de Mayo (30 km). En el camino se los acompañó con las cacerolas y se les ofreció
comida y refrescos (el calor alcanzaba los 34º C).
English translation of report: The "crisis" in Argentina has had a lot of international attention. And, given the way things are going, this is certain to continue. But, we feel that, although there is no shortage of information, it is difficult to distinguish between truth and distortion, reliable and false accounts. It is difficult for both those outside Argentina and, to a large extent, those of us in the country as well. So, making an analysis of the Argentine phenomenon with a degree of accuracy is no longer a simple task. Facts have been affected by many historical, social, economic, cultural and political factors. This makes it impossible to understand them unless one approaches them in their entire context. But, since we need to begin somewhere, we think it is appropriate to start with our beliefs (or our "prejudices" if you prefer). It would be simplistic, and worse than inept, to try to explain the explosion of December 18 to 20, 2001 as simply a reaction against the la Rúa-Cavallo government, and its accomplices in the media, for destroying the lives of the people during the preceding weeks and months. The reaction to these hardships erupted when the ex-president, De la Rúa, decided to protect capitalist society by denying ordinary people their basic freedom by declaring a state of siege. This meant, on top of their hunger and desperation, taking away their last form of dignity: their full freedom. Even before De la Rúa finished his speech, people in the neighborhoods (whole families, including children, the elderly and the disabled) were filling the authoritarian silences with the sound of banging on empty pots, all with a single purpose. They shouted, "They should all get out, none should stay!" "What jerks, they can take this state of siege and shove it!"
The neighbors went out on the streets of the city, they challenged the executive powers at the Plaza de Mayo, and the legislature at the Plaza de los dos Congresos. To confront the political-financial powers of the banks and corporations, they filled the sidewalks of the Avenida de Mayo. In fact, the popular discontent had been uilding up for some time. Even during his administration Menem put into effect a program that was the opposite of what he had promised. Instead of salary increases he instituted decreases, which started a cycle of degradation that affected all fields of work. This showed contempt for all humane principles. In response, for many years there have been social protests in many parts of the country. Some have been peaceful, some violent. We cannot name them all here, but we can say that the protests have covered the whole country, from north to south, from La Quiaca to Tierra del Fuego, more than 4,500 kilometers apart. They have been notable for their size and the numbers of deaths at the hands of the police, especially in Neuquén, Corrientes, Salta, Ushuaia and, most recently, in the capital and surrounding areas. There the repression accounted for about thirty deaths. The protests were caused by the government's failure to pay state employees, continuous high unemployment (with levels of 25 per cent, not to mention underemployment), a shortage of medicines and supplies for hospitals, and, finally, the closing of the schools due to strikes by teachers, who had gone without pay for months. All of this was exacerbated by the general decrease in incomes in real terms, which was never officially acknowledged.
The absence of pay and public assistance are very serious in themselves. But, in addition, quite often national and provincial budget appropriations have found their way into the pockets of corrupt functionaries and their "clients." These people have acted not only as the functionaries' "shock troops," but in some places they have become dominant enough to reverse electoral decisions in favor of themselves. In one case a politician whose home had been burned during a popular rising was soon elected provincial governor in "democratic" elections. The feudalism with which whole provinces in Argentina are governed would be astonishing to a foreign observer ccustomed to the rules by which so-called democracies are judged. The same things that enabled the narcotraffickers to unite made it possible for the political mafia to come in, with the Menem-Duhalde formula, which went on to sell itself as an Argentine version of and partner with the U.S.'s Clinton administration.Because of its natural resources, its size, its extensive grasslands, forests, maritime litorals, Argentina has traditionally been considered a "potentially" rich country. The current predicament doesn't live up to this expectation. The economic policies implemented by various administrations, have benefited corporations such as Federal, Boston, HSBC, BBVA, Santander, Galicia, among many others. They have also benefited privatized and multinational enterprises. These policies, which effectively called for the destruction of the nationalized enterprises, public as well as private, have been overwhelmingly backed by elected officials from all political parties.
The situation is becoming obvious today with the case of Repsol-YPF. The Argentine state, through its corrupt executives and legislators, have appropriated the mineral resources in favor of the Spanish company, giving it incredible tax exemptions, among other benefits.From the start, only the indigenous communities where the deposits are located have defended the ecosystem, mobilizing, tying themselves to the trees to prevent the advance of crews preparing for the installation of pipelines. Fortunately, the Argentine people seem to be discarding the illusion of the value of great leaders, which is endlessly repeated in elementary textbooks. For a long time they have distrusted the election promises and those who make them. But until now they have adopted an attitude of self-centered indifference, enjoying the crumbs that the swings of policy deigned to give them. The idea of each for him/herself, consumerism, the aspiration to become a worthy bourgeois or the possibility of "living through things" seemed to be disappearing, despite the meager chances of joining the show along with the politicians and functionaries of all stripes being constantly paraded across our TV screens. Our journalists, with few exceptions, do not investigate independently, but simply follow the media company executives, who are in connivance with the political-financial powers that be.
We said that the people "seem to be awakening," but that doesn't mean we should lower our guard. There is still a strong fascist and rightwing cultural presence in Argentine society, of which the government is a faithful exponent. To a lesser extent, it is also an exponent of the authoritarian and hierarchical left. We don't think there is much room for the former tendencies, but Colonel Seineldin is trying to appear as an option for the right nationalists. The left is atomized and weakened by endless disputes, so there is no reason to expect any major contributions from it. A new development is the entry on the political scene of the Partido Autonomía y Libertad (Selfgovernment and Freedom Party), currently headed by Luis Zamora, a former leader of a strong Trotskyist group, MAS, Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism).
The party's rhetoric appears to be strongly critical of the system. The destruction of savings through the devaluation of the urrency, and the increase in unemployment, hunger and neglect have given rise to a form of struggle in our country beyond the sphere of established politics and public life: the cacerolazos and the neighborhood assemblies. These neighborhood assemblies and their committees have been formed by the unemployed, the underemployed, and people marginalized and excluded from capitalist society: including professionals, workers, small retailers, artists, craftspeople, all of them also neighbors. Each assembly has its own characteristics, but non-delegation of power, self-management, horizontal structure and opposition to voting are libertarian socialist slogans one hears frequently. We should also point out that these neighborhood assemblies, which meet on corners in several districts of Buenos Aires (including Belgrano, San Telmo, Almagro, Caballito, among others), also hold weekly general coordinating meetings in the Parque Centenario (Centennial Park). These have become invaluable spaces for debate and deliberation, not only because of the large numbers attending, but also because of the subjects brought up and considered. The meetings are open and anyone who wishes can participate, so often one hears self-serving speeches by political or union leaders. But the attendees have learned to pick out this kind of "cooked" verbiage.As anarchists, we know that the solutions will not be "within" the system, although we should not discount the fact that with some replacements at all levels of this leadership the situation could be redirected towards the improvement of the present conditions and away from basic change.
Many people have also been demanding the removal of the Supreme Court of Justice.
This is because of the court's "feats": throwing out challenges to
Menem's corrupt privatizations and the bribery that facilitated them; Cavallo's
"Bonex Plan" of 1992; the loosening of labor laws; the staying of
suits against corrupt civil employees and, as a finishing touch, the pardoning
of Menem for his decisive participation in arms trafficking, which is related
to the blast at the Río Tercero powder magazine. To ake matters worse,
the court's members receive exorbitant salaries that cannot be reduced according
to the Constitution, and they are exempted from taxes due to a decision they
themselves made.Each of our neighbor's expressions becomes a communitarian thought, charged
with questions, where the presentation of questions is what counts the most,
not their imagined answers. Today we can say joyfully that words and direct action
have begun to coincide. There is reason to hope that all Argentinians now know
for certain who has been blocking our freedoms, excluding people, forcing our
relatives and friends into exile and mortgaging the future of our children and
grandchildren.Today the fear in our society has turned into courage.27-28.02.2002 Updated comment on the Trotskyite type "wannabe libertarian"
party, i.e. the so called "Partido Autonomía y Libertad". A
new development in Argentina, is the entry on the political scene of the Partido
Autonomía y Libertad, currently headed by Luis Zamora, a "former"
leader of a strong Trotskyist group, MAS, Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement
for Socialism).
We know very well that "one time Trotskyite, all time Trotskyite",
is the probable rule, more than for any other "wannabe libertarian"
fundamentalistic authoritarian marxist and leninist tendency falsely using "freedomly"
rhetoric.
The party's rhetoric appears to be strongly critical of the system. The destruction
of savings through the devaluation of the currency, and the increase in unemployment,
hunger and neglect have given rise to a form of struggle Argentina beyond the
sphere of established politics and public life: the "cacerolazos"
and the neighborhood assemblies.
These neighborhood assemblies and their committees have been formed by the unemployed,
the underemployed, and people marginalized and excluded from the plutarchist
society: Non-delegation of power, self-management, horizontal structure and
opposition to voting are libertarian socialist slogans one hears frequently.
This may be very well but:
Such slogans without any real anarchist political-economical, social and industrial
organizational content, including anarchist demand management based on efficiency
and fairness, are however of little value.
In this situation we will only remind our readers and the people of Argentina
in general, that such a mess may easily be manipulated by authoritarians as
the Trotskyites, and of the following: 1. the basic Trotskyite type treason, first time manifested at Kronstadt in
the Russian revolution, see web-page of IJA via the AIIS links-site; 2. that the Trotskyite's, and probably P.A.L's, real aim and policy behind
quasilibertarian rhetoric always is ruthless militarization of the production
and all forms of life in a one-party dictatorial Orwellian type "1984"
totalitarian state, probably worse than Lenin's and Stalin's, 3. to the left, not upwards, but downwards on the Economic-Political map, we
have the followers of the former Soviet communist party rooted back to Lenin
and his follower Trotsky, etc. The radicalist state-socialists in many countries
have had a bad habit of putting up several black flags fronting their mass of
red flags at demonstrations in the latest years and/or are using quasilibertarian
rhetoric.
Such marxists, Trotkskyites included, posing as "libertarian" "autonomous", "anarchists", i.e. also "anarcho-syndicalists", "anarcho-bolsheviks", etc. included, are authoritarian, and sometimes terrorists or similar, and of course have no relations to the anarchist movement. This type of bad habit is not new: The echoes of the "social democrat" Lenin's marxist, tactical posing as "anarchist", talking about "anarchist's theories" in a positive way and "withering away of the state" in his book "The state and revolution" of 1917, while he and his comrades Stalin and Trotsky and other state-socialists were doing everything to create a totalitarian state and union behind the back of the people, and imprisoning and killing anarchists, are still to be heard! (see link to IAT at AIIS homepage)4. the Troskyites are authoritarian "wannabe libertarians" of the left, and thus not really fighters for autonomy and/or libertarian/anarchistic political economy, i.e.a) marxism typically is a quasi-religion/ideology and quasi-science which have one "devil", capitalism; per definition seen as the root of almost all social evils; b) liberalism is an ideology, among other things, trying to explain large income-differences, plutarchy, as fairness, "free" markets as the "wholy spirit" ruling with an "invisible hand" to the benefit for all, and statism as a "devil"; (The "divine" connection is especially outspoken in, say, Portugal, with the well known "Commercial Bank of the Holy Spirit") c) dogmatic "wannabe libertarian" or "autonomous" ideology has two "devils", capitalism and statism (more or less obscurely defined), which are seen as the roots of almost all social evils.
This is often combined with 1) a too optimistic view of man without "the two devils", being 2) very "anticapitalist", "antistatist" and/or "antiauthoritarian", i.e. rabid anti- but 3) only dreams for, say, "ideas" more or less about "an idle life with love, peace, wealth and freedom and everything for free". That is 4. with no real scientifical, realistic, constructive organization theory of alternatives for life without statism and plutarchy, i.e. significant; - just vague arch-optimistic utopian radicalist ideas, and 5) sometimes guru-hierarchical organizations, loose movements and/or blocs/blocks included, lead by symbolistical "tåkefyrster" , i.e. "fogarchs" with 6) more or less militant hate against the "two Satans" and destructive, also being 7) irrationally optimistic about own strength, totally underestimating the powers of the armed and other forces of their "devils" and 8) the problems with organization based on socialism and autonomy, sometimes trying to implement their "dreams" not by own work, but by occupations, theft, robbery, cheating on welfare, as "free riders", a.s.o., i.e. in reality capitalistic and/or statist, ochlarchy/terrorism included, on small or large scale; and 9) overestimating the possible popular support and participation for such a quasilibertarian and/or direct reactionary, unrealistic policy; etc. "Tåkefyrster" , i.e. "fogarchs", that have vague, obscure ideas and unrealistical "workfree" dreams about the alternative future, often postponing it to a far future, and are great at uniting people against one or two "devils" of the establishment, say, doing "class war", but such movements in practice only are repeating plutarchy and/or statism, and thus may be semilibertarian or more or less authoritarian, - marxism, populism/fascism or liberalism, but not anarchistic.
At best such people are semilibertarian marxistical to the left, individualistic liberalists to the right, or "populist light", at worst they are more than 67% authoritarian, dogmatic, intolerant, totalitarian, terroristic, fundamentalists, etc. In reality they are never located in the anarchist quadrant on the Economical-Political Map, despite of their (quasi-) libertarian rhetoric. A typical example is "van der Lubbe-ism", named after a marxist council communist utopian radicalist, probably burning down the parliament building in Berlin 1933, only serving authoritarian tendencies (nazism/fascism and marxist-leninism), and thus acting like a "useful" idiot of Lenin (and Hitler). The marxist-lubbeism is not very far from the marxist-leninism of the German terrorist organization "Baader-Meinhof", RAF - Rote Armé Fraktion - Red Army Faction, - on the economical-political map, and both are far from anarchism on it. And RAF is not so far from the neonazis who again are not so far from the "libertarian" "Freihetliches" party of Jürg Haider in Austria. Say, a (former?) RAF-member in Germany joined the neonazis and supported the al-Qaeda terrorists, who attacked both Pentagon (symbol of the state) and World Trade Center (symbol of capitalism) in 2001. The American "FC55 -Unabomber" and his arch-primitivist followers are also in the same nest broadly defined, and they are not so far from the brown and blue "antigovernment" Oklahoma-bombers, and the Swedish "Olympiabomber".
All these political groups and tendencies are more than 67% authoritarian on the economical-political map, ideologically and/or in practice, spread not far from the bottom of the E.P. map from the left to the right respectively; Osama bin Laden's and "Doctor Dead" Ayman al-Zawahiri's, RAF, FC-55, Oklahoma and Olympia bombers' aims in ideological manifestos may be "anti-capitalist", "anti-imperialist", anti-globalisation" and/or "anti-state", "anti-goverment" or "anti-authoritarian" with more or less "good intentions", but this is not relevant. The real aim is always the consequences of the means that are used, and nothing else, and "wannabe libertarians" never take that significant into account. That's why they are "wannabes" - and never libertarians, i.e. anarchists. Marx himself was also quite a quasiscientifical "fogarch" as well as Trotsky and his followers.d) anarchism has no religion/ideology, and no devils, but look scientifically and critically on the matter and different cases, having capitalism and statism as possible working hypothesis for evils in the society, but also look on other items, proportional to realities, trying to be as objective as possible. The most of the analysis is about realistic alternatives, a scientifical social organization theory for life without statism and plutarchy, i.e. significant; - for autonomy and socialism, not rabid "anti-....", and with realistic strategies and tactics. Furthermore, anarchism take fully into account that the real aim is always the consequences of the means that are used, and nothing else.No anarchist would suggest that these and similar marxistoid, Trotskyite "libertarians" should be taken seriously as libertarian, i.e. anarchists!
XXXIII. Updated figures and new scenarios of anarchist economics. Duhalde continues on the wrong track. Protest marches. More comments. Brown Card to La prensa. More riots. Unemployed marching. No to marxist-lubbeism. Hike demand to hike employment
First we must remind our readers about what is indicated above, that Argentina is not bankrupt in real terms. It is a quite resourceful country, i.e. much real capital, with an approximately optimal size of the population. What is "bankrupt" is just the present populist-mercantilistic system, the bureaucray broadly defined has been looting the people, the foreigners and the future to such an extent that it is not working anymore at all. There is a 140-150 billion US $ foreign debt . Usually this must be paid back through exportsurplus, but it is alternatively possible to do away with the debt by public buying of some of the natural resources/real capital, financed by printing fresh pesos, by taxation or expropriations, or a combination, and then sell these natural resources/real capital to foreigners for US $, and pay back the foreign debt, and/or sell out some already public property in the same way. Thus, the so called Argentinan "crisis" is just a system fault, not a real economical problem, as, say, the problems in Afghanistan and Palestina. The whole "problem" is mainly due to monetarist money-illusions and the corrupt, bureaucratic, almost totally inefficient and unfair economic-political system in Argentina. One, floating exchange rate, is one step towards an improvement, but may also have reactionary consequences, if not combined with the rest of the anarchist economical-political plan.
The price hike on bread, pasta, oil and other basic food products is now about 30% and increasing. The government's aim at about 15% inflation from 2001 to 2002, seems a bit unrealistic, but we may use this as a lowest inflation case in our scenarios. Furthermore the now about 22 % officially registered unemployment is probably just a tip of the iceberg. Thus the labor force may increase a bit if /when total demand is hiked towards full employment. Thus we may analyse the following scenarios for approximately full employement by demand management:
1. The "official" (not
very realistic) scenario, 15% inflation, 23% employment hike and
2% productivity hike etc, indicating the following necessary
demand hike:
Demand hike = 15% + 23% + 2% = 40%, i.e. =>
40% increase in nominal net national product.
2. A moderate alternative, based
on the already registrated tendencies, 30%
inflation, say, 28% employment hike and 2 % productivity hike:
Demand hike = 30% + 28% + 2% = 60% i.e => 60%
increase in nominal net national product
3. A likely alternative, based on
50% inflation, 28% employement hike and 2 % productivity hike etc.:
Demand hike = 50% + 28% + 2% = 80% => 80%
increase in nominal net national product
4. A moderate hyperinflation alternative, if demand is hiked with too much printing fresh pesos, - 70% inflation, 28% employement hike and 2% productivity hike etc: Demand hike = 70% + 28% + 2% = 100% => 100% increase in nominal net national product, i .e. two times the 2001 net national product.
If a demand hike is financed mainly by printing fresh pesos, a hyperinflation - stagflation spiral may happen, the unemployment problem will increase, and inflation may perhaps be as much as 500-1000%. This will not happen if the anarchist economical plan is approximately implemented, but may very well happen if the bureaucracy economical looting-policy is still going to rule. This will probably also make the poor even more poor.Thus, Duhaldes policy and "plans" so far are no solution.An approximation towards the anarchist economical plan is a must for a positive solution in Argentina. The scenarios 1-4 above indicate a quite dramatical change of redistribution of income, hike of wages for the poor, taxation of the rich, expropriation, credits, a public deficit, semipublic investment banks, etc. to give the necessary demand hike to do away with the unemployment in a fair and efficient way, based on free contracts - not slavecontracts, etc.; in short progressive anarchist economics,... the anarchists say: "A joint action from the labor unions and the more progressive political organizations, the libertarian included, the people's movements in general, and the media, to put pressure on the government, or perhaps replace the present system with a new, to get a movement compatible with the anarchist economical plan, seems to be necessary...." In a television interview late Tuesday 12.02.2002, Duhalde put a brave face on the daily protests against the cash crunch and growing unemployment, saying: "It's ridiculous to believe a president will step down because of protests. I'm even less likely to step down if the crisis gets worse." Attributing his determination to his Basque roots, the stocky former vice president from the Peronist Party promised that within "two months these things that bother people like roadblocks will disappear and things will calm down.
" That depends among other things on the economical policy!"... the anarchists say.13.02.2002: The Argentinian government has had talks with the IMF, but no deal is done so far. The peso has strengthened from its lows right after devaluation to close on Wednesday at 1.95 to the dollar on the retail market and 1.98 for large-scale deals. But traders agree the relative stability is due to the cash crunch rather than any newfound faith in the peso from people who have always stashed away their savings in U.S. dollars. Another reason may be that with the economy so depressed, there simply is not enough money in circulation to create a run on the currency. Argentines' savings are still restricted by limits on cash withdrawals, imposed to stop a record run on banks last year. Since the public sector and local businesses have no access to credit, many shops and factories have been forced to close, driving up unemployment.While prices on imported goods rise, fueling fears of a return to the hyperinflation of the 1980s, barter markets offering goods and services from food to plumbing have spread. Bankers say Argentina has a month to secure foreign aid before it falls into the grip of hyperinflation. January's 2.3 percent rise in consumer prices in a country accustomed to zero inflation for years and mindful of the daily and even hourly price rises seen back in the 1980s, showed how panic-inducing a real bout of hyperinflation would be.
14.02.2002: " The new 20% taxation on oil export, cut in public spending, and more loans from IMF, plus a general price hike, will contribute to cut demand even more, and increase unemployment and the problems in general!", - the anarchists say: "Duhalde continues on the wrong track!" For the past three days exchange houses in Buenos Aires have been the scene of long queues, with many ordinary Argentines lining up under a hot sun to carry out currency transactions. Elsewhere in the capital and around the country protest marches by various groups have been continuing, with savers demanding access to their money and teachers demanding that their salaries be paid. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that troubled Argentina needs to present a viable economic and political reform program to win aid from the International Monetary Fund. Schroeder, who met with Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso on Thursday and later in the day will travel to Argentina, said Buenos Aires needs to come up with a credible plan to haul itself out of financial crisis and to demonstrate that it has the political will to implement it. Provided that is done, the "IMF should help Argentina to help itself," Schroeder said at a joint news conference with Cardoso. "Argentina needs a well-calculated and viable reform program," he said. Schroeder said bilateral aid from Germany to help Argentina was not under discussion and that aid for Latin America's No. 3 economy was an issue for the IMF. German government sources traveling with Schroeder say that a program presented by Argentina to the IMF is pointing in the right direction but it is not ambitious enough. One question yet to be addressed is full reform of the banking system and a guarantee of economic growth, they say. "This should be a reasonable implemention of the anarchist economical plan", the anarchists say, -"and it should be more of a small revolution than a reform. Furthermore, Germany, with ca 8-10% registrated unemployment and huge bureaucracy costs is perhaps not the right country to talk loud in this matter..."
A U.S. official working on Duhalde's request about more borrowing from IMF said it would not be surprising if Argentina has to change the assumptions made in its budget. Newspapers in Buenos Aires reported on Thursday that the IMF had demanded large spending cuts in the proposed budget during the Washington meetings. "With respect to changing assumptions, any time you're putting together a budget...assumptions change," he said. "It's always a question of how frequently you need to update them and I'm sure they'll be updating the assumptions...just like any other country would." The United States is urging Argentina to treat all investors fairly when deciding how to deal with recent changes to its exchange rate. Several major U.S. companies and banks have large investments in Argentina and, fearing violation of property rights, have asked the U.S. Treasury to try and ensure their interests are protected. "What we're doing now is trying to indicate to Argentina they need to treat all investors fairly so there is no discrepancy in any of these matters," he said. He repeated that Treasury has lawyers looking at investment treaties to see whether any rights have been violated.
15.02.2002: "The USA seems to be afraid of more looting of foreigners from the upper classes of Argentina", the anarchists say: "Furthermore, USA with enronomical plutarchy in the economical and political spheres is perhaps not the right country to talk loud in this case. It's about time to change the chaotic bureaucratic populist looting system of Duhalde to something more fair and efficient. i.e. towards anarchist economics! The plutarchical bureaucratic looting of the people, the future and the foreigners must soon be brought to and end!"15-16. 02 2002: Argentine Central Bank Governor Mario Blejer said on Friday the government plans next week to ease some of the harsh restrictions on bank withdrawals to allow people to make large purchases such as homes or cars. He credited the relatively calm performance of the peso in its first week as a freely floated currency, saying it gave the government the ability to lift some of the onerous limits on bank withdrawals. "We will allow the transfer of deposits from individual to individual for the purchase of houses or cars or other registerable assets," Blejer told Wall Street analysts and investors at an Americas Society meeting here. The central bank governor said the new measures may take effect early next week. Argentina in December imposed draconian banking restrictions, limiting the size of cash withdrawals from consumer bank accounts in a desperate and ultimately failed bid to prop up the peso's peg to the U.S. dollar. Blejer, on his first visit to Wall Street since taking office less than a month ago, said the flotation of the peso had gone relatively well, with the currency defying predictions of a sharp slide. "We were very concerned about how the beginning of the foreign exchange markets will be. We are very pleased with the way this has happened. There was a thin market, it is true, but it was a very peaceful beginning. But he acknowledged that one reason the peso had been stable around 2 per dollar was because people do not have full access to their money.
He said Argentina had to ease bank restrictions cautiously to make sure the peso will not tumble."If you have to float, it is much better to go slowly than to jump into the unknown," he said. Blejer noted that the peso's full float came on the same day that the government allowed Argentines to fully withdraw current wages from the banks. "People did not take the money and run to buy foreign exchange ... This could be a good indication we may be able to liberalize more and faster," he said. A sharp fall in the peso would greatly increase the pain of those who must repay dollar-denominated debt with a devalued currency. Blejer reiterated that one of the country's goals is to find a way to convert dollar-denominated debt into pesos. "The intention of the Argentine government is to "peso-fy" the economy, to de-dollarize,", Blejer said. He said Argentina wants to de-dollarize some of its own debt issued by provinces or the centrial government, but gave no further details. Blejer said the central bank, which did not have to bother with setting monetary policy for the past decade when the peso was tied one-for-one to the dollar, lacked many of the tools to effectively manage monetary policy. He said the central bank would not adopt inflation targeting this year because it and the broader banking system lacked the institutional capability to do so. He said the central bank was trying to find a way to introduce overnight peso bills so that the bank will have the tools to conduct open-market operations, a key instrument in day-to-day monetary policy.Given the limited range of tools available to control the money supply, Blejer said the central bank would mainly rely on controlling the amount of pesos it would print and inject into the system.
He said the government would limit peso
issuance to 3.5 billion pesos this year, an amount he said would not stoke inflation
beyond price rises expected following the peso's devaluation. He said the 3.5
billion pesos would be divided between financing the public sector and providing
support to the banks. Blejer also expressed concern over the proliferation of
multiple currencies in the form of bonds issued by the provinces, and he said
the central bank would work hard to make sure they do not dilute the bank's
monetary targets.16.02.2002 "This is far from sufficient measures
to do away with the unemployment in a fair and efficient way", the anarchists
say. 15.02.2002: The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, has called on
the International Monetary Fund to begin releasing financial aid to Argentina.
Speaking in Buenos Aires following a meeting with the Argentine President,
Eduardo Duhalde, Mr Schroeder said the money should be released gradually at
the same time as Argentina carried out economic reforms. Correspondents say
his comments mark a departure from the position of the IMF, which has told Argentina
that there will be no money until the government puts its finances in order.
Mr Schroeder later met German relatives of those who were killed or disappeared
in Argentina during the period of military rule. Argentina is the final leg
of a Latin American tour by Mr Schroeder, who also stopped in Mexico and Brazil. The Anarchist International Embassy sent a note summarizing the anarchist
plan to embassies, the media etc. world wide, also commenting the situation:
THE NEW SITUATION IN ARGENTINA: The AIE reports about the new anarchist
economical recovery plan for Argentina including scenarios and comments, and
a full overview of the situation so far, from THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANARCHISM
NO 6 (31) updated - including reports from F.O.R.A. & F.L.A., the syndicalists
& anarchists in Argentina: I. The last news and comments & II. The new
plan and updated scenarios: I. The last news and comments 08-15.02.2002 The protests continue! The people fear inflation! Down towards
60% devaluation! Report and summary from F.L.A., in Spanish. Updated figures
and new scenarios of anarchist economics.
Duhalde continues on the wrong track. Protest marches! Germany, USA, IMF and the anarchists have something to say about the chaotic populist looting system of Duhalde. "The USA seems to be afraid of more looting of foreigners from the upper classes of Argentina", the anarchists say: "It's about time to change the chaotic bureaucratic populist looting system of Duhalde to something more fair and efficient. i.e. towards anarchist economics! The plutarchical bureaucratic looting of the people, the future and the foreigners must soon be brought to and end!" II. The new plan and updated scenariosFirst we must remind you that Argentina is not bankrupt in real terms. It is a quite resourceful country, i.e. much real capital, with an approximately optimal size of the population. What is "bankrupt" is just the present populist-mercantilistic system, the bureaucray broadly defined has been looting the people, the foreigners and the future to such an extent that it is not working anymore at all. There is a 140-150 billion US $ foreign debt . Usually this must be paid back through exportsurplus, but it is alternatively possible to do away with the debt by public buying of some of the natural resources/real capital, financed by printing fresh pesos, by taxation or expropriations, or a combination, and then sell these natural resources/real capital to foreigners for US $, and pay back the foreign debt, and/or sell out some already public property in the same way. Thus, the so called Argentinan "crisis" is just a system fault, not a real economical problem, as, say, the problems in Afghanistan and Palestina. The whole "problem" is mainly due to monetarist money-illusions and the corrupt, bureaucratic, almost totally inefficient and unfair economic-political system in Argentina. One, floating exchange rate, is one step towards an improvement, but may also have reactionary consequences, if not combined with the rest of the anarchist economical-political plan.
The price hike on bread, pasta, oil and other basic food products is now about 30% and increasing. The government's aim at about 15% inflation from 2001 to 2002, seems a bit unrealistic, but the we may use this as a lowest inflation case in our scenarios. Furthermore the now about 22 % officially registered unemployment is probably just a tip of the iceberg. Thus the labor force may increase a bit if /when total demand is hiked towards full employment. Thus we may analyse the following scenarios for approximately full employment by demand management:
1. The "official" (not very realistic) scenario, 15% inflation,
23% employment hike and 2% productivity hike etc, indicating the following necessary
demand hike:
Demand hike = 15% + 23% + 2% = 40%, i.e. => 40% increase in nominal net national
product.
2. A moderate alternative, based on the already registrated tendencies,
30% inflation, say, 28% employment hike and 2 % productivity hike:
Demand hike = 30% + 28% + 2% = 60% i.e => 60% increase in nominal net national
product
3. A likely alternative, based on 50% inflation, 28% employement hike and
2 % productivity hike etc.:
Demand hike = 50% + 28% + 2% = 80% => 80% increase in nominal net national
product
4. A moderate hyperinflation alternative, if demand is hiked with too much printing fresh pesos, - 70% inflation, 28% employement hike and 2% productivity hike etc: Demand hike = 70% + 28% + 2% = 100% => 100% increase in nominal net national product, i .e. two times the 2001 net national product. If a demand hike is financed mainly by printing fresh pesos, a hyperinflation - stagflation spiral may happen, the unemployment problem will increase, and inflation may perhaps be as much as 500 - 1000%.
This will not happen if the
anarchist economical plan is approximately implemented, but may very well happen
if the bureaucracy economical looting-policy is still going to rule. This will
probably also make the poor even more poor.Thus, Duhaldes policy and "plans"
so far are no solution.An approximation towards the anarchist economical plan is a must for a positive
solution in Argentina. The scenarios 1-4 above indicate a quite dramatical change
of redistribution of income, hike of wages for the poor, taxation of the rich,
expropriation, credits, a public deficit, semipublic investment banks,etc. to
give the necessary demand hike to do away with the unemployment in a fair and
efficient way, based on free contracts - not slavecontracts etc.; in short progressive
anarchist economics,... the anarchists say: "A joint action from the labor
unions and the more progressive political organizations, the libertarian included,
the people's movements in general, and the media, to put pressure on the government,
or perhaps replace the present system with a new, to get a movement compatible
with the anarchist economical plan, seems to be necessary...." Furthermore of the mentioned demand hikes a large part should go to investments,
both domestic real investment to create new jobs, and financial, i.e. through
an exportsurplus, to stop an increase or reduce, the foreign debt. Total demand,
i.e. the general budget, is real investment plus consumption and exportsurplus.
The mentioned hike in total demand could be devided with ca 1/3 on each post
on the general budget, and most of the consumption hike should go to the poor,
i.e. the new employment should not be with slavecontracts, but free contracts.
The Peso must also be devaluated more, ca 70% vis-à-vis US $.
Horst Koehler, managing director of the IMF, urged Argentine authorities to
develop a comprehensive and coherent economic strategy. The anarchist plan is
just such an economical strategy, and they have also indicated ways to implement
it, i.e. through expropriation, property tax, redistribution of income, semipublic
investment banks, and the free contracts, autogestion, etc. IMF, Duhalde, and
most of the Argentinian labor unions have not come up with anything serious
compared to the anarchists. More details of the plan and the basical anarchist
economical laws, are mentioned in IJ@ 6(31). Click on URL http://www.anarchy.no
and then the rollebanner of International Journal of Anarchism, if you are interested
in seeing more of it. See also: 1. The system theory of anarchist political
economy and social organization research at URL http://www.anarchy.no/a_e_p_m.html.
2. The general theory of anarchist economics at URL http://www.anarchy.no/aneco1.html
3. The anarchist class analysis, i.e. economic-political sociology and industrial
organization research, at URL http://www.anarchy.no/klasse.html for a theoretical
update. Cordially .... C. d'a. A. Quist for AIE
16-7.02.2002. IAT REPORTS ABOUT CHAOS AND OCHLARCHY IN ARGENTINA - NOT ANARCHY - BROWN CARDS TO DUHALDE, BBC AND LA PRENSA20.12.2002: BROWN CARD WARNING FROM IAT-APT: Some of the international newsmedia have called the present riots and ochlarchical situation in Argentina "anarchy", or close to "anarchy". This polyarchical, chaotic situation has however more than 67% authoritarian degree on the Economical Political Map, and thus far from anarchy, i.e. less than 50% authoritarian degree. The International Anarchist Tribunal reacts immediately to this authoritarian mix of anarchy and chaos. Anyone who calls this chaotic situation "anarchy" may receive a Brown Card from the tribunal. A chaotic mix of polyarchy, ochlarchy and plutarchy, rivaling "states within the state" have nothing to do with anarchy or anarchism.04.01.2002: BBC calls the ochlarchy and chaos in Argentina "anarchy", and thus gets the first "Brown Card" from IAT in this case. 16.01.2002 BBC reports about Duhalde calling the populists' selfmade economical chaos "anarchy", indirectly calling for an "arch", i.e. strong rule and dictatorship, and Duhalde gets a Brown Card from the IAT, together with BBC, which joins in this false song. BBC says Argentina is on "the brink of anarchy".
The fact is that it has never been more far from anarchy since the "dirty war". The media should stop making such disinformation. Call it what it is, i.e. an authoritarian populist chaos and ochlarchy, etc., not anarchy, which is the quite opposite. 16-7.02.2002 Brown Card to La Prensa in Argentina from IAT. The International Anarchist Tribunal - The Anarchist Press Tribunal - International Branch, shows the Argentinian newspaper "La Prensa" the Brown Card for mixing up anarchy and ochlarchy (mob rule) in Argentina, wrongly calling the trace of mob rule for "Postcard of Anarchy", i.e. "Postal de la anarquía : Con martillos y herramientas, ahorristas enfurecidos procuraron abatir las gruesas defensas de la Casa Central del Citibank, en la City. Los desocupados cortaron calles en el Gran Buenos Aires y en el interior. En Santa Fe invadieron la sede municipal. En Dock Sud fue liberado el acceso a la planta del Polo Petroquímico, impedido por piqueteros y que amenazaba el suministro de combustible a las estaciones de servicio." Mob rule(rs) - ochlarchy - is quite the opposite of anarchy - (management) without rule(rs). Newspapers etc. spreading such authoritarian disinformation, in a severe case or several times, get the Brown Card, according to the Oslo Convention of 1990.The authoritarian, brown, strategy of making chaos, falsely rename it anarchy and call for the arch, "the strong man", is well known. Anarchists wan't have any of that! (See more information from/about the IAT by clicking the link for "The Int. Anarchist Tribunal" at the AIIS-homepage: http://www.anarchy.no )17.02.2002: OAXACA, Mexico, - Argentina's plan to revive its economy could succeed although the country will sink into a deep recession this year, the World Bank's chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean told Reuters.
Guillermo Perry said the crippling crisis that has sent the Argentine economy into a tailspin will also drag down average growth rates across Latin America in 2002 to between 1 percent and 2 percent. Without Argentina, growth would average 2percent. "The cost of the Argentine crisis is fairly heavy, there will be a deep recession (in Argentina) this year and the new economic plan that is coming together has very strong possibilities of succeeding," Perry said in a weekend interview. Argentina is going through a profound economic crisis that has already forced it to default on its debt and ditch its currency regime that pegged the Argentine peso one-for-one with the dollar. Two weeks ago, South America's second-largest economy unveiled its new economic plan, fully floating the peso and partially lifting a savings freeze that had sparked protests across the country. "Now there is a clear and defined direction that is workable," Perry said. "If (Argentina) comes out of this well and if confidence returns in the future among Argentines with their bank deposits, there will be a more flexible Argentina, although this year is going to be tough."
Perry was interviewed on the sidelines of a two-day conference in this colonial city southeast of Mexico City, on emerging market economies, organized by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Mexico's Finance Ministry. Economists and analysts expect Argentina's economy, which has floundered for four years between stagnation and recession, will shrink again in 2002 some 6.0 percent to 10.0 percent. "Right now the main topic is how to rebuild the solvency of the financial system ... and how to rebuild completely a system of payments," Perry said. Argentina's Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov led a two-day visit to Washington last week and successfully defrosted relations with international lenders, which he hopes will turn into a much-needed cash injection. Argentina already has a $22 billion loan program with the IMF but it was frozen in December after the country missed a set of stringent fiscal targets. More than $8 billion remains in that program. But given that the government and economic circumstances in Argentina have changed, the program must be reworked or completely rewritten before any more money can be withdrawn, or new money lent. Perry said the Argentine recession would drag down economic growth across Latin America in 2002. "It is difficult to hazard a number (for growth in Latin America) at this moment," Perry said. "My estimate this year is for between 1 and 2 percent, taking Argentina out of the equation, it would be 2 percent. In coming weeks, an IMF mission was expected to travel to Buenos Aires to start formal talks about the new economic program, although Perry said it was premature to talk about possible amounts of cash help that could be disbursed. "There have been some announcements from multilateral entities to the affect that once there is a complete plan, once there is clarity on how external borrowings will work ... at that moment I believe there would be a clear willingness to support the process," Perry said."Now, in terms of how much, it is very premature to think about that," he added. Argentina's Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said recently that the country needed $22 billion to $23 billion in financial aid to enable the economy recover.
18.02.2002: The anarchists say the talk of Perry, and not to mention Todesca, are just vague talks, and nothing else. "The financial system is in itself not at all important. It is the real economy that is important, not the financial. A plan not starting with the real economics, and continuing to deal with the real economy, is not a real economical plan! No real plan without progressive anarchist economics". To put it frankly Guillermo Perry sounds incompetent! Argentine industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 18 percent in January, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to preliminary figures issued by the Economy Ministry on Monday. Hundreds of Argentines angry over a freeze of their bank deposits smashed banks' windows with hammers and rolling pins and pounded on their doors on Monday as the government struggled to halt snowballing inflation. Protesters cut off traffic and spray-painted "Gangsters!" on banks' boarded-up walls in an unusually intense version of now daily demonstrations against the emergency freeze, decreed by the government to keep Argentina's brittle financial system from collapsing during a chaotic four-year recession. Exchange houses in Buenos Aires' financial district beefed up their security, fearing a repeat of the December riots that killed ca 27 and helped topple two presidents as Argentina's increasingly militant and frustrated middle class lashes out. "We feel ripped off because we're not the owners of our own savings," said Eduardo, 54, a former machinery operator, his voice barely audible as many banged on pots and pans in noisy protest. "We are all honorable, working people, but the injustice of all this enrages us."
With price mark-ups on bread and even treasured local beef stoking the weary public's anger further after last month's devaluation, President Eduardo Duhalde's government met with oil companies to prevent a dreaded rise in fuel prices. The companies say they must raise prices to compensate for the cash-strapped government's recent decision to levy a new tax on fuel exports, but Duhalde said he would try to secure a promise from the companies not to pass on costs to consumers. "I let the oil companies know that for a long time they had huge earnings and under no circumstances are we going to allow increases in fuel prices like Argentina's newspapers say," Duhalde told reporters. Analysts say Duhalde risks being booted out like his predecessors unless he can prevent rampant inflation, which looms as the latest in a series of disasters amid a recession that has left a third of Argentina's 36 million people in poverty and over 20 percent unemployed. Just a dozen blocks away from where protesters slashed the tires of an armored car carrying banknotes, about 1,500 people lined up outside Buenos Aires' main courthouse to try and recover their frozen savings by filing lawsuits. A previous government slapped the curbs on deposits in December to halt a crippling run on banks, but the restrictions have suffocated already moribund consumer spending, dried up tax revenues and sparked ceaseless public outrage. Duhalde has since tried to ease the restrictions but is caged in by the fragility of banks, which economists and ratings agencies say are insolvent, and the need to keep liquidity low to prevent a massive depreciation of the peso.
19.02.2002 The anarchists are warning Duhalde! " Generally speaking mercantilistic import and export taxes/regulations are usually bad bureaucracy economics. Just cut the export tax on oil, find another way to get a public part of the oil-profits (say, look to Norway), mainly tax the plutarchs instead, and begin with the anarchist economical plan in general," the anarchists say, " - if not - the worst case stagflation-hyperinflation scenario may more and more become a reality. The time is running - tick - tick - tick...!"Every day in depressed Argentina, students, grandmothers and unemployed truck drivers alike flood city streets to ask for "the impossible". Hundreds gather outside insolvent banks to demand the return of deposits that no longer exist, not even on paper. Others bang on pots and pans in front of Congress, screaming that all the country's politicians should just go away. The vast majority of demonstrators grudgingly admit their cause is probably hopeless. But they still feel strength. Many say the only time they feel able to change their corrupt, decaying country is on the streets. "Am I supposed to just stand here and watch while my country goes to hell?" asked Luisa, a 62-year-old housewife with diamond earrings, as she and others gathered for a protest against banks on Tuesday. "All we can do is march," she added, declining to give her last name as she eyed a line of police across the street from the protest. Anger over a devastating freeze of bank deposits, put in place by the government to keep the financial system from collapsing, has sent entire families streaming out of their houses well after midnight. Fathers whisper to their school-age children they are there for the good of the country. Almost all agree this year will be even worse than the last, with record unemployment set to soar above 22 percent no matter what measures are taken.
The same protesters who demand the resignation of new President Eduardo Duhalde doubt anyone better is around to replace him. But a burning notion that, somehow, the power in Argentina has shifted away from the "political class" and into the hands of the masses has made strange bedfellows out of many in a country that for decades was bitterly divided along class and ideological lines. "Some people say the protests are not constructive, but I think they accomplish a lot," said Diego, a 31-year-old truck driver who came to one of Buenos Aires' poshest neighborhoods to join the protest. "The people feel united, and together we're strong. That is a change for the better." Many have gathered outside the Supreme Court, widely seen as partisan and corrupt, to clamor for the judges to resign, only to later file lawsuits to try and force banks to return their deposits. One man briefly threatened to hang himself from a court building on Tuesday unless his pleas were heard. Observers say the protesters' demands may be unrealistic, but their daily presence is a welcome form of catharsis. "People are making their presence felt," said James Neilson, a political analyst. "They're saying: 'We're here. We exist.' They feel they're fighting, doing something. It may be a totally irrational feeling, but it's enough for some." "Just to march in the street will of course in itself not bringing something new about, but it may be a signal, say, to the parliament, Duhalde and/or the labor federations, do something according to the anarchist economical plan," the anarchists say.20.02.2002: Thousands of unemployed Argentines chanted "We want jobs!" outside Congress on Wednesday, turning up the heat on the government as it fought to keep inflation from tumbling the economy into even deeper chaos. President Eduardo Duhalde warned he would not allow a repeat of deadly riots that helped topple two previous leaders in December, but turnout at the protests was lower than some had expected and no violence was reported by police. In an effort to prevent a return to once-rampant hyperinflation, Duhalde promised to battle rising fuel costs and reverse the peso's slide of 55 percent against the U.S. dollar since a decade-old currency peg snapped last month.
But with a hated freeze on bank deposits suffocating consumer spending and unemployment soaring above 20 percent, many Argentines demanded change by taking to the streets in what have become daily nationwide street protests. "Enough poverty and enough Duhalde!" screamed a woman into a microphone at the rally at Congress as protesters prevented planned legislative debate of an austere 2002 budget, a key condition for international aid. "All the politicians are corrupt and they should all go," she shouted. With recent polls showing more Argentines disapprove of his leadership than support it, Duhalde must fight a battle on many fronts against insolvent banks, price rises in basic goods, a steadily depreciating currency and bubbling social unrest. Tempers frayed at a line stretched more than a mile (1.5 km) long outside one court in Buenos Aires as hundreds of angry savers and their lawyers hurried to file lawsuits to try to force banks to return their deposits. Other savers simply banged their fists on the rails and sheets of metal that are now commonly used to protect banks from daily protests. Duhalde said he would "restore order" if protests got out of hand. Police have made a habit of standing batons in hand on the sidelines at protests, but rarely intervene out of fear of sparking further violence. After some downtown banks had their windows smashed in widespread demonstrations earlier this week, some banks told their workers to dress casually on Wednesday so as not to stand out and risk attacks by angry savers. "The people's plight is understandable, but what I understand less is when they start committing acts of violence," Duhalde told local radio. "A country can't live without a minimal amount of order." Duhalde also told local television his government aimed to strengthen the sliding peso to between 1.60 and 1.70 pesos per U.S. dollar from current levels of about 2.20. Argentina's economy has descended into what Duhalde admits is an all-out depression. Political and financial analysts widely agree that Duhalde, appointed by Congress last month to finish De la Rua's aborted term until 2003, could be forced to call early elections if he cannot control inflation or find a way to ease the suffocating deposit freeze in place to halt a run on banks. trusted the bank with my money because I can't trust the government, but now I can't trust either of them," said Anjelica, a 40-year-old woman who declined to give her last name.
"They are robbing my children's future." Duhalde told oil companies he would not tolerate rises in fuel prices, which have already been raised in some service stations by about 5 percent. Few things scare Argentines as much as the prospect of a return to hyperinflation, which reached 5,000 percent in 1989. Bankers say consumer prices, up 2.2 percent so far in February, will soar soon unless the government can secure billions of dollars in aid from the International Monetary Fund. Energy companies say they must raise prices to compensate for the traumatic currency devaluation and a hefty new tax on fuel exports denting their bottom lines. "It seems fair to me that those who earned so much money for so much time should understand that with the country in crisis, the moment comes where they will have to lose a little," Duhalde said. Analysts doubted, however, if Duhalde actually wielded any power to prevent fuel price rises. "We do not expect the government to do anything about the price hike like freezing prices," said a report from Wall Street think-tank IDEAGlobal. "Keep in mind the (IMF) ... will not endorse interventionist policies, and since Duhalde needs cash, he will not rock the boat. At least not yet." 21.02.1002: "There are reports about radicalist utopian marxist-lubbeists planning "molotov-coctail-parties" in Argentina. There must be no popular support for such "useful" idiots of authoritarians, marxists and fascists alike", say the anarchists:"It's time for anarchist demand management to hike employment!"
XXXIV. Discussions at the parliament, economical data, more protests and more anarchist comments
21.92.2002: BUENOS AIRES, - As protests continued in the streets outside, Argentine lawmakers dragged their feet on Thursday in the debate over steep budget cuts despite the president's insistence that they were the only way to snare desperately needed IMF aid. Lower house deputies said they planned to begin the oft-delayed debate on Thursday of a 2002 budget bill that some economists criticized as a "pipe dream" with only a fraction of the spending cuts that will eventually be needed. Meanwhile, in the latest chapter of Argentina's long, mostly futile battle to rein in the free spending that helped land it in financial crisis, President Eduardo Duhalde struggled to get provincial governors, who mostly hail from the president's own divided Peronist Party, to accept a reduction in the amount of federal tax revenues they receive each month. "Cuttig public spending will probably reduce total demand, the anarchists say; "Keep the public deficit, get rid of the "dead meat" bureaucracry and unproductive frontline service workers, and do some more public services for the people, say, education, healthcare, daycare, etc. "It is just amazing how the politicians fail to get the damned point," said Alberto Bernal, an economist for think tank IDEAglobal in New York. "They don't want to accept that the problem of fiscal accounts is due to corruption and the state being several times bigger than it needs to be." "It is not really the size of the public sector being the problem, i.e. the amount of public spending/demand, - the problem is the money are used on "dead meat", the anarchists say.
Approval of a realistic budget is a key condition for fresh aid from the International Monetary Fund, which Argentina sorely needs to keep insolvent banks from collapsing and help end a widely unpopular freeze on bank deposits. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said on Thursday that Argentina was moving "in a direction that seems correct," but added that IMF money would not come until a workable plan was in place. "You need to create sustainable economic conditions and then we'll be helpful to you again and that's where this problem is at the moment," O'Neill said. "The only way to go to get a sustainable economy is via anarchist economical demand management, etc," the anarchists ssay.Dozens of retirees banged pots and pans outside a state bank in downtown Buenos Aires demanding the release of their savings while small but peaceful protests were held in several neighborhoods in the capital. Residents said they were shocked by Argentine politicians' continued resistance to budget cuts despite the ongoing protests by a weary middle class demanding the government find a way to end widespread graft and corruption. "Argentina lived extravagantly for so long, and now we're poor," said Hugo Crisoti, a doorman outside an elegant turn of the century apartment building laced with graffiti. "The sooner we all realize that, the better."
"This "problem" is just due to money illusions and system faults - not a real-economical problem", the anarchists say: "If the demand is hiked sufficient to do away with the unemployment, the real income may increase the following way according to the scenarios mentioned in chapter XXXIII: Increase in employment, say 23-28 %, plus a productivty hike about 2%, i.e. the purchasing power/realincome will increase with ca 1,02x1,23 = 1,25 or 1,02x1,28 = 1,31, i.e. 25% and 31 % respectively, compared to the present purchasing power/realincome with ca 22% registered unemployment and some hidden (underemployement). This may be done by following the anarchist economical plan. As mentioned Argentina is a rich country on natural realcapital and have a well educated laborforce, so this may work out fine if Argentina is following the anarchist plan.As a deal with provincial governors eludes Duhalde, he reiterated that a breakthrough was near but also referred to Argentina's complete lack of credibility internationally after years of broken promises. Duhalde, Argentina's fifth president since December, must convince the governors to sign off on a deal to reduce the 1.36 billion pesos ($658 million) they receive monthly from the federal government, which needs the extra cash as tax revenues plummet amid the four-year recession.But Duhalde has so far been unable to succeed in talks that predecessor Fernando de la Rua began last August."I'm confident that we can arrive at deals, because this Argentina isn't good for anybody. Nobody in the world believes in us, and we don't have financing for our needs," Duhalde told local radio.
"Mr Duhalde has mostly been working theoretically with drug problems earlier, and seems to have no competence in real economy and anarchist demand management. For employment it is approximately the same if public money are spent locally or by the central administration. He is just doing fiction and money economical politics, that will have no real impact on the total demand, employment, production and realincome/purchasing power," the anarchists say.Duhalde is "fighting" to 1. prevent inflation with bureacratic inefficient "means", 2. stop daily protests by police instead of dealing with the problems making people protesting, and 3. stop a weakening peso currency", that is really only a sound devaluation. Interior Minister Rodolfo Gabrielli warned of possible "social explosions" in the country's provinces, adding: "There's a sense of instability in Argentine society but Duhalde's government is containing it." Some economists say Argentina's excessive public spending last decade was mostly to blame for last month's default on part of its $141 billion public debt and a traumatic currency devaluation that has seen the peso weaken by more than 50 percent against the U.S. dollar.
22.02.2002: "It is the accumulated importsurplus that is to blame, not directly the public spending, - also the private spending has contributed. The importsurplus problem was mainly due to the overvalued peso, which increased imports and reduced exports relatively;" the anarchists say. "The problem probably cannot be solved without a ca 70% devaluated peso or more and a sufficient total demand hike, both private and public, according to the anarchist economical plan. Duhaldes policy cutting public spending and borrowing more from the IMF will probly just give a status quo or increase the present unemployment and the other problems. How can anybody get Argentina all in all to think and act a bit libertarian?" - the anarchists say..."Where stupidity rules - even a gods advice will be in vain!".... and the anarchists are certainly not gods! The bureaucracy economically and political/administrative broadly defined, in private and public sector in Argentina, the people responsible for the present chaotic "system", are to blame - nobody else. The system must be changed, one way or another, in a libertarian direction. But Duhalde still continues on the wrong track.22.02.2002: Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said on Friday early elections were possible if and when social calm was restored in his crisis- ridden nation. Duhalde took over the troubled nation last month after looting and violent riots forced elected president Fernando De La Rua to quit half way through his four-year term. Duhalde was appointed by Congress to finish De la Rua's aborted term, which ends in 2003. The Peronist leader had set elections for mid-September 2003 and had promised not to run. "When we are out of these problems, being a transitional president, one can think that with six or seven months remaining before the elections we could call them earlier because everything is fine," Duhalde told local radio. Duhalde, however, said Argentina is going through "the greatest depression of its history" and it would be "crazy" to call early elections in the present context. Argentina is in its fourth year of recession with official estimates showing 4.5 million people unemployed and 45 percent of its 36-7 million citizens living in poverty.
Argentina's peso and stocks traded flat on Friday in light volume as investors awaited the Central Bank's reply to cash-starved Banco Galicia's request to swap part of its debt for shares, traders said. Argentina's largest private bank, Banco Galicia GAL.BA, asked the Central Bank to forgive part its 2 billion peso debt to the institution and offered new stock in exchange, Banco Galicia director Daniel Llambias said. "Galicia has returned to set the tone of the stock market, given that it is the leading private bank," trader Carlos Belgrano of Rabello y Compania said. Argentina's MerVal stock.MERV index was virtually flat, edging up 0.16 percent to 371.89 points in light volume of 4.3 million pesos. Overall, 10 shares traded unchanged with eight declining and eight gaining at the midsession. The peso traded at an average 2.03/2.06 per dollar for large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange market, compared with Thursday's close of 2.03/2.06. Foreign exchange houses in downtown Buenos Aires quoted the peso at 1.90/2.10, up slightly from Thursday. Last month the Argentine government yielded to years of financial pressure and broke the currency peg that for a decade made one peso equal to one dollar.
After a brief dual exchange system, the peso was fully floated a week ago. Argentine police raided a Spanish-owned bank and a local oil firm in a growing dragnet cast by a judge probing allegations of illegal capital flight, police said on Friday. Under orders by the same judge who earlier this week banned about 20 top banking executives from leaving Argentina while the case is under investigation, federal police raided the boarded-up headquarters of Banco Rio and the headquarters of Pecom Energia SA. After weeks of protests, banks have been forced to shield their offices with metal shutters and tell employees to remove their ties and wear casual clothes to avoid recognition by angry protesters. Argentine banks published full page advertisements on Friday to plead with angry customers to stop attacking their staffs. Oil and petrochemicals firm Pecom Energia PER.BA is the main unit of Argentine holding group Perez Companc PCH.BA. Foreign banks have come under increasing scrutiny in the past months amid depositor protests, following December's banking curbs and January's arrest of an Argentine manager of Banco General de Negocios for alleged money laundering. "The order came from judge (Mariano) Berges and the raids were done this morning, but we have nothing more to state at this time," a federal police spokeswoman said Friday. A spokeswoman for Banco Rio, which is owned by Spain's biggest bank Santander Central Hispano SAN.MC, confirmed that its headquarters were raided but said the raid was conducted earlier this week, while officials at Perez Companc were not immediately available for comment.
A judge investigating another case last month ordered raids on banks suspected of sending armored cars laden with U.S. dollars to airports and ports for shipment abroad. Berges on Wednesday imposed a travel ban on senior executives of the Argentine operations of Citigroup's Citibank C.N of the United States, Italian-controlled Banque Sudameris BFIT3.SA of Brazil, Argentina's Banco Galicia GAL.BA, U.S. bank FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s FBF.N BankBoston and Canadian Bank of Nova Scotia's BNS.TO ScotiabankQuilmes. The order does not mean that any of the bankers is accused of illegal activity, but only that they are the subject of an investigation. Last week another judge ordered Eduardo Escasany, the chairman of Argentina's largest financial holding company Grupo Financiero Galicia GFG.BA, from leaving Argentina while she investigated other allegations of illegal capital flight. Bankers and diplomats said Berges' travel ban sent a chilling message to foreign investors in Argentina but said there is little legal recourse. One bank executive said Berges himself was counting cash in a vault because he does not trust the banks' accounts. "There is no international law that regulates the freedom of movement of foreign business executives. To the contrary, when there is evidence to begin proceedings against a person under suspicion, judges can ban them from leaving the country," Argentine lawyer Tomas Pardina said. About a quarter of all deposits fled Argentina's banking system last year, until the government in early December banned cash withdrawals over a strict monthly limit. Argentina has, as mentioned above, since defaulted on part of its $141 billion public debt and devalued its currency; but its bank curbs remain in place. A middle class Buenos Aires' resident beated a frying pan on the closed doors of a branch of Citibank during a protest against the banking curbs, February 22, 2002. Argentina's largest private bank, Banco Galicia, pummeled by a run on deposits amid nationwide financial populist chaos, said it had asked the Central Bank to take over around half the company in return for massive debt forgiveness.
Traders said a partial freeze on bank deposits in place to stop a run on the brittle financial system continued to keep liquidity low and limit the number of Argentines looking to protect their savings by buying dollars.23.02.2002 "The freeze on bank deposits is "artificial breathing" of the peso", the anarchists say, " such measures are just choking demand and thus contribute to the lack of growth and unemployment problems. Production is real income, not money in the bank - you can't eat money, the things with real economical value are produced goods and services and natural resources. Think real economics - not fiction/money quasieconomics. Argentina should approximately follow the anarchist economical plan, or it will not get the problems solved! - The sooner the better!"Dresdner Bank, the banking arm of Germany's Allianz AG, expects a loss of 80 million euros as it pulls out of Argentina's Banco General de Negocios, a magazine reported on Saturday. Without citing sources, German weekly Der Spiegel said in an article released ahead of publication on Monday that the 80 million euros ($70.18 million) loss would include 40 million from the write off of the book value of its 25 percent stake in BGN. Banco General de Negocios is being investigated by Argentine authorities for alleged irregularities. A spokesman for Dresdner Bank declined to comment on the figures but said its Latin American unit Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika had made "sufficient provisions" for BGN in its 2001 financial accounts. He also said Dresdner would take legal steps to recover its losses.
Earlier this week, other foreign banks, including Credit Suisse Group CSGZn.VX and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM.N, said they planned to leave the management board of the bank, which is being investigated for allegations of money laundering. The foreign banks involved, which have roughly 31 percent in BGN, have pledged to cooperate in the investigations. Though Argentina and the International Monetary Fund once again have been discussing new loans to help ease the country's economic crisis, a fundamental obstacle has emerged. The Argentine government says it cannot carry out the economic changes that the fund and other creditors are demanding unless it receives fresh money from abroad first, but foreign lenders say they cannot advance the country any new money until after it has shown some results. "We need to break the circle," Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said last week before heading off to Washington to talk with I.M.F. officials. But neither side is willing to blink first. Argentina argues that it has already taken a pair of steps that ought to be enough to win a resumption of credit, default or no default. The peso has been cut loose from a decade-long peg at one to the United States dollar and allowed to float — it traded for about 49 cents Friday — and President Eduardo Duhalde has submitted a budget for 2002 that sharply limits government spending. But analysts say there is less to either measure than meets the eye. The budget is based on assumptions about tax revenue and growth, exchange rates and inflation that are considered unrealistic. And with so little cash in circulation because of the 11-week-old freeze on bank deposits, the government has found it easy to manipulate currency trading. Argentina has not said much of anything about how it intends to solve a long list of other problems. These include recapitalizing a banking system that has absorbed billions of dollars in losses, amending a new bankruptcy law seen as discriminating against foreign companies, reducing the size of the state bureaucracy and curbing runaway spending by the provinces.
"It still seems that some things are in a fairly preliminary stage of discussion," said Joyce Chang, head of emerging-markets research at J. P. Morgan Securities. "They made some progress in Washington, outlining common objectives, but the fund still wants to see more of a strategy from Argentina, and Argentina still needs to do more."The muted reaction of creditors has disappointed Argentine officials, who have repeatedly assured an anxious and angry citizenry that aid will soon be on the way. Before leaving for Washington, Mr. Remes told reporters here that he was disappointed that Argentina had not received "more resounding" support and praise for its initiatives. "I think the Argentines felt there was nothing more they could do, and that the I.M.F. would recognize that," said Christian Stracke, a Latin America analyst at Commerzbank in New York. "They don't seem to recognize that the I.M.F. has been so seriously burned by Argentina in the past that it is determined to hold Argentina to a higher standard." The fund cut off assistance to Argentina on Dec. 5. The government then in power fell two weeks later and failed to deliver on promises to cut spending sharply. Though Horst Köhler, the managing director of the fund, described the discussions last week as "very positive and cordial," other officials of the fund and officials of the United States government say that Argentina must still come up with a "sustainable plan" to reform the economy.
Speaking to the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill said he saw Argentina's problems as largely self-inflicted, born of borrowing too freely to finance consumption rather than investment. Though there have been steps in the right direction in recent weeks, he said, more must be done before new loans are warranted.Argentine officials have said that they will need as much as $23 billion to get the economy moving again, and they clearly expect that the bulk of it will come from the fund. But a spokesman for the fund, Thomas Dawson, said that "it is certainly premature to be talking about numbers" and that "there are no packages on the table." Since Mr. Remes's return, the government has gone back to the drawing board to tinker with its economic plan. But President Duhalde has stepped up a diplomatic campaign that seems intended to force the fund to relent on conditions for a new loan. Argentine officials said they were heartened by the visit late last week of the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder; they said he agreed to plead their case with Mr. Köhler, a fellow German. Mr. Schröder was said to favor a "step by step" plan that would give the Duhalde government some of the needed money early on but dole out the rest in stages based on Argentina's performance.Argentina's neighbors have been especially outspoken. At a meeting here on Monday, the six countries of Mercosur, the South American common market, issued a joint statement that called on lending institutions to "understand Argentina's complex situation" and to agree to aid the country while it pursues "internal policies that will permit economic growth" rather than more austerity, as the fund is demanding. "There is a better way to help Argentina," the president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, said at a news conference that was also attended by Mr. Duhalde and the presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. "We don't believe that it is fair to ask Argentina to get things accomplished first and then to get the aid."
"As long as Argentina is not showing signs of thinking real economy, and thus approximately following the anarchist economical plan, they should not get any more loans", the anarchists say.24.02.2002: Recovery from a four-year recession in Argentina will be more painful without fast relief from the International Monetary Fund, President Eduardo Duhalde told a local newspaper on Sunday. "If we resolve everything, if we vote on the budget, if we progress on a new coparticipation (tax sharing) law, I think they (the IMF) will help us. It would be very good for Argentina if they do so quickly. If they don't, Argentina will pull out of this anyway, with more sacrifice, but it will recover," Duhalde told La Nacion newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. The lower house, which had been scheduled to debate the budget bill last week, delayed debate until this week, saying that the lack of a deal between the government and the provinces on the tax sharing plan meant they could not discuss the bill. Duhalde wants governors to agree to receive a percentage of total tax collection each month, rather than a fixed figure. The Peronist president must seal a new federal tax sharing agreement with governors, most of whom are also Peronists, that will reduce the total provincial deficit and trim government spending if Argentina is to win IMF aid. He must also push an austere 2002 budget through Congress to possibly get new loans from IMF. The number of pesos in circulation in Argentina is growing as the central bank prints money to help finance public spending, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca told local radio on Sunday. "There is an increase in the money in circulation" in pesos in the country because of "emission by the central bank," Todesca said, adding the forecast for "monetary emission was 1 billion pesos to finance public spending." A study released by independent think tank Fundacion Capital said the central bank had injected at least 1.3 billion pesos into banks to increase liquidity in February. The study also said that in 50 days, the central bank had issued 72 percent of the projected 2.5 billion pesos it was expected to print to help shore up the financial system. Argentina is stuck in a four-year recession that forced it to devalue its peso currency in January. After the devaluation, the central bank changed its regulations to allow it to print money. The peso closed at an average of 2.08/2.11 per dollar on Friday for large-scale transactions compared with Thursday's close of 2.03/2.06.
25.02.2002: "The peso is going the right way", the anarchists say, "but printing too much fresh pesos to hike public spending, instead of taxing the plutarchists, will soon hike inflation, and thus probably contribute to reduce the purchasing power and employment. Instead Argentina should cut bureaucracy costs and other "dead meat services", and go for demand management according to the anarchist economical plan!"The Argentine government on Monday raced to win political support for belt-tightening measures seen as crucial to earning new loans from a wary International Monetary Fund. Figures showing a 25 percent drop in tax revenues during Feb. 1-22 from the same period last year underlined the urgent need to tackle the high public spending that has plunged the South American nation into its worst economic crisis. Government officials said they would seal an accord with powerful local governors this week to cut the $650 million a month that the central government hands out to the provinces in subsidies. President Eduardo Duhalde said the deal could be reached as soon as Tuesday. Although seemingly possible on paper, spending cuts would cause more pain for Argentina's 36 million people -- already out of patience after nearly four years of recession and months of government restrictions on bank withdrawals. Around 100 angry savers protested outside banks in the city of Mar de Plata to demand the return of accounts frozen by the government to prevent the collapse of the banking system. Protesters threw bags of garbage at the entrance to one of the banks, local media said, in the latest daily street demonstration from both middle class groups and militant unemployed groups.
An official from the government of Buenos Aires province, Argentina's largest and most indebted, warned that the province may cut public salaries and print more of its own currency as industry collapses and tax revenues fall. A US-based think tank warned of large demonstrations. "Do not be surprised to see massive protests this week from state employees." Duhalde, from the Peronist party, said Argentina was considering applying an "extraordinary" one-time tax on profitable companies to help pay for social welfare programs. "As for those who have earned huge sums, significant companies (and) exporters, they should pay an extraordinary tax. It's an issue we in the executive are studying," he told a news conference. No more details of the plan were available. "Better than export tax", the anarchists said. The provinces, poorer than the capital, have been hit by social protests and road blockades from unemployed groups and state workers who have often seen delays in the payment of their wages. Duhalde also wants the provinces to take on some of the responsibility for the collection of national taxes.Argentina's construction sector, one of the hardest hit amid a four year recession, saw output plummet 44.2 percent in January compared to the same month a year earlier, the Economy Ministry said on Monday. Government restrictions on the withdrawal of cash from banks since December is one of the main factors behind the sector's sharp fall, industry officials said. The tumble in construction activity is accompanied by January's 18 percent fall in industrial output, year-on-year, in seasonally adjusted terms.
26.02.2002 "It's time for anarchist economical demand management", the anarchists say, "- or it's possibly going fast towards the bottom of the anarchist political map!"Several hundred Argentines, demanding food and money, protested at banks and supermarkets on Tuesday and blocked highways in a sharp reminder of the social tensions the government faces as it struggles to approve spending cuts to win vital IMF aid.Small groups of unemployed and neighborhood residents demanded food at two supermarkets and a meatpacking factory in the capital, in an eerie echo of protests in December that sparked looting, killed 27 people and ultimately helped overthrew the government. While the incidents were isolated, it was a further worry for President Eduardo Duhalde as he struggled to convince powerful provincial governors to accept cuts in the $650 million a month of federal taxes they receive. Argentina's government failed to reach an agreement on Tuesday on a new tax-sharing deal with the provinces needed to reduce spending and gain access to crucial IMF loans. Duhalde thinks he must seal a new agreement with governors, most of whom are fellow Peronists, to reduce provincial deficits and refinance provincial debt to win International Monetary Fund loans badly needed to restructure Argentina's banking system. Agreement on a new tax sharing plan is also key to gaining support for approval of an austere 2002 budget bill, another of the IMF's conditions for aid. The government aims to reduce the consolidated provincial deficit by about 80 percent to about 1 billion pesos ($463 million) in 2002 from nearly 5 billion pesos last year. Under its proposal the provinces would be required to collect more taxes.
The deficit-cutting requirement means provinces would have to reduce public spending, some drastically. On Tuesday, the governor of Buenos Aires province, the nation's most populous and economically important, to say he would not sign a pact with such a requirement. "I'm not in a condition to sign with the steep drop in tax collection and the increase in spending we have because of the social situation," he said. Roberto Iglesias, Radical governor of Mendoza, said the government's proposal was not viable for most provinces. "The accord is not viable for the provinces, or for the vast majority of the provinces as the proposal is written. But that doesn't mean that we can't make changes that will give us a way out and that is what we have to do," Iglesias said. Duhalde has offered a plan to the governors under which the provinces would receive a percentage of total tax collection each month, rather than a fixed figure. Under a deal signed in 2000, the nation is currently obligated to transfer 1.36 billion pesos to the provinces monthly, though the drop in tax collection in recent months has reduced that figure to 1.187 billion pesos. In exchange for changing the tax rules, the government has said it would share with the provinces money it collects from a tax on financial transactions - some 300 million pesos a month - currently channeled into the federal treasury. The government offered the provinces 25 percent of the receipts of the financial transaction tax, but some provinces want that number to be higher and that has been one of the main contentions in the talks, the Economy Ministry source said. The second issue causing concern among the provinces is the impact the January devaluation of the peso has had on their bottom lines, the source said. The peso has lost more than 50 percent ( now ca $1=2.17 pesos) against the dollar, increasing the size of provinces' dollar debts in local currency terms. The two sides must negotiate at what rate to convert the debts the provinces have with local banks to pesos.
"Cut "dead meat" quasi-employment in public sector instead of cutting public total demand", the anarchists say!27.02.2002: Argentina paid Spain a first installment of interest on Wednesday on a $1 billion loan made through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato said. Argentina's industrial output fell 17.2 percent in January from a year ago, according to preliminary data reported by private consultants FIEL released on Wednesday. FIEL said in a statement that industrial production fell 5.5 percent in 2001 and that output in the fourth quarter fell 12 percent compared with the same period in 2000.
Argentina's governors on Wednesday made a surprise demand for $600 million in back tax payments when resuming tax sharing talks with the government that are key to unlocking IMF aid for the bankrupt nation. Several thousand state workers protested in front of Congress against the 2002 budget bill that plans deep spending cuts. The governors' surprise demand is the cumulative sum of value added tax revenues they say is owed them since the VAT was hiked to 21 percent from 18 percent in the 1990s. Argentina expects to receive IMF aid if a tax sharing deal is reached and the budget is passed. "These talks with the governors will continue until a deal is reached," said Horacio Pernasetti, head of the opposition Radical party's lower house caucus. If a tax sharing deal were reached on Wednesday, Congress could debate the 2002 budget bill on Thursday, officials said. "The budget has a direct relationship with these talks because it sets the amount of money to be transferred to the provinces," Pernasetti said. 28.02.2002:The fall in industrial output, and the probable cut ahead in public demand, may indicate the total demand will fall, and thus it is going the opposite way of anarchist demand management, and then probably more unemployment is on the way. When will these monetarist and neomercantilist populists ever learn to think and operate real economy, not fiction/money economics? - the anarchists say.
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday welcomed Argentina's progress on economic policy and said it hoped to send a negotiating mission to Buenos Aires as soon as next week to discuss restarting financial aid. But Dawson cautioned there remains a "considerable amount of work to be done" and that sealing a new economic program was still a "major challenge." BUENOS AIRES: Buoyed by a hard-fought deal with Argentine provinces on spending cuts, the government on Thursday sought the speedy approval in Congress of a 2002 budget that it hopes will unlock up to $25 billion in crucial IMF aid. The lower house Chamber of Deputies, dominated by the ruling Peronist party, opened debate on Thursday of the budget bill that will slash spending this year by over 14 percent. Analysts and legislators expect it will be approved. The accord with governors eliminates the monthly minimum of $650 million in federal grants to provinces that is blamed for punching a hole in the national budget. Facing daily protests, Duhalde is desperate to pass the budget, a condition to win IMF aid to prop the country's nearly-bankrupt banking system after a messy devaluation. Duhalde has said he was "convinced we are going to receive this aid." Having run out of patience after four years of recession, middle class Argentines have seen billions of dollars lost after their bank account holdings were frozen and then converted into devalued pesos. The government, unable to pay hundreds of thousands of state workers, is anxiously looking for ways to ensure there is no repeat of the food riots in December. Police forces, fearing more looting, have stepped up patrols around markets in the industrial outskirts of the capital. State teachers have joined the escalating protests by announcing a strike next week to coincide with the start of the school year. Provincial governors have, as mentioned above, warned of the dangers of a "social explosion" in this nation of 36-7 million people if the recession continues unabated. Analysts wondered if the new provincial accord - the fifth in a year with the governors - only papered over the growing problems of Argentina, battling to avert a return to hyperinflation after January's devaluation of the local peso currency. "All this activity by the country's politicians is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," said investment bank WestLB in a research report.. Some other economists say the budget's macroeconomic estimates - such as 15 percent inflation in 2002 - are overly optimistic.
01.03.2002: "With other words, that's what we said... "the anarchists say. Argentina has constantly failed over the last few years to meet promised economic and fiscal targets as agreed with the IMF. As complaints of rising prices of basic foods such as eggs and bread in supermarkets grow louder, the peso has steadily weakened. In a sign of the pessimism that pervades the Argentine public over the ability of its political leaders to solve the crisis, Duhalde and top government officials have had to answer questions at news conferences over rumors of military coup d'etats. Analysts and the government say they widely dismiss any chance of a coup after the military - which gave up power in 1983 - lost credibility after the "Dirty War," when a military dictatorship ruled from 1976-83 and thousands of opponents, aminly leftists, were tortured and killed, - "disappeared". But polls show that there is no public figure in Argentina who is widely seen as a possible savior. Indeed, most politicians now avoid busy restaurants and walking on the streets, after increasing incidents of attacks by mobs of angry Argentines. Duhalde, who was appointed by Congress as president in January at the end of a month of political chaos, has seen his efforts to end the recession with dramatic austerity plans, hampered by criticism that he did not win power by popular election. In a sign of the impact of the Argentine crisis worldwide, Spain's largest company, Telefonica, posted a 16 percent fall in 2001 net profit on Thursday, its first earnings decline for nearly a decade, after Argentina's economic crisis bored a hole in its accounts.
"More and more time for anarchist economics, including demand management",
the anarchists say. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde waves from the steps
of Congress after he inaugurated the Annual Assembly, March 1, 2002. Thousands
of flag-waving Peronist militants massed outside Congress in the first large
show of public support for Argentina's embattled government, lifted by progress
of a budget bill seen as vital to unlocking IMF loans.Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde, who ordered the devaluation of the local
peso currency in January, rejected on Friday calls to adopt the dollar as national
currency to solve the recession. "Dollarization would have condemned the
country to definitely lose its monetary and foreign exchange policies, would
have aggravated the problem of our inability to compete and the disintegration
of our means of production," Duhalde told a joint session of Congress in
an annual presidential speech. For once the anarchists agree with Duhalde. Arch-rival
and fellow Peronist party member Carlos Menem, who served as president from
1989 to 1999, had asked the Central Bank in the final months of his mandate
to study ways to dollarize Latin America's third-largest economy. Menem continues
to argue dollarization would pull Argentina out of a recession that has hurt
virtually every sector of the economy, while many economists have said parity
to the strong dollar bloated the value of local goods and services. The anarchists
say Menem is far out. The peso traded unchanged on Friday from Thursday's close
at 2.17/2.20 pesos to the dollar in large scale transactions on the foreign
exchange market. President Eduardo Duhalde on Friday took the political initiative in Argentina's
long crisis, sending Peronist militants onto the streets hours after winning
a vote for a dramatically austere budget in Congress. Thousands of flag-waving
loyalists rallied by the parliament building in a stage-managed show of support
for the two-month-old government, besieged by daily protests against hated bank
curbs and unemployment that touches one in five of the workforce. Witnesses
said some 1,300 police sealed off streets around the parliament building where
Duhalde supporters bearing banners and side drums began arriving for the "Yes
March". The Peronists often bring shanty town dwellers into the city center
on buses for big rallies with the help of free food and transport. The event
is the first mass show of support for politicians since President Fernando de
la Rua was forced from office by protests and food riots in December. Argentina's
political elite, accused of bringing what was once a rich country to its knees
by economic mismanagement and corruption, have kept a low profile in recent
months. With banners reading "put the shit where it belongs" under a picture
of former Presidents Carlos Menem and De la Rua, 200 protesters threw bags of
excrement at Congress on Thursday. State teachers have joined anti-government
protests by announcing a strike next week at the start of the school year. Foreign
companies have suffered. Spain's Repsol YPF announced on Friday a 58 percent
plunge in net profits to 1.03 billion euros ($891 million) last year, after
a crisis in its key Argentine market and weaker oil prices hammered the energy
giant.
XXXV. Report from F.O.R.A. - Organización Obrera Nº55 - in Spanish. More news and comments.
Órgano de la Federación Obrera Regional Argentina • Adherida
a la A.I.T.
____________________________________________Nueva época • Año LII • Nº55 • Enero de 2002
Coronel Salvadores 1200 • C/P 1167 • Buenos Aires • E-mail: fora5congreso@hotmail.com
____________________________________________EL LÍMITE DE LA OPRESIÓN DE UN GOBIERNO ES LA
FUERZA QUE EL PUEBLO ES CAPAZ DE OPONERLE (E. MALATESTA)
____________________________________________
LA DICTADURA DE LA CACEROLA
Vemos las distintas alternativas de nombres que suceden al frente del Estado,
cuya descomposición no es más que el producto de las escasas respuestas
del poder a las necesidades del hombre. Menem, Duhalde, De la Rúa o Ruckauf
no son más que matices sobre un mismo pensamiento: someter al hombre
a leyes y no a justicia.
Las distintas expresiones de repudio van de acuerdo a sus propios anhelos. Está
el que golpea una cacerola por sus dineros, otros por justicia y también
por hambre; no faltando violentos guiados por punteros de oscuros propósitos
de poder.
Que lejos de lo hegemónico de la llamada Semana Trágica en que
el obrero lucha por alejar la explotación. En la F.O.R.A. pensamos en
la transformación de la sociedad en busca de Igualdad y Libertad siendo
la única que nos lleva al camino de la vida misma.
D. S
____________________________________________
NOS SIGUEN MINTIENDO
Los últimos días de noviembre marcaron el desmoronamiento hacia
el abismo de la economia argentina, el empujón final fue dado por el
retiro del circuito financiero de dieciocho mil millones de dólares por
parte de los grandes inversores, los mismos que durante la última década
se beneficiaron con todas las prerrogativas posibles para su bienestar económico
y que significó el mayor padecimiento para la clase trabajadora que se
recuerde, la cual durante ese mismo periodo vio como avanzaba el desempleo y
la pérdida de sus derechos. Para salvaguardar a los banqueros, socios
indispensables del gobierno, al ser los únicos que le prestaban dinero
al Estado, hipotecando la vida de sus habitantes, pone en manos de estos el
manejo y la administración no solo de la mayoria de los depósitos
presentes (considerese que unicamente se retiraron el 23%) sino del futuro generado
por los trabajadores sea por sueldos, comisiones u otro tipo de forma de cobrar
un trabajo; llamándolo con el patético nombre de «corralito»
como si hiciese falta dejar bien definido quien tiene de hijo a quien. Estas
medidas tuvieron su mayor impacto en la llamada clase media, ya bastante empobrecida,
que en buena parte depende del cuentapropismo y vio con estas medidas el fin
de su ubicación social; estos han sido los que generaron las protestas
más dolorosas para el gobierno, un cacerolazo de vecinos de Palermo lo
corroía más que el saqueo a un mercado en Villa Caraza, ya que
sobre estos primeros tenía su base de sustentabilidad política
el gobierno radical. Cuando la protesta se hizo incontrolable el gobierno tuvo
que irse, dejando lugar al posterior paso de comedia generado por la designación
e inmediata renuncia de una seguidilla de presidentes en tiempo record, todo
fiscalizado por los «buenos muchachos» del Congreso Nacional, verdaderos
piratas modernos al servicio de sus propios intereses económicos.
Poniendo
el broche de oro con la designación del sátrapa de Duhalde, el
mismo que está sospechado de manejos mafiosos y enriquecerse en tiempo
record ocupando la función pública. Pero todo sea por la gobernabilidad,
la paz interior y evitar que el pais caiga en la anarquía, como no se
cansaron de repetir políticos y medios de comunicación, buscando
generar temor en esa misma gente que salió a protestar e intentar con
esto justificar la represión sangrienta que quisieron sostener con los
grupos manejados por la policía que realizaban desmanes fuera de la protesta
acotada a cambiar la política económica. Nosotros los militantes
y adherentes a la Federación Obrera Regional Argentina, pertenecemos
a una organización obrera que tiene como finalidad social el comunismo
anárquico y eso no significa que estemos todo el día rompiendo
vidrieras, esto es parte de lo que te quieren hacer creer esos mismos que te
viven mintiendo para seguir manteniendo su bienestar económico generado
por el poder político que manejan. Anarquía por el contrario significa
una nueva sociedad con una estructura horizontal, sin beneficios para unos en
deprimenda de otros, donde cada uno por el solo hecho de pertenecer a dicha
sociedad puede decidir en el ámbito de la libre asamblea sobre los temas
económicos y cotidianos que se presenten. Esta sociedad solo era posible
en un marco de igualdad económica y social de todos sus componentes,
que trabajaran en foma mancomunada para lograr satisfacer sus necesidades, siempre
con la base de la libre asociación donde cada hombre pueda disentir en
el momento que lo crea conveniente pudiendose revocar, si la mayoría
lo desea, las resoluciones y acuerdos tomados por otros hombres en tiempos anteriores.
A esto es lo que le tienen miedo los políticos, por eso mienten y tergiversan
las cosas para generar temor en una sociedad que ya no les cree y de esa forma
mantener el actual sistema de organización social que se encuentra en
estado de descomposición.
Se.S.
____________________________________________
¿QUÉ HACER?
Los acontecimientos del mes de diciembre de 2001 por todos conocido, tiene sus
raíces en el pasado histórico del movimiento obrero antiestatista
y por lo tanto enfrentado a las corrientes políticas que aspiran a tomar
el poder en dicho Estado, llamados generalmente partidos políticos.
El pueblo por medio del voto obligatorio es llevado a ser cómplice perjudicado
e invitado de piedra de la bacanal estatal, por las «bandas» que
toman el poder en los distintos periodos de la historia que nos toca vivir o
estudiar de nuestro pasado.
La Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (F.O.R.A.) fundada en 1901 de
hecho y no de derecho, despreciando la ley que da impunidad y privilegios a
las «bandas» parasitarias y genocidas que saquean, rapiñan,
asesinan al pueblo laborioso y a la riqueza social producida por él mismo.
Dichas «bandas», llamadas democráticas, hasta el Golpe de
Estado de 1930, se cansaron de decretar el Estado de Sitio para reprimir al
pueblo laborioso que luchaba por mejores condiciones de trabajo, jornada limitada,
etc.
Cuando nombran la educación, los hechos demuestran que no les interesa;
a un pueblo culto no se lo puede robar o engañar facilmente, tal accionar
es típico en los políticos profesionales de cualquier parte del
mundo, por ejemplo la destrucción de imprentas, bibliotecas, escuelas
racionales de artes y oficios en las Sociedades de Resistencia del movimiento
de la F.O.R.A., la deportación de compañeros; a esto llaman gobernar.
Desde 1930 hasta 1976 el «maridaje» entre las Fuerzas Armadas y
los políticos profesionales en general es conocido por gran parte del
pueblo. Este «maridaje» engendró y parió la salida
electoral de 1983 - 1989, 1989 - 1995, 1995 - 1999, 1999 - 2001.
1983 - 1989: Indulto, amnistía a los malhechores militares, banqueros, industriales, etc...
1989 - 1999: Se amplía el indulto y la amnistía. Se negocian las empresas públicas, se duplica la deuda externa, la región Argentina crece como lugar confiable para el lavado de capitales, producto del narcotráfico, tráfico de armas, etc... ¿Será esto la Paz Interior? La desocupación, la pobreza, la trata de blancas, es la única producción que sigue en aumento, al igual que la ignorancia de donde toman la clientela cautiva los partidos plolíticos.
1999 - 2001: Esta «banda» es más de lo mismo, asociados con los grupos parasitarios, saquean los salarios de los jubilados, no pagan los salarios de los trabajadores públicos, saquean los depósitos de los ahorristas por un valor de 65 mil millones de pesos. Permiten que los monopolios económicos financieros transfieran al exterior sumas siderales, produciendo el vaciamiento y quiebre por todos conocido.
En base a lo expuesto proponemos:
• Asambleas barriales organizadas manzana por manzana.
• Pliego de condiciones avalado por Asamblea de delegados con mandato revocable
por dicha asamblea.
• Los delegados serán: locales, regionales e internacionales.
• A nivel interno: control y administración de la producción
y el consumo.
• A nivel internacional: la F.O.R.A. en su método de organización
tiene bases para evitar el robo y la rapiña provenga de donde provenga.Compañero N.
____________________________________________
LA SITUACIÓN ACTUAL
La F.O.R.A. vive en este pais y sufre como todos esta trágica situación
económica, ha combatido desde su origen el principio de autoridad que
impone el Estado con su secuela de jerarquias y privilegios y el sostén
del ejército que posee miles de hectáreas de campos y edificios
ampulosos y escuelas y liceos para perfeccionar el crimen, si agregamos a este
vampiro, la Iglesia que desde la Quiaca a Tierra del Fuego y desde Buenos Aires
a la cordillera de los andes con sus miles de escuelas que solo sirven para
anular la razón del estudiante y a las que el Estado tiene la obligación
de pagar más de quinientos millones de pesos al año por mencionarlo
en sus notas. Ya que estamos en tren de analizar este descalabro social puntualicemos
las diferencias que existen entre un ser humano que produce con su trabajo las
riquezas del pais frente al empleado público, un parásito que
consume y gana sueldos incomparables a los del productor, este va cada día
acumulando más bronca hasta que esta estalla ruidosamente y se contagia
todo el país.
La educación y cultura impartida desde las cupulas del poder son al servicio
del Estado, con el acopio de privilegios y jerarquias autoritarias, el Estado
guarda en su seno esta condición y la ejercita desde el origen de su
formación, la autoridad, el hombre es su portador y lo refleja en todo
lo que crea.
El siglo XVIII ha sido pródigo por sus disputas, libertad contra autoridad
y triunfó la autoridad y el capital que ofrecia la posibilidad de las
riquezas y esta a conducido al ser humano a ser capaz de cear vicios y corrupciones
que superan la imaginación de sí mismo; los hombres y mujeres
que aún conservan un poco de rectitud de conducta moral tienen la oportunidad
de hacerla valer con el ejemplo, mostremos que una sociedad corrompida se corrige
destruyendo las causas que lo engendran, el capital y el Estado.
La F.O.R.A. hace suyas las ideas comunistas anarquistas porque son el más
bello y razonado pensamiento forjado por la humanidad através de los
tiempos y las mantiene sin claudicar en ningún aspecto, propaga y defiende
la libertad integral del ser humano, la igualdad moral y material para todos
que borra las fronteras y el color de cada pueblo.J. G.
____________________________________________«LOGROS» SINDICALES
• En los últimos seis años (1995-2001), dirigentes de la
CGT Daer y la CGT Moyano firmaron 941 convenios colectivos con cláusulas
de flexibilización.
• 474 convenios permiten a los patrones prolongar la jornada o birlarle
el cobro de horas extras al trabajador.
• 365 convenios permiten a las empresas requerir otras tareas, además
de las habituales, al trabajador.
• 319 convenios «autorizan» a los empresarios pe-ríodos
de prueba de hasta 6 meses. En su mayoría, son sin indemnización
en caso de despido sin causa.
• 307 convenios resignan el derecho a tomarse vacaciones de invierno, que
concuerdan con el reseso escolar de los hijos.
• 392 convenios «conceden» a las patronales clausulas limitantes
del derecho constitucional de Huelga.
• 287 convenios dejan en manos patronales la recategorización de
los trabajadores.
____________________________________________Ediciones F.O.R.A. ha editado recientemente La anarquía al alcance de
todos, de Federico Urales. Consulte por otras publicaciones.
____________________________________________ANARQUÍA LAS PELOTAS
El ex ministro de economía José Luis Machinea acusó de
«anarquista» al empresario sindical Hugo Moyano cuando este llamó
demagógicamente a no pagar los impuestos. El gobernador de Salta, Juan
Carlos Romero, mientras se encontraba de vacaciones en Mar del Plata y en su
provincia había un estallido social dijo que había «anarquistas
infiltrados». Hace unos meses, el jesuita Jorge Bergoglio advirtió
en un documento de la Iglesia sobre el peligro de «la anarquía
social». Y así podríamos seguir enumerando los múltiples
casos en que las distintas autoridades asocian el término «anarquía»
al desorden y al caos. Por supuesto que la tergiversación del significado
de las palabras empieza en la escuela, donde nos enseñan que el gobernante,
dirigente o jefe es alguien bueno que nos guía hacia el bien, que es
alguien que sabe mucho, tiene grandes responsabilidades, hay que obedecerlo
y por eso debe tener un sueldo mayor al resto. Pero un análisis mínimo
de nuestra vida nos enseña con los hechos que todo gobernante lo único
que hace es vivir de los sometidos que tiene a su mando y cuando haya una rebelión,
en vez de escuchar al pueblo, lo aplastará con la policía o el
ejército, dependiendo de la magnitud del conflicto.
Pedro Kropotkin puede ilustrarnos sobre el sentido que hoy se le da a la palabra orden. «(...) El orden es la miseria y el hambre convertidos en estado normal de la sociedad; es la mujer que se vende para alimentar a sus hijos; es el niño reducido al presidio de una fábrica, o a morir de hambre; es el obrero convertido en máquina...»
En otro artículo, Kropotkin define al anarquismo «como el nombre que se da a un principio o teoría de la vida y la conducta que concibe una sociedad sin gobierno, en que se obtiene la armonía, no por sometimiento a ley, ni obediencia a autoridad, sino por acuerdos libres establecidos entre los diversos grupos, territoriales y profesionales, libremente constituidos para la producción y el consumo, y para la satisfacción de la infinita variedad de necesidades y aspiraciones de un ser civilizado...».
En estos momentos, donde cada semana hay un nuevo presidente, nuevamente circula por los medios la frase catástrofe «vivimos en la anarquía». Nada más alejado de la realidad, no es verdad que no hay autoridad. Hay autoridad y mucha, lo que ocurre es que un grupo de políticos se sacan los ojos peleando con uñas y dientes para ver quien es el que toma el poder. A unos les conviene asumir ahora, mientras que otros necesitan tiempo para reconstruir su imagen y hacer campaña. Con respecto a las protestas del 19 al 21 de di-ciembre de 2001, donde los agentes estatales asesinaron a más de 30 personas, hirieron a 400 y secuestraron a más de 1000, es evidente que el pueblo no soportó más la parálisis mental de Fernando De la Rúa y los caprichos de Domingo Cavallo. Después de tomar los alimentos, el pueblo salió espontaneamente para hacerse oir y hacer valer su determinación contra el gobierno. Pero la brutalidad policial no se limitó a la zona céntrica de la Capital; una semana después, en la madrugada del 28 de diciembre y a raíz de un simple comentario sobre los disturbios en el Congreso, tres jóvenes fueron asesinados a sangre fría por un policía en el barrio de Floresta.
Es significativo que en los enfrentamientos con la policía, los partidos políticos de izquierda –vanguardia revolucionaria, cuadros organizados, partidos esclarecidos, etc.– no prestaron el mínimo apoyo a los que enfrentaron valiente y dignamente a los re-presores del gobierno. Esta actitud reafirma que al aparato partidario solo lo activan para ganar puestos en el Congreso y no para ayudar a la gente que muere bajo las balas de la policía. Los que si activaron su aparato fueron Carlos Ruckauf y algunos grupos de derecha que fomentaron en provincia de Buenos Aires y Capital Federal el enfrentamiento entre barrios creando una paranoia generalizada por los «saqueos».
Sospechoso también es que la noche del 28 de diciembre de 2001 hayan
podido entrar manifestantes al Congreso, hacer grafitis en la Casa Rosada y
patear a algunos policías (por supuesto de bajo rango), cuando la semana
anterior ni siquiera se podía estar en Plaza de Mayo. Antes que un avance
del pueblo, es evidente que el gobierno fue deliberadamente permisivo para luego
influenciar a la opinión pública que antes repudió la salvaje
represión del 20 de diciembre. En otro contexto hitórico, en 1933
el incendio del Reichstag (parlamento) en Alemania, atribuido a los comunistas,
fue aprovechado por Adolf Hitler para aplastar a sus opsitores e implementar
una serie de medidas represivas y sancionar una ley que le conferia «plenos
poderes». ¿Alguien se acuerda lo que vino después de los
«plenos poderes» que el Congreso otorgó a Cavallo y De la
Rúa, y que ahora recibirá Eduardo Duhalde?
Lo que no debemos perder de vista es que las protestas populares pueden ser
manipuladas; así desfilaron por la Casa de Gobierno los dirigentes y
dirigentas de la C.T.A., C.C.C., Madres de Plaza de Mayo, etc. ¡Incluso
el ex presidente Adolfo Rodríguez Saá llegó a reivindicar
a los muertos del 19 y 20 de diciembre!
También existen ciertas contradicciones; muchos de los que golpeaban
sus cacerolas en Plaza de Mayo el 19 de diciembre, antes se quejaban de los
cortes de ruta, y los fiscales que condenaron a luchadores sociales por exigir
comida pacíficamente, ahora se callan la boca frente a la toma compulsiva
de comida por las multitudes hambrientas.
Hay que permanecer atentos, «la mejor policía del mundo»
tiene más poder que nunca gracias a Duhalde.Su.
____________________________________________
¿QUÉ FUE LA SEMANA TRÁGICA?
Corrían los primeros días de enero de 1919 en Buenos Aires, el
calor se tornaba insoportable, los obreros de los Talleres Metalúrgicos
Vasena se encontraban en huelga desde hacía días, los reclamos
eran por la reducción de horas de trabajo de 12 a 8, restitución
de obreros y mejoras en el salario.
El día 7 un grupo de huelguistas se encontraban esperando a los carneros
que hacían el trabajo de los obreros en huelga y al salir estos de la
casa Vasena en 5 chatas cargadas, custodiadas por policías y los mismos
carneros armados, fueron insultados por los huelguistas ¡Carneros! ¡Cosacos!
Inmediatamente comenzaron a disparar, los huelguistas corren a refugiarse, el
tiroteo dura aproximadamente 2 horas; a los custodios se le suman bomberos apostados
en la plazoleta de Alcorta y Pepirí, particulares armados y una tropa
oficial que tiran desde la casa Bozzola y desde la escuela «La banderita».
Disparan sin interrupción. Todas las casas y comercios de la zona quedan
totalmente baleados, curiosamente el lugar más castigado por las balas
fue el local de Metalúrgicos Unidos, ubicado en Alcorta 3483.
El saldo de tan feroz ataque fue de 4 muertos y más de 40 heridos. La Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (F.O.R.A.) inmediatamente declara «La huelga para hoy y aconseja a las sociedades adheridas que estén en la columna que acompañará a las víctimas del capitalismo a su última morada». Llaman a la huelga también Metalúrgicos Unidos, la Federación Obreros Metalúrgicos, la Unión Obreros del Calzado, la Sociedad Obreros Toneleros y Obreros del Tabaco. Vasena es conocido en el barrio por ser un parásito explotador y en un diario de la época se puede leer que dicen «Desde que los trabajadores de la casa lasena, cansados de soportar jornales de hambre y jornadas abrumadoras han resuelto declararse en huelga, este vecindario simpatizando con el movimiento por la justicia del mismo no vacila en prestar su ayuda moral y material». En la vereda de enfrente, la policía y los fascistas por esos días estaban nerviosos y exaltados, aún estaba en el recuerdo los acontecimientos del centenario y empezaban a organizarse con más fuerza.
Además de bomberos y la policía, grupos «independientes» pro-represión se sumaban a las filas, entre otros las brigadas de asesinos voluntarios presididas por el doctor Joaquín S. de Anchorena, quien había constituido la «Asociación del Trabajo» (aunque él no trabajaba), institución con subvención de la patronal. Además en el centro naval un millar de «defensores del orden» eran entrenados para la caza del «ruso», como llamaban a judíos y comunistas; se constituye el comité pro-argentinidad que forma la guardia cívica que más tarde será la primer orga-nización fascista en el mundo, llamada Liga Patriótica Argentina presidida por Manuel Carlés, asesinos de judíos y obreros anarquistas.
El día 9 se forma una manifestación de 200000 personas que acompañan los restos de los caídos el día 7. Desde temprano, en la mañana, más de 5000 personas ya están reunidas. Los huelguistas prenden fuego un portón de la casa Vasena y al llegar el jefe de policía para calmar los ánimos, le vuelcan el auto en que se conducía y apuñalan a su oficial de compañía. Para el medio día el paro es total. Al llegar la procesión al cementerio de la Chacarita, luego de varios altercados y pese a que los obreros habían asaltado una armería para su defensa, la policía y los fascistas armados abren fuego contra la multitud. Cayendo hombres, niños y mujeres sin distinción. Entre los que dan órdenes se puede identificar al mismo hijo de Pedro Vasena.
La F.O.R.A. declara la huelga general revolucionaria, pide la libertad de todos
los detenidos y la liberación de Simón Radowitzky y Barrera.
El día 10 amanece paralizado. Mientras el partido socialista muestra
la hilacha hablando de factores extraños en el gremialismo y de que hay
que volver al trabajo, en las calles son secuestrados y arrestados miles de
hombres, los extranjeros son deportados inmediatamente y el resto es llevado
a la isla Martín García.
Para el sábado 11 el sindicato reformista llamado F.O.R.A. del IX Congreso
se sienta con el asesino L. Dellepiane, recientemente designado gobernador militar
de la Capital y con Vasena a negociar la traición a los obreros. Para
poder volver al trabajo les prometen la libertad de los detenidos y la futura
gestión para liberar a los demás presos políticos sociales
y res-titución de todo el que quiera trabajar. La F.O.R.A. mientras tanto
mantiene la huelga por tiempo indeterminado «a las iras populares no es
posible ponerles plazo, hacerlo es traicionar al pueblo en lucha. Se hace un
llamado a la acción. ¡Revindicaos proletarios! ¡Viva la huelga
general revolucionaria!». En el interior del país las huelgas solidarias
se alzaban en las principales ciudades y fueron apagadas por las tropas mandadas
para dominarlos de parte del gobierno. La Cámara de Diputados aprueba
el 15 el estado de sitio. Ferroviarios levanta la huelga y poco a poco lo que
pudo ser un comienzo de Revolución Social se transformó en una
laguna de sangre que marcaría el futuro del movimiento obrero. La Semana
Trágica dejó un saldo de 1500 muertos, 4300 heridos y más
de 32000 detenidos, además de un dolor mortal en la historia de las luchas
obreras.No.
____________________________________________
ORGANIZARSE CONTRA EL CAPITALISMO NO ES EVADIRLO (I)
Abstenerme de consumir lo que produce el sistema no me va a llevar a ningún
cambio social de abajo arriba, o lo que los anarquistas llamamos Revolución
Social. Es sabido que las leyes del Estado se imponen por la fuerza para que
todo tenga un precio en este mundo. Por lo tanto, una de las medidas que se
podría tomar en dicha revolución sería la de abolir el
dinero. Esto implicaría la no intervención de ninguna organización
autoritaria ni militar en la toma de decisiones dentro de la nueva sociedad.
Pero decir que hoy se puede vivir sin dinero es inaudito (sobre todo en la sociedad de consumo industrialista) y es desentenderse de la realidad que nos oprime. Demás está decir que la explotación del hombre por el hombre comienza con la rapiña y el vivir de arriba de algunos seres despreciables que se comportan como si estuvieran inválidos y se acostumbran a mendigar la comida para terminar viviendo con la sencillez de un monje o enriqueciéndose a expensas del trabajo ajeno (más bien dicho «robándolo»).
Esto es lo que transforma el trabajo en un castigo, en vez de llevarse a cabo
como ejercicio libre y natural de las facultades humanas. Sería hermoso,
desde mi punto de vista, vivir en una comunidad donde cada uno elija el trabajo
más útil y necesario para todos; donde pueda uno también,
cultivar las artes y dar rienda suelta a la curiosidad científica sin
contradecir los ordenamientos de la naturaleza. ¡La naturaleza necesita
seres humanos integrales! Que sean productivos, reproductivos, creadores, que
dancen y canten y que sepan luchar. Así como las funciones que cumplen
los diferentes integrantes de una colmena de abejas, así todas juntas
debe cumplir cada ser humano: productor, creador, luchador y pensador al mismo
tiempo. Si encontrara una comunidad en el mundo, donde se pueda vivir sin dinero
y como la naturaleza manda, pues sería hermoso como un paraiso terrenal;
pero también sería injusto y como castigo saber que en otros lugares
las gentes vivirían oprimidas por el Estado y sumergidas en la miseria
por la acción inmoral de curas, mendigos, comerciantes y ladrones. Que
más quisiera el pueblo honrado que alejarse de todos estos delincuentes
para buscar tierra fértil donde sembrar la semilla de la libertad. ¡Qué
más que vivir libremente, en sociedad, desarrollando todas nuestras potencialidades
y respetándonos los unos a los otros, sin ataduras! ¿Pero qué
van a hacer? ¡Si están sumidos en la ignorancia! Tanto, que creen
que su vida llena de sufrimientos es la mejor escuela. ¿Qué hacer
entonces para terminar con toda esta opresión? ¿Qué hacer
para lograr el bienestar para todos? Una de las claves la dio el viejo príncipe
ruso Pedro Kropotkin, en su escrito La conquista del pan: «Hoy, a medida
que se desarrolla la capacidad de producir, aumenta en una proporción
espantosa el número de vagos e intermediarios. Al revés de lo
que se decía en otros tiempos entre socialistas, de que el capital llegaría
a reconcentrarse bien pronto en tan pequeño número de manos, que
sólo sería menester expropiar a algunos millonarios para entrar
en posesión de las riquezas comunes, cada vez es más considerable
el número de los que viven a costa del trabajo ajeno».
D.M. (Esta nota continuará)
____________________________________________
ELLOS O NOSOTROS
Son ellos o nosotros, hasta hoy implícitamente con nuestra apatía
y nuestro insuficiente esfuerzo hemos cedido el terreno que ha dado lugar a
que la respuesta sea un terrible y doloroso nosotros.
Nosotros los explotados, los excluídos, esos cuatro millones de seres
humanos que sobramos según «ellos», nosotros los que cedemos,
los que nos humillamos, quienes debemos recuperar la dignidad. Cuando digo dignidad
intento imaginarme los rostros de aquellos compañeros, esos anarquistas
que llegaron desde Europa a principios del siglo XX, aquellos quienes se unían
en el camino por la libertad, la justicia, la igualdad, la fraternidad. Esas
personas que dieron sus vidas, quienes se dedicaron de cuerpo y corazón
a la idea del comunismo anárquico; quienes murieron, desgraciadamente,
sin que sus ojos y corazones llegaran a ver y sentir la belleza de la plenitud
humana, aquella armonía que fue el sentido de sus vidas; vidas que fueron
apagadas a sangre y fuego por quienes hoy nos siguen torturando.
De ahí nuestro compromiso, de ahí nuestra obligación para con aquellos que murieron en busca de ese abrazo eterno por la libertad. Y allí nos vemos, de rodillas, cortados desde las entrañas mismas, cegados por este sistema genocida. ¿Y qué? ¿Qué hacemos compañeros?
Otra vez la inmundicia electoral, la farsa sucia politiquera de los asesinos
que nos llevan hasta nuestro fin. Y nosotros ¿qué vamos a hacer?
¿qué pensamos hacer? Como libertarios que decimos ser ¿qué
vamos a hacer? ¿vamos a permitir que se nos sigan riendo en la cara?
¿seguiremos dejando que nos atropellen?
Usted señora, señor que no entiende de que hablo, no entiende
o es que es tan doloroso para mí como para usted, pero a usted le parece
más fácil pensar o intentar pensar, que usted no tiene la culpa
y que en sus manos y posibilidades no entra el poder cambiar las cosas. Terrible
error, así es como se alimenta la destrucción.
Estamos frente a nuestro fin, este es el terror, este es el verdadero terrorismo, la incertidumbre de quien ya casi ha muerto pero aún sufre. Y nosotros ¿qué estamos haciendo? ¿qué pensamos hacer? Quién no haga algo en contra de esto, quien no tome cartas en el asunto es cómplice del exterminio del mundo, es culpable, es responsable, es peor aún que el verudugo mismo, pues este saca provecho de su situación, en cambio esta víctima / cómplice carga sobre sus espaldas el peso de su propio homicidio cobarde.
¿Somos cobardes? Pues si lo somos, tanto peor para nosotros, pues disimulamos con estos aires de libertad; y si no lo somos tenemos la mayor de las obligaciones, para con todos nuestros hermanos, si así es tenemos la más grande de las misiones, así nos cueste el último aliento, debemos luchar hasta lograr la revolución social, debemos cambiar al mundo, pues si no que-remos ser cómplices de nuestro suplicio estamos obligados a luchar, llevando nuestra fuerza y nuestros ideales a cada persona que nos rodee, tenemos en nuestro camino un objetivo y ese objetivo es la libertad, ni más ni menos que la liberación de los seres humanos. Pues bien compañeros a luchar hasta lograr la liberación, o deberemos resignarnos a ser los miserables esclavos, que son doblemente desgraciados, pues esta conciencia que poseemos nos obliga a luchar. Por esto debemos luchar hasta lograr la libertad y la igualdad o debemos resignarnos a ser el esclavo que en su corazón sólo tiene lugar para esperar la muerte, en manos de su amo, esto en un intento desesperado por ser libre, no realmente libre, pues ésta es la «libertad» de quien no encuentra la fuerza para pelear. De esta forma, aunque muriese en busca de la libertad, sería libre por el solo hecho de haber peleado, por haberse comportado como un ser libre que lucha por su felicidad.
Porque no hay oprimido que tenga la culpa de serlo, salvo aquel que conciente
de su agonía atenta contra su propia vida, más aún que
el mismo opresor, pues al no luchar por su emancipación le da piedra
libre a aquel para que lo torture hasta su desvanecimiento.
Por eso hay que unirnos para que nuestros brazos, corazones y nuestros llantos
ante éste dolor sin fron-teras se convierta en la fuerza necesaria para
acabar con esta tortura sistematizada y se convierta en el grito libertario
que ensordezca al mundo de los avaros. V.
____________________________________________
El Movimiento Obrero de la F.O.R.A. tiene:
Como Principio: LA LIBERTAD
Como Medio: LA ACCIÓN DIRECTA
Como Finalidad: EL COMUNISMO ANÁRQUICOLa F.O.R.A. es:
ANTI-ESTATAL
ANTI-POLÍTICA
Y ANTI-DOGMÁTICA
____________________________________________
LAS VÍCTIMAS QUE NADIE LLORA
El 11 de septiembre de 2001 todos lloraron por las víctimas de las torres
gemelas.
El 11 de septiembre de 2001 también 35615 niños murieron de hambre.
Víctimas: 35615 (F.A.O.)
Lugar: países pobres del Planeta
Ediciones especiales de las televisiones: cero
Artículos de prensa: cero
Mensajes del Jefe de Estado: cero
Convocatorias del gabinete de crisis: cero
Manifestaciones de solidaridad: cero
Minutos de silencio: cero
Conmemoraciones de las víctimas: cero
Forums sociales organizados: cero
Mensajes del Papa: cero
Las bolsas: no están mal
El euro y el dólar: remontando
Nivel de alerta: cero
Movilización del ejército: ninguna
Hipótesis sobre la identidad de los criminales: ninguna
Probables autores del crimen: países ricos.
____________________________________________
LO QUE QUEREMOS
Queremos abolir radicalmente el dominio y la explotación del hombre por
el hombre; queremos que los hombres hermanados por una solidaridad consciente
y decidida, cooperen todos voluntariamente en el bienestar de todos; queremos
que la sociedad se constituya con el fin de suministrar a todos los seres humanos
los medios de alcanzar el máximo bienestar posible, el máximo
posible de desarrollo moral y material; queremos para todos, pan, libertad,
amor y ciencia.
Y para conseguir este fin supremo, creemos ne-cesario que los medios de producción
estén a disposición de todos y que ningún hombre o grupo
de hombres, pueda obligar a los demás a someterse a su voluntad ni ejercer
su influencia de otro modo que con la fuerza de la razón y del ejemplo.
Por consiguiente: expropiación de los detentadores del suelo y del capital
a beneficio de todos y abolición del gobierno. Mientras interinamente
esto no se haga, propaganda del ideal; organización de las fuerzas populares;
lucha continua, pacífica o violenta, según las circunstancias
contra el gobierno, contra los propietarios, a fin de conquistar toda la libertad
y todo el bienestar que se pueda.Enrique Malatesta
____________________________________________GREMIOS Y SINDICATOS
Existe confusión hoy, entre los términos gremialismo y sindicalismo
que se emplean aveces indistintamente al ocuparse de la organización
de los trabajadores. Equivocadamente, según nuestro criterio, está
mal que se llame «anarco sindicalista» al que en verdad es «gremialista
anarquista», gremios o sociedades obreras de resistencia se titularon
las entidades obreras asociadas en federación, con tácticas de
acción directa y finalidad idealista, de justicia social.
Así surgió la Federación Obrera Regional Uruguaya (F.O.R.U.),
de orientación anarquista que dio al Uruguay las páginas más
brillantes de la historia proletaria en la defensa de la dignidad y en pro de
la emancipación de los trabajadores.
Expresan claramente las actas constituyentes gremialistas que la sociedad obrera de resistencia se organiza para la lucha social, con la finalidad de la desaparición del actual sistema del mundo, que está dividido en dos clases: opresores y explotadores por una parte, y oprimidos y explotados por la otra. Se asocian los trabajadores y se solidarizan para la defensa de sus derechos, de su dignidad y de sus intereses individuales y colectivos, a la vez que por la desaparición del Estado y este sistema social de privilegiados, que se oponen a la creación de una sociedad de trabajadores creadores del bienestar de todos. Hay diferencias esenciales en móviles y normas, de los gremios igualitarios, las sociedades de resistencias organizadas por los anarquistas y los titulados sindicatos. Los gremios que aún quedan en actividad y su subsistente en el tiempo (F.O.R.U.), siguen repudiando a los consejos de salarios y toda la intervención estatal en el movimiento obrero.
En tanto que los sindicatos constituyen un movimiento de servicio económico combinado con el político, coincidente con la conservación de la realidad social presente, cerrado a toda idealidad revolucionaria. La organización sindicalista es manejada por un sistema más acentuadamente centralista que por el federalismo, y está de espaldas a la emancipación de los trabajadores y la justicia social. No hay posible analogía entre gremios idealistas y revolucionarios y sindicatos para aumentos de salarios y de conservación de esta sociedad, mientras los primeros no admiten la existencia de empleados rentados, de obreros explotando a obreros dentro de la organización, los segundos tienen un funcionariado pago y una casta de dirigentes en sus entidades que constituyen lo que ya se denomina «burocracia sindical». Cerramos el comentario con algunos párrafos de la declaración de principios de la «Sociedad de Resistencia de Oficios Varios» abierta siempre para todos los trabajadores idealistas, que está adherida a la F.O.R.U. y a la A.I.T. (Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores).
«Nuestro objeto no puede ser otro que tratar de establecer una sociedad
más racional y más justa en armonia con las leyes de la naturaleza
y la libertad integral de todos los seres humanos, sin distinción alguna
de clases ni razas. (...) Queremos una solidaridad conciente donde cooperen
los trabajadores voluntariamente por el bienestar de todos. (...) Queremos para
todos: pan, libertad, amor y ciencia».Extraído de Solidaridad (Órgano de la desaparecida F.O.R.U.)
mayo de 1969 nº 280. A pesar de su antigüedad sigue teniendo vigencia.
____________________________________________Se encuentra en proceso de formación la videoteca de la F.O.R.A., consulte
por los títulos existentes.
____________________________________________
YUTA - YUTA - YUTA...
Continuando la nota «Más seguridad es menos policía»
de Organización Obrera de octubre de 2001, ahora pretendemos aportar
información sobre algunos casos concretos protagonizados por los representantes
de «la ley y el orden». Somos concientes que solo conocemos lo que
publican los medios, y los medios trabajan para el sistema, que necesita de
las fuerzas represoras. Harían falta cientos de páginas para abarcar
los crímenes que el gobierno ejecutó solo en estos últimos
meses; aquí mencionamos nada más que algunos hechos genéricos
importantes. Por otro lado aclaramos que las muertes de «delincuentes»
también las consideramos como asesinatos cometidos por la policía,
pero es difícil recolectar la información neceraria por motivos
obvios.
Gatillo fácil: 870 personas fueron asesinadas por las fuerzas de seguridad
desde 1983. Los casos reportados en esta estadística corresponden a ciudadanos
que no representaban riesgo alguno para las fuerzas de seguridad o para terceros
en el momento de ser asesinados por agentes estatales. Esto significa que no
se computan las muertes en enfrentamientos, reales o inventados.
Nuevas leyes: El 13 de junio de 2001 el Senado de la Nación aprobó
la Reforma al Código Procesal Penal que otorga a la policía una
ampliación de facultades que permite interrogar, requisar, realizar allanamientos
y detener sin previa autorización judicial. Los nuevos poderes para la
policía aprobados por el gobierno de Fernando De la Rua continuan los
proyectos del gobierno anterior de Carlos Menem.
Juego clandestino: El juez penal de La Plata, César Ricardo Melazó,
llevó adelante la llamada «mega-causa» contra el juego clandestino
que procesó a 250 personas entre capitalistas, pasadores, suboficiales
y oficiales de la policía bonaerense que se llenaban los bolsillos. Mientras
Eduardo Duhalde era gobernador de la provincia de Buenos Aires, un millón
de pesos se movían por día en la clandestinidad. Los comisarios
de la bonaerense se enriquecían con las coimas por hacer la vista gorda.
En la causa quedó implicada la comisaria 9a de La Plata, el entonces
jefe de la bonaerense, comisario Adolfo Vitelli, y el jefe de la Unidad Regional
de La Plata, comisario Rubén Oscar Araneo.
Prostitución: En noviembre de 1998, tras la investigación del fiscal Pablo Lanusse, fueron desplazados 38 de los 52 comisarios a cargo de las seccionales de la Capital Federal. La investigación se centró en tres altos jefes: el comisario general Luis Fernández, el comisario mayor Carlos Navedo y el comisario inspector Alejandro Di Nunzio. La fiscalía estimó que el botín que se repartían superaba los tres millones de dólares mensuales y se sabe también que la droga es un elemento cercano. Pero el juez de la causa, Vicente Cisneros, se negó a extender la pesquisa y fragmentó la causa para esquivar la figura de «asociación ilícita». El control del negocio de la prostitución generó enfrentamientos entre la Federal y la SIDE. En agosto de 1999, por causas nunca esclarecidas, fue muerto a balazos el agente de la SIDE Daniel Rossini. Lo acribillaron cuando iba en su automóvil importado acompañado por una menor de 16 años que ejercía la prostitución.
Bonaerense: El jefe de la policía bonaerense Pedro Anastasio Klodczyk
fue investigado por la posible comisión de siete delitos de acción
pública: malversación de caudales públicos, blanqueo de
dinero, enriquecimiento ilícito, falsedad documental, presunta estafa,
cohecho y amenazas agravadas. El 15 de junio de 1996 Eduardo Duhalde dijo que
era el «mejor jefe que ha tenido la policía, desde que yo recuerde».
José Luis Cabezas había fotografiado a Klodczyk, para la revista
Noticias. La nota fue titulada «Maldita Policía». El 25 de
enero de 1997 el cuerpo incinerado, esposado y baleado de Cabezas apareció
en una fosa en Pinamar a sólo 80 metros de la mansión de Eduardo
Duhalde. Más tarde la investigación dejó ver un enfrentamiento
entre mafiosos de alto rango: Alfredo Yabrán, Domingo Cavallo, Carlos
Menem, Eduardo Duhalde y varios funcionarios policiales.Bacunin de trapo
____________________________________________
RETORNO
Sucede con las ideas, las nuestras, las anarquistas, que no siempre tienen la
virtud de alzada, de gallarda arremetida que desearíamos; que a veces
traen, como noción sustantiva, una humildad cicatera desesperante; que
en vez de saltar desnudas como bombas en la calle, se aprietan a la penumbra,
se respaldan, y apenas si dan un paso que ya no lo traigan de años como
rumiado. En cambio, a veces sucede que brotan hasta en las piedras, contando;
que los conceptos más limpios se quedan como clavados al aire; que les
dan forma y color, modeladura vital a los proyectos más vastos, como
a obras de arte. Sucede con las ideas, las nuestras, las anarquistas, todo esto.
Y sólo aquellos que estamos por convicción y por fe, en el trabajo
de echarlas camino avante con el pecho y con las manos, podemos decir si es
dura la alternativa de atacar, hoy una roca melódica bajo el pico, y
mañana hundir la garra hasta el pelo bajo el barro...
Siempre fue así, sin embargo. Las ideas trascendentales, los esfuerzos
varoniles para descuajar de su álveo a los más viejos conceptos,
cumplido que es el momento de selección y cosecha, es de ley que sufran
crisis, recesos inesperados...
Pero esto, que es privativo de todas las obras grandes, es lo que más desanima a los luchadores nuevos; les hace cambiar el paso, cuando no pararse en seco, desorientados. Y es de verlos, taciturnos ante la tierra con tanto ardor ¡ay! Labrada, clamando por los esfuerzos que se les pierden como granos en el barro. Si hasta añoran el obstáculo, la mala broza rampante que obliga a accionar, al menos, el hacha desmontadora. Y tristes y desolados en la inmensidad vacía, otean, buscan molinos en que ir a estrellar sus vidas como unas lanzas...
Almas de sacrificados, románticos como cristos, no saben de expectativas
ni de compases de espera: o el triunfo definitivo de sus ideas maduras por sus
esfuerzos como un trigal por el sol, o la renuncia, la muerte en una cruz como
un reproche a la tierra.
Siempre fue así, sin embargo. La siembra de las ideas no puede eludir
la ley que rige a la vida. Y ley es que todo esfuerzo, llegado a su plenitud,
recese, retorne a su antigua fuente, para otro esfuerzo. Y para otro. Pues la
moral labradora no nos la dan las cosechas perecederas, sino la tierra, la Eterna...
Todo lo grande recesa. Todo lo grande retorna. Y estas ideas, las nuestras,
son grandes entre las grandes. Suceda lo que suceda.R. G. P.
____________________________________________
Para recibir Organización Obrera por correo electrónico solicitarlo
a: fora5congreso@hotmail.com
____________________________________________LUGARES DONDE SE CONSIGUE ORGANIZACIÓN OBRERA
F.O.R.A.: Coronel Salvadores 1200, Capital
F.L.A.: Brasil 1551, CapitalSubte D
Estación Facultad de Medicina (Trenes hacia Catedral)
Subte C
Estación Diagonal Norte (Trenes hacia Retiro)
Estación Constitución
Subte A
Estación Acoyte (ambos andenes)
Estación Rio de Janeiro (Trenes a Plaza de Mayo)
Estación Castro Barros (ambos andenes)
Estación Loria (Trenes a Plaza de Mayo)
Estación Miserere (ambos andenes)
Estación Pasco (Trenes a Plaza de Mayo)
Estación Congreso (Trenes a Plaza de Mayo)
Estación Lima (Trenes a Plaza de Mayo)
Estación Piedras (ambos andenes)
Estación Plaza de Mayo
Estación Perú (Trenes a Primera Junta)
Estación Alberti (Trenes a Primera Junta)
Estación Primera JuntaKiosco, Corrientes 1438
Kiosco, Corrientes 1719Librería «El Aleph - Liberarte», Corrientes 1555
Librería de las Madres, Hipólito Yrigoyen 1584
____________________________________________
02-4.2002: Argentina plans to levy a one-time tax on corporations to fund social programs for the swelling ranks of the poor who now make up almost half the population in the recession-wracked nation, President Eduardo Duhalde was quoted as saying on Sunday. About 45 percent of Argentina's 36-7 million people live below the poverty line and the jobless rate has, as mentioned, soared to more than 20 percent as a recession in its fourth year deepens after the government defaulted on its debt and devalued in January. "The only decision taken by the government is to levy a tax on large companies that took loans in dollars and benefited from their conversion in (devalued) pesos. And it is just for one time," Duhalde told La Nacion's Sunday edition. The one-time tax aims to raise $1.14 billion to $1.37 billion that will be used for an unemployment insurance and social programs supplying the poorest households with $68 per month, reported La Nacion and Clarin newspapers. The tax would be announced on Monday, Duhalde said.
"These taxes seem to be ok, and money for the poor also, but it is about time to do demand management according to the anarchist economical plan," the anarchists say..Argentine farm groups, whose exports have also benefited from the steep devaluation, fear the government could impose a new tax on agricultural exports so they are studying whether to create a social welfare fund as a counter measure. "Farmers would rather pay into a voluntary fund managed by their own group than an export retention tax to the government because they think their own group will spend more of that money on the people who need it," agronomist Lisandro Couzelo told Reuters from Las Flores, in the agricultural heartland of Buenos Aires province. "Yes, almost anything is better than a mercantilistic approach." - the anarchists say.Tax revenues in Argentina have fallen every month since last June with collection in February down 20.3 percent from a year ago. Farm groups reckon their social fund could reach $685 million in 2002.Public rage is running high in Argentina where protests against the government and banks are an almost daily event. A run on banks that saw more than 20 percent of deposits withdrawn last year led the government to impose a hated freeze on bank accounts in December. The measure helped push the beleaguered nation into chaos, with looting and riots ensuing later that same month that ended withca 27 people killed and elected president Fernando de la Rua resigning .
Argentina plans to levy a one-time tax on corporations to fund social programs for the swelling ranks of the poor who now make up almost half the population in the recession-wracked nation, President Eduardo Duhalde was quoted as saying on Sunday. About 45 percent of Argentina's 36 million people live below the poverty line and the jobless rate has soared to more than 20 percent as a recession in its fourth year deepens after the government defaulted on its debt and devalued in January. Public rage is running high in Argentina where protests against the government and banks are an almost daily event. A run on banks that saw more than 20 percent of deposits withdrawn last year led the government to impose a hated freeze on bank accounts in December. The measure helped push the beleaguered nation into chaos, with looting and riots ensuing later that same month that ended with ca 27 people killed and elected president Fernando de la Rua resigning. Duhalde was chosen by legislators in January to take the presidency and he has pleaded for the ailing middle class' patience while his officials try to figure out how to disarm the banking curb "time bomb" without triggering a financial collapse. Patience, however, is wearing thin as protesters pelted a bank and Congress, where debate of an austere 2002 budget had just begun, with feces on Thursday.
Now, the government said it plans to announce this week the conversion of those frozen bank deposits into bonds, two in U.S. dollars and one in pesos, for term deposits of up to 30,000 pesos in value, La Nacion and Clarin reported. Argentina on Wednesday won a hard-fought reduction in tax transfers to its provinces which is one of the essential elements in unlocking billions of dollars in foreign aid. Another condition, passage of an austere 2002 budget, is in the hands of the Senate this week after the lower house Chamber of Deputies passed the bill on Friday. The Senate is dominated by the ruling Peronists and is expected to vote on Wednesday. An International Monetary Fund mission headed by Anoop Singh, director for special operations, is due in Buenos Aires the day before to begin talks on unlocking aid. Argentina, looking for up to $25 billion from the IMF and other international lending institutions, has constantly failed over the last few years to meet promised economic and fiscal targets agreed with the lending body. 04-5-03 2002: Argentina will impose export taxes primary, industrial and agricultural goods in a bid to boost tax revenues, Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said Monday. The cash-strapped government, desperate for fresh revenue, will implement a 10 percent tax on exports of primary goods and a 5 percent levy on exports of industrial and farm goods. Tax revenues in Latin America's No. 3 economy have plunged during the four-year crisis. About 45 percent of Argentina's 36 million people live below the poverty line and the jobless rate has soared to more than 20 percent. Faced with daily protests against the deposit freeze and budget cuts, the government of President Eduardo Duhalde has said it expects exports, which became cheaper with the devaluation, to drive a recovery from a recession and has already slapped a 20 percent tax on oil exports.
"The export-demand hike from the devaluation will be reduced by the mercantilistic export-taxation", the anarchists say; - "What's the reason to devaluate then?" Millions of Argentine students missed their first day back at school on Monday as teachers demanded overdue wages from a government struggling to end the country's chaotic recession. Teachers in several provinces canceled the resumption of classes after the summer vacation and gathered outside schools to explain to kids and angry parents that the government owed them long-overdue back pay. The latest intrusion of the devastating slump into everyday life, which also froze the distribution of milk on Monday, turned up the heat. Duhalde must reconcile the tug-of-war between its responsibility to those like the teachers, who are clamoring for more funds to ease the recession's pain, and the demands of the IMF, which wants decades of runaway government spending to end. "The IMF doesn't act according to the necessary demand hike to do away with the unemployment". the anarchists say.Roughly 4.5 million students in Buenos Aires province, home to a third of Argentina's 36-7 million people, were unable to attend school which many depend on for their daily meals. Tax collections have, as mentioned, plummeted as the recession has dragged on, making financing difficult for the federal and provincial governments and forcing creative solutions. The relatively prosperous city of Buenos Aires said on Monday it would be forced to join the ranks of several provinces and print scrip to pay suppliers and possibly city workers as tax receipts slump.
The city said it would print 180 million pesos ($84.9 million) worth of the scrip at the end of March. Some economic "analysts" say only IMF cash would allow Argentina to ease the deposit freeze and cobble together a rescue package for local banks, which ratings agencies say are insolvent. The IMF has indicated it will take a hard line in the negotiations, eager to end Argentina's long habit of spending more than it earns in the wake of this year's disastrous default on part of its $141 billion public debt. But the clock is ticking, as the economy has ground nearly to a halt and street protests continue. The price increases on basic imported medicines has forced many hospitals to stop performing some surgeries. Dairy farmers formed human chains outside milk factories on Monday to protest the low prices at which the government has forced them to sell to prevent inflation. Producers said supermarkets in some parts of the country could start running short of milk if the blockades continue through Wednesday, adding they would donate their milk instead to the nearly 45 percent of Argentines below the poverty line. "We'd prefer to give it to the needy rather than just start throwing out milk," said a spokesman for a rural association in Cordoba province.
"If we do have to start throwing it away, it will definitely be the industry's fault." 05-06.03.2002: .The Argentine Government has announced a series of measures it says will strengthen social spending and launch a new economic cycle. The unexpected announcement came as International Monetary Fund officials arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, for talks seen as crucial for the resumption of suspended aid. The measures include the new taxes on exports - with the money being earmarked for social programmes - and half-a-billion dollars in loans for manufacturers and producers. The government is also offering savers whose deposits were frozen a chance to exchange the deposits for dollar-denominated or peso-denominated bonds. It is unclear how many account holders will be willing to accept the new bonds since the country has already defaulted on part of its $141bn public debt in January. But Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov insisted the package would "improve the performance of the economy, give fiscal solvency, strengthen social programs and help companies recover so as to launch a new (economic) cycle."
"Not much, it's far from optimal demand management based on efficiency and fairness" the anarchists say. The teachers' protests continue. Several are dying every day for lack of imported medical supplies and surgeons are among the latest groups to take strike action. Eduardo Duhalde faces a difficult dilemma. He must reconcile the tug-of-war between his responsibility to those like the teachers, who are clamouring for more funds to ease the recession's pain, and the demands of the IMF, which wants decades of runaway government spending to end.
"The real solution is anarchist demand management and the rest of the anarchist economical plan", the anarchists say. "These are the hardest times we've ever lived through in the national education system, in the country generally and for those who are unemployed," said leader of CTERA, Argentina's biggest teachers' union, Martha Maffei. "Never before have we seen 50% of our children living below the poverty line," she said during a day of protests in which teachers asked the government to fulfil its wage obligations.The Argentine Government has announced emergency security measures in an attempt to halt increasing football violence, which has claimed three lives and injured hundreds more in the last two weeks alone. At least 152 people have died in football-related violence since the country's professional leagues started in 1930.
"In the Anarchy of Norway, nobody ever has died of football related violence so far" a spokesman from NACO said in a comment to IJ@ 06.03.2002.06-08.03.2002;The Argentine Supreme Court has banned the sale of the day-after pill, used to stop pregnancies up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse. In a narrow majority ruling, the court ruled that the pill was a form of abortion.The judges defined human life as beginning at the moment of fertilisation, rejecting a previous interpretation that life is created when the embryo reaches the uterus. The day-after pill was first authorised in Argentina in 1996. The judges defined human life as beginning at the moment of fertilisation, rejecting a previous interpretation that life is created when the embryo reaches the uterus. The day-after pill was first authorised in Argentina in 1996. Its use is recommended by the World Health Organisation.
"Then why is Argentinian law against it? "the anarchists ask:"- And the country cannot borrow itself out of the depression!" Argentina's chances of getting a badly needed loan from the International Monetary Fund should be clearer by next week, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca has said. The United States has greeted Argentina's success in the honey business by effectively shutting it out of the market. his will contribute to reduce export and demand. President Eduardo Duhalde's government said Wednesday it is confident of winning the release of billions of dollars in international aid shut frozen during last year's financial meltdown. Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov voiced the upbeat prediction as the government prepared to resume formal negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and a ranking official who flew here from Washington. "We are going to arrive at an accord with the IMF that will allow the country to re-establish confidence and access to international credit,'' Remes Lenicov told reporters.But this was a bit too optimistic. Though Argentina and the International Monetary Fund are once again discussing new loans to help ease the country's economic crisis, a fundamental obstacle has emerged. The Argentine government says it cannot carry out the economic changes that the fund and other creditors are demanding unless it receives fresh money from abroad first, but foreign lenders say they cannot advance the country any new money until after it has shown some results. ''We need to break the circle,'' Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said last week before heading off to Washington to talk with I.M.F. officials. But neither side is willing to blink first. So the economy here, battered by a 50-60 percent devaluation of the peso, a freeze on bank deposits and the partial default on $141 billion in public debt, remains in a state of suspended animation. Argentina was once the darling of investors, a large emerging market graced with stability and transparency. Now, it has defaulted on $132 billion in foreign debt, its banking system is in turmoil, the value of its currency is uncertain, and middle-class Argentines have rioted through the elegant squares of Buenos Aires. How did this happen? One of the main suspects is the Convertibility Law that Argentina adopted in 1991, a modified currency board system that pegged the peso to the dollar one to one. At first, it succeeded in taming Argentina's runaway inflation, but many economists believe it eventually became a severe drain on the economy.
So do the anarchists - such a bureaucratical mercantilistic tie on the exchang rate is doing no good in a system with different development of productivity. Argentina's private pension funds are considering a court battle against government plans to turn their dollar investments into devalued pesos, an industry executive said. The government plans to convert pension funds' holdings of $12.4 billion of dollar-denominated bonds into pesos at 1.40 pesos to the dollar. On Friday, the peso was selling at 2.27 to the dollar in large-scale transactions. That difference represents close to a 40 percent loss to pension funds in foreign exchange conversion and prompted the industry to take out full-page newspaper ads on Friday calling on the government to honor the bond contracts. "We believe the government has no need to do this. We are talking about a portfolio that has an average maturity of about 20 years, so this does not affect the government today," said Horacio Canestri, director of the 12-fund umbrella group that took out the advertisements. "In keeping with laws and our implicit mandate with our millions of clients, the AFJP (pension funds) will continue in our fight to preserve the retirement savings of Argentines and we will act in all arenas," reads the advertisement by the 12-member pension fund group. The group, which represents 8.8 million Argentine clients -- of whom barely 35 percent now make regular monthly payments as the estimated unemployment rate has soared beyond 20 percent -- is studying taking the government to court, Canestri said. Conversion of bonds held by pension funds would be similar to dollar accounts held by banking system depositors whose holdings were converted at 1.40 pesos to the dollar while the peso has depreciated about 56 percent against the dollar since January. "Given this situation, we offered to help.
We could tell the government not to pay us for three or four years and on the other hand offer to change the interest rate (on bonds) from seven percent to a floating rate plus two basis points. The floating rate could be the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) which stands at about 2 percent", Canestri said."This seems to us to be a reasonable and logical offer we are making," he added. Pension funds also argue the government should not alienate them by converting their holdings into devalued pesos since they may be the only source of government credit in the coming years, Canestri said. "This affects practically 9 million clients and their families. We are acting ... before a situation that attacks the retirement future of Argentines in a terrible way," he added. Emerging markets guru Mark Mobius does not expect the IMF to give Argentina aid it vitally needs to pull out of crisis and end a crushing four-year recession, saying the country's woes have far from bottomed out. Mobius, president of Templeton Emerging Markets Funds, told Reuters in an interview on a visit to Buenos Aires on Friday the Argentine government urgently needs to reverse its economic policies, give angry savers back their savings held hostage in banks and stop slapping taxes on exporters. "I don't think the IMF will give them anything. And I think that would be the best thing. Then (Argentina) will have to go back home and have a good look in the mirror," he said. "Argentina is going in the wrong direction." The Argentine government is praying IMF aid talks now underway will unlock almost $10 billion remaining in a $22 billion IMF program suspended in December.
The government hopes to obtain more than $20 billion overall from the international community to stabilize the economy. Mobius said any aid Argentina does manage to scrimp together should be injected straight into the bank accounts of Argentines whose savings have been slashed by devaluation and put out of reach in the banks to stop the financial system collapsing. "One scenario would be for there to be a change in government, a new government adapting radical policies going in the opposite direction -- cutting taxes, encouraging exports, and taking measures that will boost confidence like paying back the deposits that people lost in dollars," he said. Mobius said the some $70 million in investments he manages in Argentina had taken a $20 million to $30 million hit as the crisis deepened after the government defaulted on part of the $141 billion public debt and devalued the peso. He said he expected to see the Argentine peso trade at over three to the dollar by year end, and forecast the economy would shrink 8 percent this year while inflation would hit 40-50 percent - way off government forecasts he said were totally unrealistic. And he has no plans to touch investments in Argentina until government policies go into reverse. "Getting money out is problematic. But I might be prepared to throw good money after bad if policies change," he added, saying that until then he would be looking at investing in fellow Latin American markets Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Peru. "How can you end recession if you are taxing people to hell?" he asked. Mobius' visit comes as the country smolders with daily demonstrations against the poverty affecting nearly half the population and the savings freeze. Argentina's poorest are now spilling out of the slums to live on the streets of the capital in the hopes of handouts -- virtually unheard of just a few months ago. President Eduardo Duhalde, Argentina's fifth leader since mid-December, has slapped taxes on commodities like grains and oil and industrial exports hoping to offset a slump in tax revenues in a bid to ward off fears of a repeat of the rioting and looting that toppled the government last year and left 27 dead. And with Argentina's crisis yet to touch bottom in his view, Mobius would not be surprised to see more of the same. "What it may take is some real violence, real social unrest to wake these guys up because they are living in the past," he said.
"Although we don't agree with the liberalistical guru in general, he has a few sound non-mercantilist points" the anarchists say. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said on Saturday he was confident the International Monetary Fund would supply the aid the country needs to recover from a crushing economic crisis. The Argentine government is hoping IMF aid talks under way will unlock almost $10 billion remaining in a $22 billion IMF program suspended in December. The government hopes to obtain more than $20 billion overall from the international community to stabilize the economy. "Little by little, they (the IMF) are beginning to understand us and I am convinced that they are going to give us aid. ... We are working very well in Argentina and we are almost certainly going to be supported," Duhalde told local radio. Argentina's economic output will shrink dramatically in the first half of this year, but return to growth in the last two quarters, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said on Sunday. "In February we will hit the bottom of the crisis," he told reporters during the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in this northern Brazilian city. Todesca said the Gross Domestic Product will contract 8.0 percent in the first quarter and 7.0 percent in the second, compared to the same quarters last year. But the economy will expand 1.0 percent in the third quarter and 4.0 percent in the fourth, compared to the same quarters last year, he said. The Argentine economy is budgeted to shrink 4.9 percent this year, though private economists estimate the contraction will be two to three times more. "It will probably shrink even more if not a proper demand management is introduced!" The anarchists say.Argentina pleaded for renewed international financial help on Sunday to overcome its deep economic crisis, warning of more social and political upheaval if rescue loans are not forthcoming. "To overcome the crisis sooner, we need the support of the international community, not just with words but with loans and funds," Argentine Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said. Otherwise the crisis will deepen and the government may not survive until September elections, Remes told international investors and finance officials from across the hemisphere at the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank. "It is continuity or anarchy. That is the risk we see," Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca told reporters. Finance ministers from other Latin American nations, keen to avoid financial turbulence spreading to their economies, backed Argentina's urgent call for assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lending agencies.
"It will never be anarchy, just more populist chaos if this continue, and the anarchist economical plan is not put at work" The anarchists say! 11-12.03.2002: The gravity of Argentina's economic and political crisis curbed the hopes of finding a timely solution to its insurance industry's chronic struggle toward efficiency and stability, said a new Standard & Poor's report. "After a decade of struggle to amend past errors, the Argentine insurance sector had managed to improve its solvency and transparency, turning itself into a more consolidated market on the verge of showing a profit for the first time in years," said Carina Lopez Espino, an associate director with Standard & Poor's financial services ratings group in Buenos Aires. Argentine stocks rose on Monday as investors looked for shares as a safe haven and awaited news of cash-starved Banco de Galicia's GAL.BA plans for a rescue package, while the local peso currency weakened against the dollar. "Given the scarce options of investors in today's market, the shares are the safe haven from the daily depreciation of the local currency," said one bank agent." No comment!", say the anarchists. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said on Tuesday multilateral lenders will offer aid in about one month to help pull the nation out of its four-year recession. An International Monetary Fund mission is in Buenos Aires after suspending aid in December following a litany of broken promises by Argentina to cut its chronic deficit spending. The mission's visit is the first step to unlocking nearly $10 billion in remaining aid under an IMF agreement. "I am thinking that in about one month we will have a reply from the organizations. We have been with authorities from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank and there is a very good chance that they give us aid," Duhalde told local radio.
"We would not lend him a cent until Argentina follows the anarchist economical plan!" the anarchists say. Argentina's peso weakened 4.13 percent against the dollar on Tuesday afternoon as importers, individuals and banks bought dollars in the absence of Central Bank intervention to prop up the devalued currency, traders said. The peso weakened to trade at 2.40/2.42 (buy/sell rate) per dollar for large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange market, compared with Monday's close of 2.30/2.32. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said on Tuesday the Central Bank should intervene in the foreign exchange market to keep the peso currency within "adequate margins". "The Central Bank will take the steps it needs to take so the peso does not sink ... It is time to intervene to keep it in adequate margins," Duhalde told local radio.
The "adequate margins" are around 70-80 % devaluation!" the anarchists say.Working in a bank used to be the archetypal safe job in Argentina, where a son would follow in his father's footsteps. But with the country in political and economic turmoil, banking has become a risky business. Working in a bank "is like living in a war zone," complains a local banker. "We need helmets to protect us from the stuff they throw at us in the streets." The banker, like many of his colleagues, now leaves his business suits hanging in the closet, and goes to work in casual clothes to avoid recognition. The Buenos Aires financial district, known as "La City" with its narrow streets, cafes, bars and cigar shops that are reminiscent of New York's Wall Street and the City of London, appears to be on full battle alert. Metal sheeting covers bank windows and clients enter and leave through holes in the wall guarded by armed police - an image that sums up Argentina's loss of faith not only in its political leadership, but the basic tenets of banking. Bankers run a daily gauntlet of angry customers waving banners with the slogans "Give Back our Deposits!" and "Thieves!" Many Argentines swear they will never again trust a bank. As they change available cash into dollars, they are equally distrustful of the local peso currency that was devalued in January andmore than halved against the dollar after more than a decade of being pegged at a one-to-one rate. Tempers are short.
Unguarded banks are frequently targeted by irate crowds throwing eggs, bricks, Molotov cocktails, hammers and even rolling pins - actions that led the banking association to take out a newspaper advertisement imploring demonstrators not to harm its employees. "To attack the bank-workers in an ochlarchical way is not the right thing to do!" - the anarchists say. Not surprisingly, bankers' jobs have changed since Latin America's third-largest economy dropped into an economic abyss in December, and a cash freeze was ordered to plug a run on banks that had already seen a quarter of their deposits disappear. AS mentioned with savings confiscated and cash withdrawals limited to $1,500 a month, unrest boiled over. Blamed for mismanagement of the economy, President Fernando de la Rua, as well as his immediate successor, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, were forced to resign. One European bank's local analyst, working from a five-star hotel in the suburbs and only occasionally venturing into town, says his job description has been radically altered: "Calls come in daily from Europe asking me if there has been a coup. We economists have become sociologists and political scientists." Global banking giant HSBC's head of Argentine operations, Briton Mike Smith, told Reuters he was "managing the business on a crisis-survival basis, trying to stay one step ahead." With a Tres de Febrero University poll showing that over 70 percent of respondents have no intention of ever again putting their money in a bank, financial institutions are struggling to keep up with the permitted withdrawals, while continuing to deal with wages and payment of bills. In one fell swoop, the financial system has lost all the safeguards implemented in the 1990s, when an autonomous Central Bank imposed strict reserve requirements to protect depositors from a disaster such as Mexico's 1994-'95 currency devaluation. There was a massive run on banks during the "tequila crisis" but the money came back eventually to a consolidated sector where all but one of the biggest private banks are now foreign-owned.
With the evolution of a modern economy, wages were starting to be paid via banks and homes were bought with checks instead of wads of cash.But since the savings freeze, said HSBC's Smith, "a whole generation trained to get a degree, get a job, get a mortgage and live in the first world has been destroyed and is asking: 'Where are my savings, where is my future?'" Facing what he estimated would be a lengthy recovery, the British banker said: "Liquidity is the name of the game, running the thing on a completely cash-flow basis." "They (the demonstrators) appear to want to destroy the financial system," said the head of one foreign bank in an office near historic Plaza de Mayo, scene of December's riots and ongoing daily protests. On the plaza stands the pink palace now occupied by Eduardo Duhalde, who on being appointed president in January pinned the blame for Argentina's ills on foreign bankers. But, Duhalde has since played down fears that he is a throwback to the nationalist, populist roots of his Peronist Party. "You can't run an economy without a financial system, but the way they are going at the moment, I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel," said the banker, apologizing for his "casual" attire - an open-necked shirt and suede shoes, accessorized with a gold watch. His aides were tensely awaiting a "raid" by federal judges investigating foreign banks for allegedly bypassing capital restrictions to channel out an estimated $500 million. The charge of "economic subversion" invented by the last dictatorship has been revived to order executives from six banks - including U.S., Brazilian and Canadian banks - from leaving the country. Bank vaults have been raided and eight top foreign and local executives ordered to testify. Television showed "secret" footage of bank managers offering to help withdraw cash and an investigating judge, Maria Servini de Cubria, saying: "This crime exists, and it is time to prosecute it because of the state our economy is in." Bankers argue they are being made scapegoats for depositors' wrath which, they say, should be aimed at past and present officials who introduced or maintain the savings freeze. Foreign bankers want the cash restrictions lifted and say they are prevented from returning savers' funds to save hard-pushed local banks.
"Some banks will fall," said one banker. "They will kill the banks, but the banks have been killed already." "Just follow the anarchist economical plan..." the anarchists say.13-14.03.2002: Argentines have gone en masse to exchange houses to buy dollars as a safe haven from the country's troubles. The peso currency has plummeted to around 2.50 pesos to the dollar, a devaluation of nearly 60 percent since January, threatening to ruin the government's economic policies and spark inflation. In what is now an almost daily show of the public anger that flared into riots and looting late last year, angry savers have banged pots and pans by banks to protest a freeze of bank savings. Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy to demand that U.S. bank laws protecting deposits be enforced at branches of U.S. banks in Argentina. Government officials - worried by fears of civil unrest - said that they were surprised how tough the IMF was despite the passing this month of an austere budget. But now they have decided to revise the budget to ensure IMF support. The World Bank also threw cold water on Argentina's plea on Wednesday, saying the government must tackle fiscal and banking issues first before it gets aid. Investment bankers urged the government to redouble its efforts before seeking foreign aid. "This is a time for action rather than pleas for help," Solomon Smith Barney's head of Latin American Investment Banking, Carlos Novis Guimaraes, told Reuters.
"Yes, but actions according to the anarchist economical plan, not IMF monetarism!" the anarchists say. Among the IMF's concerns is continued overspending by the central government, the printing of scrip by the highly-indebted provinces and a controversial bankruptcy law that some say tips the legal scale in debtors' favor. President Eduardo Duhalde is desperately trying to negotiate a restoration of IMF aid. "This will however not reverse the recession", the anarchists say. President Duhalde says that without IMF help in the next month, Argentina faces a return to the rioting and unrest which left 27 people dead in December. "If the president tells me its summer, I'll go out and buy a sweater," said one saver outside a foreign exchange house. The statistics paint a frightening picture of Argentina's continued decline. Nearly half the population now live below the poverty line, unable to pay for basics like food, rent and essential services. The IMF is now predicting the economy will shrink by another 8% this year, which means more companies closing and more job cuts. IMF officials, while welcoming some changes in Argentina, have also warned the government to stop printing money. The government, which is still running a deficit, is printing billions of pesos to try to pay its workers. So are provincial governments - there are now 14 different local bonds or currencies in circulation. An annexe of Congress has had to be boarded up with metal sheets to protect those inside from angry protestors, some threatening to kill politicians. Many banks have done the same. Politicians on the street have also been attacked and abused. But the IMF, under criticism in the United States that it bailed out Argentina for too long, shows no signs of restoring aid until there is evidence that the government's policies can lead to a sustained recovery.
"The populist chaos policy should end - and the anarchist eonomical plan mentioned above should soon be put to work," the anarchists say.14.03.2002: Buenos Aires: - Protesters screaming "Long live heroes of the General Belgrano" heckled visiting British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon as he paid homage on Thursday to Argentines killed during the Falklands War. Hoon said he had had an "excellent" working visit with his Argentine counterpart Horacio Jaunarena, which came two weeks before the 20th anniversary of Argentina's 1982 invasion of the British-ruled archipelago off the toe of South America in the Southern Atlantic. The General Belgrano was an Argentine warship sunk in the Falklands War. Of the Belgrano's 1,000-plus crew, 368 perished, many of them new recruits. The decision to sink the Belgrano, an aging ship that had been given to Argentina by the United States remains one of the most controversial of the war. Hoon briefly met with Argentine veterans of the Falklands War after laying a wreath at the foot of a monument to Argentine soldiers killed by British forces during the conflict at a ceremony in central Buenos Aires. A small group of protesters pursued Hoon's delegation waving a national flag as an Argentine military band played a traditional marching anthem taught to schoolchildren as a national cry for sovereignty over the islands. Despite underlining a "spirit of reconciliation" between the two nations, Hoon and Jaunarena said no special joint ceremonies by the armed forces were planned to mark the anniversary. British officials said there was no change in Britain's stance over of its sovereignty of the island cluster that Argentina calls Las Malvinas and has disputed since 1833. Some veterans said they felt snubbed after Hoon refused to accept a small embroidered Argentine flag and a bracelet that read "The Malvinas are Argentina's." "We thank him for coming to pay homage to our heroes, but I didn't like the fact he refused to accept the gift I tried to give him," said war veteran Simon Sequeira, who met Hoon dressed in a military vest emblazoned with medals and wearing his original dog tags from the conflict. Hoon refused to be drawn on whether Britain would accept Argentina's offer to help with peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan saying only that Britain was grateful for the offer, and was looking forward to Argentina playing a part in support operations if they crop up.
"Perhaps Argentina should concentrate on the the domestic political-economical problems and the anarchist economical plan!" the anarchist say 15.03.2002.An IMF mission wrapped up an avidly-watched 10-day visit to Buenos Aires on Friday saying it would continue negotiations on aid, but President Eduardo Duhalde said he could not yet meet all the IMF's demands for spending cuts. With Argentina desperate for billions of dollars in aid, the International Monetary Fund officials have said Argentina must do more to win aid, including stopping cash-strapped provinces from printing their own currencies.
"More borrowing will not solve Argentina's problems," the anarchists say. The lender said it anticipated the government would pave the way to end a hated bank savings freeze but did not mention a 10-point list of demands to cut spending and restore investor confidence that Duhalde said he had been given by the IMF. Protests continue to smolder, with thousands of unemployed marching in the capital to demand jobs and food, unfurling a huge national flag outside a Congress forced to erect metal barriers to protect its offices. "Anticipated structural and institutional reforms include measures to rebuild confidence in the bank and corporate sectors, thereby helping to create the conditions for the dismantling of the freeze on bank deposits," the lender's tough top negotiator on Argentina, Anoop Singh, said in a statement. "There is nothing new. It is like the (IMF) are not saying 'no' (to aid) but neither are they saying yes," said Emilio Boto, a bond trader at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Following the IMF visit, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said hoped an accord would be reached by April. "Of the 10 points (the Fund) has sought, we have already fulfilled eight of them." Duhalde told local radio. "There are some that are impossible to implement now." "We have explained to the Fund ... that we have to take our time, that it's impossible in the midst of this crisis, this turbulence, to propose measures that are impossible." Economists say the government's forecast of a 4.9 percent economic contraction this year is hopelessly optimistic, and that the economy could shrink by twice that amount. "All of our economy ministers have gone to Harvard - to learn what? To rob the country?" said one frustrated woman, banging a pot on the facade of a bank boarded up with sheets of metal, voicing widespread anger at a political class seen as corrupt and inept. Duhalde's frustration at the lack of imminent aid despite his assurances that a pact would be clinched within a month boiled over on Thursday when he said the Fund was partly to blame for Argentina's woes by endorsing erroneous policies.
Half of the population lives in poverty, as measured by the ability to pay for essentials like food and rent, and tensions remain high, with daily protests amid deepening poverty, an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent and the hated savings freeze, which was imposed to avert a collapse of the banking system. But the protests are a far cry from rioting and looting in December. Scrambling for ways to help stabilize Argentina's economy, the government plans to make exporters cash in their foreign currency earnings more quickly. But with the fallout from Argentina's crisis hitting sectors like banking and retailers as consumer spending (= demand) collapses, many analysts see no prospects of a recovery soon."Argentina is no-man's land. The political, economic and social situation is a disaster and the outlook remains grim," analyst Walter Molano of U.S.-based BCP Securities wrote in a research note. Duhalde has urged the newly independent Central Bank to try hard to bring the peso back to "more adequate margins." But despite almost daily central bank intervention, the peso is still trading around 2.44/2.46 (buy/sell) to the dollar, a far cry from the one-to-one rate that reigned for a decade and made Argentina one of the most expensive countries in the world to do business in.
17.03.2002: "Either approximation to the anarchist economical plan, or continuing populist bureaucratic chaos!" the anarchists say.17-18.03.2002: The Argentine government, worried that a potent cocktail of devaluation, recession and inflation could produce more civil unrest, is mulling controls of prices of basic foods like bread and pasta. "We've proposed it, and it's up to the central government. The idea is to have a basic food basket with prices at pre-devaluation levels," Felipe Sola, Buenos Aires governor and a leading member of the ruling Peronist party, said over the weekend after discussions with government officials. Sola said the plan would be limited to controls of prices of foods that are most commonly used by families. It was one of the first signs that the government may be preparing price controls, widely distrusted by investors and multilateral lending officials, who worry they only artificially delay price jumps.
"Yes, this will not work well!" the anarchists say. President Eduardo Duhalde is torn between the need to appease widespread protests against growing poverty and cutting spending to win billions of dollars in aid from the International Monetary Fund to stave off financial collapse. "Just take the "financial collapse", the anarchists say, "nobody can eat money anyway. Use it to change the system in a cheap way." Since the devaluation of the local currency in January, the peso has plummeted nearly 60 percent, and the effect is already being seen in supermarkets. "This is going in the right direction!" the anarchists say. Inflation was 2.3 percent in January and 3.1 percent in February. The government expects an inflation rate of 15 percent this year, but many economists say it could be double that.
"Then Argentina may use the 30% inflation scenario for demand management", the anarchists say.Rising prices and a weakening peso - which makes imported goods more expensive - are seen as the Achilles heel of the government. Many analysts said that Duhalde, in power until the end of 2003, may have to call early elections if the government fails to control inflation. The government is worried by price increases because in December growing protests against then-President Fernando de la Rua sparked looting of supermarkets and rioting that left 27 people died. De la Rua was forced to resign days later. Price studies have showed that inflation hits the poorest sectors of society the hardest. One study showed that while the consumer price index rose 3.1 percent in February, for the poorest sectors the rise was nearer 5 percent.
"Drop the slave-contracts and introduce free contracts and optimal demand management, etc. i.e. follow the anarchist economical plan,- and the problems will be solved!" the anarchists say. Mindful of the controversy surrounding price limits, cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich said over the weekend the government was looking at ways of limiting the rate of price rises but added, "We are not studying fixing maximum prices."Meanwhile, the government also said over the weekend that it could introduce new taxes to help boost revenues that have plummeted this year and threaten the government's ability to meet spending and budget deficit targets. Already under fire from investors for increasing taxes on companies to pay for state spending, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said the government was studying a new tax.
"Tax the plutarchs, property included," the anarchists say. "It's very clear that this will not be any tax that affects consumers," the minister added, hinting that any new tax could again be levied on businesses.Argentina's Central Bank on Monday suspended a host of financial institutions from foreign exchange trading after they failed to comply with new rules designed to prop up the weak peso currency. The Central Bank, aiming to increase sales of dollars on the local market to strengthen the peso, on Friday ordered financial institutions, including state-run Banco Nacion and foreign-owned banks, to limit their holdings in dollars to five percent of their total net worth. Earlier Monday, the bank slapped a foreign exchange trading ban on 28 institutions it said had not provided data on their net worth, but later lifted the suspension on 15 institutions after they provided the data, leaving 13 still facing restrictions.
19.03.2002: "This is a hopeless task.." the anarchists say. Argentina's highly-criticized "economic subversion" law, recently cited by judges probing foreign banking executives over alleged capital flight, must be repealed or modified in line with IMF requests, President Eduardo Duhalde said on Tuesday. "I think that (subversion) law should be repealed or modified because it's so wide that it really undermines judicial guarantees," Duhalde told local radio. The government would also revise a new bankruptcy law, which has been criticized by the International Monetary Fund as stacking legal advantages in favor of debtors. "The economic subversion law, of course we have to eliminate it because it makes no sense, it affects the country and today, there are judges who are using this law to complicate the government's attempt to pull out of the crisis," Duhalde told local daily Ambito Financiero. 20.03.2002: "Small scale thinking!" the anarchists say.U.S President Bush said on Wednesday Argentina still needs to make "tough calls" to rein in spending, further dashing hopes for speedy aid from the International Monetary Fund and sending the peso currency falling to record lows. Skeptical comments rained down on Argentina just as President Eduardo Duhalde, already buffeted by daily street protests over his handling of the battered economy, flew to a United Nations meeting in Mexico to try to woo billions of dollars from the IMF to save the economy from meltdown. "The country itself is going to have to make some tough calls, starting with reforming the relationship between the states and their budgets and the central government," Bush said, echoing similar comments on Wednesday from the IMF.
21.033.2002: "More liberalism will not do the majority of the people much good. It's not the size of the public budget that is wrong, but how it is used. Cut "dead meat" all over, in private end public sector, and make room for real investments and growth according to the anarchist economical plans," the anarchists say.Argentina's economy shrank 4.5 percent in 2001 compared with 2000, the government said on Thursday, as a marathon recession spiraled out of control due to a virtual cutoff of credit markets. Argentina's gross domestic product shrank 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared with the same period a year ago, the economy ministry said in a statement, as a partial freeze of bank deposits choked off consumption. The long slump sparked the violent street protests and the default on part of its $141 billion debt and devalue its peso currency in January. Argentina's economy shrank by 3.2 percent in 1999 and 0.5 percent in 2000 as emerging market crises abroad and slack consumer spending at home stifled output. The economy ministry also said gross domestic investment in 2001 fell 15.9 percent compared with 2000 as many companies braced for the oncoming disaster.
"The need to follow the anarchist economical plan is urgent", the anarchists say. Argentina said on Thursday it needed to reduce its foreign debt to less than 60 percent of its original value, the first clue to the scope of an upcoming restructuring after this year's default. With Argentina under heavy pressure from the IMF to begin talks with creditors in return for badly needed aid, Finance Secretary Lisandro Barry said the reduction in original value, or "haircut," would have to be steep to convince investors of the restructuring's viability amid a four-year recession.
"These looters should be not get a dime in economical "haircut"!" the anarchists say. The International Monetary Fund indicated Thursday that Argentina would likely come away from a U.N. aid summit empty handed, saying there was no "quick fix" for country's deep economic crisis. Argentina's foreign bondholders said on Thursday that the government's suggestion of a 40 percent reduction in its external debt burden was premature given the uncertainties still plaguing Latin America's third biggest economy. Until Argentina has attained greater stability punctuated by a viable budget and a new lending program from the International Monetary Fund, the amount of debt forgiveness cannot be realistically discussed, said Peter Allen, financial advisor to the New York-based Argentina Bondholders Committee. "Any estimate of their debt service capacity is premature at this time," Allen said. "Argentina needs to come forward with a coherent budget that contains in it a line for debt service. They can't just throw these numbers around." U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said on Thursday he was hopeful economically troubled Argentina can meet conditions within weeks that will qualify it for renewed international loans. "I think maybe there is a horizon out there sometime within the next three months of actually getting this fixed," O'Neill told a small group of reporters. Earlier, he held a bilateral meeting with Argentina's Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov that O'Neill said had left him very hopeful. "I came away with a very clear feeling that there's understanding of what needs to be done and a dedication to take the steps to get there," O'Neill said. "So I'd say it's an issue of working out the specifics and the timing." "I'm very hopeful we're talking in terms of near-term prospects, and by that I mean probably measured in weeks, hopefully not more than a few months" to meet conditions for renewed lending, he said.
22.03.2002:"Any new loans should strictly go to productive real investments", the anarchists say: "If not, it will probably just mean more looting."Argentina's peso closed at a new record low of 3.10 to the U.S. dollar on Friday, despite Central Bank efforts to slow the slide of the devalued currency via foreign exchange market intervention. The peso weakened to end at 3.00/3.10 (buy/sell rate) per dollar for large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange market, compared with Thursday's close at 2.53/2.55 (buy/sell rate), traders said. The Central Bank and three state banks had earlier offered dollars at artificially low levels to underpin the peso as panicky savers rushed to protect their savings by turning them into dollars. Some foreign exchange houses were forced to close early after running out of dollar bills. Friday's 17.74 percent intraday fall means the currency has slid 67.7 percent against the greenback since January's devaluation.
"The peso begins to reach a realistic level," the anarchists say.Argentina's former Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, once a darling of Wall Street, has been charged with illegally instructing banks to ignore court rulings against banking curbs he imposed in December, court officials and a lawyer said. The judge also froze 20,000 pesos ($6,452) worth of Cavallo's assets and, if the former minister is found guilty of failing to comply with the duties of a public official, he could face two to six years of a suspended jail sentence. After only months on the job, Cavallo was forced in December to restrict cash withdrawals from banks to stop a devastating run on banks. The widely hated curbs remain in place and are blamed for destroying Argentines' faith in their financial system. Some courts ruled in December that the restrictions were illegal, allegedly prompting Cavallo to tell banks to ignore the rulings and go ahead with deposit curbs. Another former economy minister, Roque Fernandez, was charged on Friday on fraud charges in connection with alleged irregularities in loans between two banks in 1995 and the judge ordered 76 million pesos ($24.5 million) worth of his assets frozen, court officials said. Former Central Bank president Pedro Pou was also charged with fraud in the same case and 72 million pesos ($23.2 million) worth of his assets were frozen by the court.If found guilty, the former government officials and former bankers charged in the case face up to three years in suspended jail terms. The hugely unpopular bank curbs, in place since December, suffocated the Argentine economy and helped spark the looting and riots. President Eduardo Duhalde has since increased the bank curbs, which are the target of an estimated 160,000 lawsuits by depositors demanding that their life savings be released. Duhalde said on Friday he is convinced that his crisis-ravaged country will reach a new agreement with the International Monetary.
23.03.2002: "Perhaps in a month or two", the anarchists say, "but it will not solve the main problems. They may only be solved by approximations to the anarchist economical plan."Panic over Argentina's chaotic recession sent the peso cratering to all-time lows against the dollar on Friday, sparking fears of runaway inflation and endangering the Duhalde government's grip on power. Amid worries that a desperately needed bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might not arrive for weeks, if at all, shopkeepers rubbed shoulders with bankers as they waited for hours at exchange houses to buy dollars to protect their savings. "The peso doesn't buy me anything," said Matias Amarillo, a 23-year-old vegetable store owner, as he stood in a long line downtown, where some exchange houses closed early after running out of dollars. "I prefer to sell the pesos I have now because I just don't know what's going to happen." Economists said the peso's dramatic decline since January's end to its decade-long fixed one-dollar-to-one-peso rate could fuel further price rises in basic staples like bread and meat -- and big trouble for Eduardo Duhalde, Argentina's fifth president since mid-December. With public rage running high over a hated freeze of bank deposits and memories still fresh from December riots, many on the street fear a fresh wave of chaos. Over a thousand unemployed marched in the city center and hundreds blocked a major highway into Cordoba, the country's second biggest city, in the latest in daily street protests. "I'd say his presidency is in danger," said James Neilson, a respected local political analyst. "His whole economic strategy was based on a successful devaluation, and it's been absolutely catastrophic.
People are starting to call Duhalde 'Easter' because they don't know whether he'll fall in March or April." Argentina said on Friday that the IMF would send a new negotiating mission to Buenos Aires in early April, after what both sides called a "very constructive" meeting between Duhalde and IMF chief Horst Koehler. But the news failed to ease the peso's fall. Economists say the peso's continued tumble could spark a widely dreaded return to hyperinflation, which hit 5,000 percent in Argentina in 1989. As mentioned, consumer price inflation already ratcheted up 2.3 percent in January and 3.1 percent in February -- significant rises for the nearly half of Argentines living in poverty. Over the last month, the Central Bank has spent $1.2 billion, or around 10 percent of its foreign reserves, in failed attempts to stop the peso's fall. More interventions on Friday did little to stop the decline. "It's craziness," said a currency trader. "There aren't many dollars in the market because everybody's buying, nobody's selling, and there aren't dollars coming from abroad." Police mounted a sting operation in downtown Buenos Aires to round up hawkers trying to sell dollars on the black market. About 250 such arrests have been made since the devaluation, police said on Friday. Argentina has a long history of uncontrolled inflation, leading some observers to claim that 70 years of constant economic crisis have left it unable to sustain its own currency. The "Convertibility" plan of the 1990's achieved monetary stability by fixing the peso to the dollar, but public and private overspending on imports led the peg to snap this year. Duhalde's government has rejected calls from the financial community, which fears banks could soon collapse en masse as the peso continues its fall, to adopt the dollar outright as the national currency. A top aide said on Friday that "the government is not going to change its economic plans."
"Let them go broke and buy/expropriate them cheap", the anarchists say 24.03.2002.Argentina hopes to refinance $5 billion loans due this year if it unlocks the International Monetary Fund aid vital to bail out its crisis-ravaged economy, Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov told a newspaper on Sunday. IMF froze nearly $10 billion in aid to Latin America's third-largest economy in December after Argentina failed to control public spending. The IMF agreed on Friday to send a team to Buenos Aires next month for further talks which could pave the way to unfreezing loans after the government defaulted on part of a $141 billion public debt, devalued the currency and passed an austere 2002 budget. "How much and when - this depends on talks," Lenicov told Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview when asked what funds Buenos Aires hoped to win.
"I can tell that we are surely aiming to refinance $5 billion disbursed by the World Bank and the Inter American Development Bank which are due this year," Lenicov said. The IMF sent a mission to Argentina for 10 days earlier this month to assess the government's attempts to revive an economy that has not grown since mid-1998. Fund officials praised the country for passing an austere 2002 budget, but said more had to be done to end overspending and restore investor confidence. Lenicov said if the international financial aid was unlocked the funds would be first channelled to build up reserves and strengthen capitalisation of the country's financial system. Refinancing of foreign debt, including about 10 percent held by 350,000 Italians who bought Argentina's bonds, depended on negotiations with the IMF, he added. "The problem of refinancing foreign debt has not been confronted yet, but it does not mean that there is no hope. All depends on how the talks will go in April," he said. Lenicov said inflation in the first two months of this year was five percent but declined to give a forecast for March. The government expects inflation of 15 percent this year but economists have said it could be double or even race into hyperinflation if the government fails to control public spending. Lenicov said international financial aid was crucial to avoid social unrest in the country where daily street protests and the worsening economy have fueled fears of a return of the riots that hit Argentina in December.
"Of course the public spending must be controlled to avoid hyperinflation", the anarchists say, "but it must not choke total demand either! Furthermore, the monetarist, liberalistic policy suggested by IMF, will not increase demand sufficiently and create more slave-contracts. Follow the anarchist economical plan instead!"Despite fears of hyperinflation or a return of violent street protests, Argentina will take no "special" measures to stop the peso currency's recent dramatic slide, the president said in comments published on Sunday. Argentines rushed to supermarkets to stock up on basic goods from bread to baby diapers after panic over a four-year recession sent the peso falling nearly 18 percent on Friday to 3.10 per dollar, down a whopping 68 percent since the messy devaluation in January. But Eduardo Duhalde told Clarin and La Nacion in a joint interview that growing speculation his government might not survive a resulting rise in food prices was "the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life." "There will be no special measure to (support the peso). It'll be the central bank that does it if it believes it opportune and the central bank has plenty of reserves to do it," Duhalde said. The central bank has spent $1.2 billion, or roughly 10 percent of its reserves, in the last month to prop up the peso, but the currency has still tumbled on fears Argentina might not get sorely needed aid from the International Monetary Fund. One consumer group said prices on basic foods are already up 8.4 percent in March, placing a heavy strain on the nearly half of Argentines below the poverty line and sparking fears of a return to December's riots. Spanish energy group Repsol-YPF increased its fuel prices over the weekend 4 percent, a move likely to reverberate in across-the-board price rises. Some worry about a return to an era like 1989, when annual inflation reached 5,000 percent. Duhalde said his government would not try to implement artificial caps, adding: "There can't be hyperinflation in Argentina because there's just no money, and if prices go up people won't have any cash to buy with."
"That's probably right" the anarchists say,"but ca constant low total demand plus rising prices will reduce employment even more!" Most on the street were not so sure. "I feel like I've gone back in time to the 1980's, when you had to buy a month's groceries as soon as you got your paycheck," said a housewife, as she loaded her shopping cart with milk and bread. Some economists (not anarchists) believe billions of dollars in IMF aid can stabilize Argentina's recession, which has deteriorated sharply. Wary of Argentina's decades-old habit of overspending, the IMF has demanded budget cuts in return for loans, but Duhalde said on Sunday no further changes would be made to the recently passed 2002 budget, widely described by private observers as overly optimistic in income forecasts. Duhalde said Argentina would not be able to meet another key IMF demand, the elimination of provincial bonds used widely as a quasi-currency amid a cash crunch. "This year we can't eliminate (the bonds). We're going to reduce the amount. And we'll continue reducing them next year," he said. The former governor of Buenos Aires province, Argentina's richest and most indebted, was described by Clarin as being "evasive" during the interview and warned his weary countrymen that worse times were ahead. "We're going to live moments more difficult than these," Duhalde said. "That's what I'm telling Argentines: it's unthinkable that there won't be more hardship." 25.03.2002: "Argentina is real-economically a rich country!" the anarchists say, "It's just the unenlightened plutarchy and chaotic bureaucracy economics of Duhalde and the upper classes, that create the hardship!"New exchange controls slapped on the peso by Argentina's central bank have failed to stem a slide in the currency's value to record lows.
Startled by the accelerating slump, the bank threw its reserves at the peso. But with nearly one tenth of the reserves - totalling $1.2bn - spent to little avail, the Central Bank has now banned foreign exchange traders and banks from buying dollars from it at the market rate. The new controls also limit the sale of dollars to $1,000 for each individual or $10,000 per company, while bureaux de change have had their opening hours slashed by half to just 3-1/2 hours a day. Still, so far there has been little effect. The decision to let the peso float saw a starting rate of 1.40 pesos to the greenback. By 1800 GMT Monday, a single dollar was buying 3.75 pesos - a fall of 75%. "In the absence of having some credible fiscal policy and economic management, spending reserves was just throwing money away," IDEA-global head of Latin American research Doug Smith, told the Reuters news agency. The sharp fall is raising fears that inflation could shoot up, since the shifting currency means the price of any goods sourced from outside Argentina is shooting up. Argentines, half of whom are below the poverty line amid unemployment above 22%, fear that the moves could be the harbinger of a return to the bad old days. The dollar-peso peg was introduced in the early 1990s to stem rampant inflation and turn around an economy hampered by deep-seated corruption. Now the government - the fifth since early December - of President Eduardo Duhalde, is "struggling" to keep the country going, desperate for new loans from a very reluctant International Monetary Fund. 26.03.2002: "Duhalde is probably not struggling for anything but more upperclass looting of the people, the future and foreigners", the anarchists say.
XXXVI. F.O.R.A. - INFORME DE LA SITUACIÓN EN LA ARGENTINA
A dos meses de la gigantesca explosión popular de aquel 19 y 20 de diciembre, cuando el pueblo salio a la calle espontáneamente a decir basta!!, basta de robo, basta de políticos organizando el saqueo de la población en beneficio de los grandes monopolios, basta de tanta miseria en una región inmensamente rica como la argentina y tras esas movilizaciones mando a pique a dos gobiernos en diez días, todo esto en forma autónoma y resistiendo los embates de un sistema político que no pretende perder sus privilegios. Tras la renuncia de De La Rua con un saldo de treinta muertos y el derrumbe de su proyecto economico (con 14 millones de pobres) el estado pone en escena una impresionante parodia de sucesión de mandos, tratando de hacer creer que estabamos frente al caos y al borde de la «anarquia» (¿?) difundida e interpretada esta por el poder político y los medios de comunicación como sinónimo de desorden y descomposición social.Ignorando la pueblada que echo a De La Rua y el estallido que acabo con el gobierno provisorio que por solo 7 días encabezo Rodríguez Saa, prometiendo absurdos como un millón de puestos de trabajo, no pagar la deuda externa (¿?), libertad a los presos políticos y otras tantas palabrerías de feria. Las cúpulas del peronismo (partido justicialista) y del radicalismo volvieron a decidir entre pocos el destino de todos imponiendo a Eduardo Duhalde como presidente.
En el contexto de una sociedad movilizada exigiendo que se entierren las practicas políticas que sustentaron un modelo economico que nos arrastro a la miseria en que estamos inmersos y con una clase política vilipendiada y en la que nadie cree; nadie mejor que el mafioso Duhalde, ya que si bien no puede mostrar transparencia, ni propuestas de cambio real maneja los hilos de la clientela política peronista de la provincia de Buenos Aires (el distrito más grande de la argentina) y es el único con alguna posibilidad de sostener un mandato hasta octubre del 2003. Este presidente impuesto es el fruto del llamado «compromiso histórico» tan mentado por los radicales y el nefasto Alfonsin, que tras las febriles reuniones en Lomas de Zamora en las que participaron, entre otros impresentables, Alberto Pierri, uno de los referentes más característicos del caciquismo político peronista y Osvaldo Mercuri oscuro personaje vinculado al narcotráfico bonaerense; tras la Asunción empiezan los discursos populistas pero no tan descabellados como los del derrocado Rodríguez Saa; en estos discursos pretende hacer creer a la población que ha tomado un país paralizado y desquiciado como si el no tuviera nada que ver con la realidad social actual y como si el partido justicialista (al cual que él pertenece) no hubiera sido la punta de lanza con la cual por medio de decretos o leyes adoptadas por los levantamanos de las cámaras de diputados y de senadores que aprobaron todas las fraudulentas privatizaciones, convalidaron las «relaciones carnales» con Estados Unidos, se festejaron el plan Caballo y se aplaudieron incondicionalmente todas las medidas de desarrollo impuestas y mas recientemente se concedieron superpoderes al ex ministro de economía Domingo Caballo en su acción depredadora con el ya conocido final, Duhalde muestra el papel de victima que recibe el país en quiebra y el fue parte activa de los que lo fundieron, convoca a la «madre espiritual» la iglesia católica ( de muy activa participación en las posiciones adoptadas por los políticos) para acompañar su gestión en carácter de consejera, ya la inmunda banda mafiosa de sindicalistas de la CGT siempre dispuestos a defender sus privilegios económicos y a desmontar las conquistas laborales que aun nos quedan a los trabajadores, sirviéndose de las patotas rentadas que apedrearon manifestantes en la Asunción presidencial y que actuaron en el mercado central contra los desocupados que pedían alimentos, además Duhalde cuenta con el ejercito de «manzaneras» en los barrios que le aseguran el clientelismo político siempre que haya migajas para repartir como en la abortada marcha de apoyo peronista que en 24 horas pudo reunir a 100.000 personas de entre el cordón de miseria del conurbano bonaerense para ir a la plaza de Mayo el mismo dia de las protestas, que hubiera sido un baño de sangre de haberse realizado. Para seguir disponiendo de este apoyo el gobierno ya obtuvo 2000 millones de dólares del BANCO MUNDIAL que serán utilizados en «acción social». Mientras tanto empiezan a conocerse las primeras definiciones llamadas a tener efecto a largo plazo en el rumbo económico, el default (cesación de pagos momentánea al FMI y demás acreedores internacionales), el fin de la convertibilidad (con una fuerte puja de algunos sectores para dolarizar) y el reconocimiento de algunas demandas de los 14 millones de argentinos que viven (o sobreviven) bajo la línea de pobreza y que en alguna medida fueron los protagonistas de los saqueos. Es innegable que no le resultara fácil a este mandatario elegido por una de las instituciones mas desprestigiadas (el congreso) hacerse cargo de conducir un país en bancarrota y a su vez manejar las pujas en su partido que tarde o temprano empezaran a ponerse en su camino y que poca ayuda le pueden dar sus aliados del radicalismo en terapia intensiva y un FREPASO ya casi extinguido.
Por otra parte, los grandes grupos económicos no parecen dispuestos a ceder sus posiciones y es previsible que enfrenten decididamente los más tibios intentos de limitar sus privilegios. Del otro lado del espectro la patética izquierda tratando de aparatear las todavía amorfas asambleas barriales que fueron las autenticas protagonistas de la pueblada y que se articularon desde la espontaneidad, esta izquierda con su miopía mental trata de apoderarse, coma sea, de toda lucha siempre que pueda garantizarle algunos electores en el 2003, mientras no tiene empacho en llevarse por delante los verdaderos ejes de la protesta porque el pueblo esta diciendo que no va mas la politiquería, y si en un primer momento en las protestas no se veían banderas, con su permanente tarea de desgaste termino por imponerlas lo que genera desmovilización en la gente que no tiene nada que ver con sus partidos y que fue quien en la calle paso por encima a los dirigentes políticos y gremiales, que no necesito de «directores» que le marquen el camino ni le «bajen línea», que se las ingenio en auto organizarse sin libretos y pudo identificar con claridad a las instituciones que violaron sus derechos y su libertad: el gobierno, el parlamento, la corte suprema de justicia y todo el espectro político que solo busca engordar candidatos.En esta pulseada el gobierno tiene a su favor una poderosa maquinaria política, que bien aceitada puede disputarles las calles a la rebeldía inorgánica de los que se cansaron de tantas falsas esperanzas; con la adhesión de un segmento muy importante de pobres y desocupados contenidos por el asistencialismo y con la puesta en funcionamiento de proyectos de contenido fascista. Para asustar a las masas seguirán instalando la idea del desorden y la violencia utilizando como ya vienen asiendo el enfrentamiento de pobres contra pobres, el enfrentamiento de ocupados contra desocupados, infiltrando provocadores para después reclamar mayor represión en defensa del orden. Tienen miedo y no les falta motivo, les molesta que el pueblo sé auto organice, que sé auto convoque, al margen de los políticos, que intente romper la cadena del control social que ellos inventaron para someternos. Consejo Federal. (FORA-AIT)
On Tuesday in Buenos Aires, only a few blocks from where Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde was the plans of the International Monetary Fund, a group of residents were going through a negotiation of a different kind.They were trying to save their home. In order to protect themselves from an eviction order, the residents of 335 Ayacucho, including 19 children, barricaded themselves inside and refused to leave. On the concrete facade of the house, a hand-printed sign said: "IMF Go To Hell." What does the IMF, in town to set conditions for releasing $9- billion in promised funds, have to do with the fate of these people? Well, here in a country where half the population now lives below the poverty line, it's hard to find a single sector of society whose fate does not somehow hinge on the decisions made by the international lender, a reporter said. However IMF is notvery much to blame for the problems, but the populist bureaucratic tie of the peso to the US $ over several years, and the policy in general, as analysed above..Librarians, teachers and other public sector workers, who have been getting paid in hastily-printed provincial currencies (sort of government IOUs), won't get paid at all if the provinces agree to IMF demands to stop printing this money, i.e. if not Duahalde tax the plutarchy and redistribute according to the anarchist economical plan, which is a better solution. And if deeper cuts are made to the public sector, as the IMF also is insisting, unemployed workers who account for between 20 and 30 per cent of the population, will have even less protection from the homelessness and hunger that has led tens of thousands to storm supermarkets demanding food.
However the "dead meat" in public
sector must be done away with, and the public demand go to productive purposes.And if a solution isn't found to the "medical state of emergency"
declared this week, it will certainly affect an elderly woman a reporter met
recently on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. In a fit of shame and desperation,
she pulled up her blouse and showed a group of foreigners the open wound and
hanging tubes from a stomach operation that her doctor was not able to stitch
up or dress due to lack of medical supplies.Maybe it seems rude to talk about such matters in the context of the IMF's
visit. Economic analysis is supposed to be about the peg to the dollar, "peso-ification,"
and the dangers of "stagflation" -- not families losing homes and
gaping wounds. Yet reading the reckless advice that the international business
community is
hurling at the IMF and Argentina's government, perhaps a little personalizing
is in order. IMF has not the right plans, they are liberalistic, serving the
plutarchy, not the poeple. However Duhaldes populist chaotic looting policy
is not much better. The solution is an approximation to the anarchist economical
plan, the anarchists say 28.03.2002.
XXXVII. Neighborhood Associations
Argentina's New Neighborhood Associations/assemblies - the Seed of a New Form of Citizen Participation, by M. V.BUENOS AIRES - The neighborhood assemblies that have mushroomed throughout the capital of Argentina since the December protests and rioting that toppled two presidents within the space of two weeks have achieved some concrete results. But they have also become the target of violence at the hands of thugs at the service of certain political forces. The new neighborhood associations have organized community purchases of food at reduced prices, as well as volunteer brigades of skilled workers who reconnect homes to the public service grids when their electricity, household gas or water supplies are cut off for failure to pay their bills.The assemblies' projects range from a community vegetable garden to a neighborhood bank in which people can put their savings in order to keep them out of the financial system, where strict limits on cash withdrawals were imposed by the government in early December to prevent a run on banks. Neighborhood associations on the west side of Buenos Aires successfully pressured the Edesur power company to consider the possibility of a 180-day suspension of cut-offs due to delay in paying bills. Assemblies in other neighborhoods are demanding discount electricity rates for the unemployed. The phenomenon of neighborhood assemblies has boomed since the mass demonstrations that led to the resignation of president Fernando de la Rúa on Dec 20. The violence and brutal police crackdown on DEC 19 and 20 left a death toll of 30. At the assembly meetings, which are generally held in plazas or other public spaces, political and economic issues of national interest and pressing local problems are discussed.
The main focus is usually on the crisis faced by the public hospitals, unemployment (which has soared to ca 23 percent), and the widespread hunger and inability of families to buy food - questions that the neighborhood assemblies complain have received less than adequate attention from the country's political leaders. Local residents who have been organizing in lower-income suburbs to the north, south and west of Buenos Aires have become the targets of violence. Municipal employees and sympathizers of the traditional parties - the Justice (Peronist) Party and the Radical Civic Union - have attempted to intimidate the more active members of the associations, some of whom have even been beaten up.A nurse at a hospital in the western suburb of Morón said she was beaten to unconsciousness by a stranger who had trailed her for several days. At a neighborhood assembly, the nurse had complained that the leader of her trade union did not defend the workers, due to his political ties. When the neighborhood association in Merlo, west of the capital, began to grow in size and strength, around 200 men wearing no shirts broke into one of the meetings and beat local residents with ax handles, a teacher who has become a local activist told. After that incident, one of the rooms in the activist's home mysteriously caught fire. Telephone threats and different forms of repression - in which the police have generally not been involved - have become routine for members of theshow up to carry out audits as soon as they put up signs in their shop windows calling local residents together for an assembly.
President Eduardo Duhalde, has criticized the neighborhood association movement. ''It is impossible to govern with assemblies. The democratic way to organize and participate is through voting,'' he said. While the leaders of the traditional political parties discredit the phenomenon, the neighborhood associationss complain of a vacuum of power, which has led them to take their problems into their own hands. ''The question of hunger is an urgent one,'' said a local resident of Morón in an assembly. ''We cannot continue delaying our response to the offer by INTA (the National Institute of Agricultural Technology) of 200 empty hectares to plant a community garden. We have to decide who is going to work there, and what we are going to produce.'' A younger resident called for an acceleration of the discussion of special tariffs for public services.He also urged the assemblies to press their demand that a delegate be allowed to participate in the negotiations with the utility companies, the government and consumer groups, to keep the companies from ''taking advantage of the circumstances to increase electricity rates during the World Football Cup (in Japan and South Korea) in June.'' Although the activity of the associations has not slowed down, assistance has waned in recent weeks, several participants told.''It seems that less people are showing up now,'' Cristina Guerra, a 54-year-old nurse who has been unemployed for five months, told IPS. ''That allways happens - after the crisis comes to a head, participation falls off. But the important thing is that the assemblies continue to meet, to change a world that no one is satisfied with anymore. ''We are living in a cruel system, a society for the few, and the way to change that is by participating in these new spaces created by the people,'' said the nurse. Guerra said that in December, a ''rupture'' occurred between the people and the government. She predicted that local political leaders in the suburbs of Buenos Aires would attempt to obstruct the phenomenon of the assemblies. ''They only like to see people mobilizing in their favor, their political clients,'' who receive favors like food in exchange for participating in rallies and demonstrations, she said.''If we are able to solve some of our problems, we will create a parallel power. If we obtain, for example, a 50 percent discount in utility rates for the unemployed and for people with low incomes, we will take a leap forward in quality, and will have many more people participating,'' said Guerra.
Residents in the Buenos
Aires neighborhood of Palermo Viejo have organized a first aid clinic while
they continue discussing the problems plaguing the local hospital. In Ramos
Mejía, on the outskirts of the capital, even the director of the local
medical center has taken part in the neighborhood assembly. Assemblies are held
once a week throughout the entire metropolitan region. They then send delegates
to periodic ''inter- neighborhood meetings to share their experiences and discuss
their common concerns.The participants want to make sure the organizations maintain a ''horizontal''
organizational structure, with rotating moderators and the creation of
commissions to study the proposals that are formulated. Many assembly members
believe it is possible for their organizations to
eventually take on tasks that the government is unable to carry out effectively.
According to Juan Mosca, an aeronautics industry worker from the town of
Castelar, the associations should discuss ''the issues of dem ocracy.'' That
view is shared by many residents of the greater Buenos Aires (a city of
over 12 million people) who cast blank or spoiled ballots in the October parliamentary
elections to signal their rejection of the political class.
(Voting is compulsory in Argentina.) ''On DEC 19- 20 , the pact by which the
leaders represented the people was broken, and our constitution no longer prevails.
If it did, there wouldn't be 15 million poor (out of a total population of 37
million) or so many buses,'' said Mosca, 57, mounted on his bicycle after an
inter-neighbourhood assembly in Morón. ''That's why I brought to this
inter-neighbourhood meeting Castelar's proposal to begin discussing who will
govern tomorrow, what our political designs and goals will be, and how we are
going to replace our leaders and our judges,'' said Mosca, a veteran community
activist.Since Argentina's four-year recession peaked in December's crisis, at least
one out of three people surveyed by the local Hugo Haime polling firm say
they have taken part in a neighborhood association or in a ''caceroleo'' (the
pot-and-pan-banging protest) at least once. Of the respondents, 35 percent say
the assemblies constitute ''a new form of political organization,'' 16 percent
believe that ''new leadership will emerge'' from the movement, and 21 percent
say the effervescence will eventually die down. The assemblies are gaining a
growing space in the media, while they have begun to create their own alternative
channels. A Morón radio station broadcasts the program ''Association
Hour'', and they produce their own newspaper, ''Argentina is Burning''. ''Some
people believe our numbers have shrunk. But those of us who are left are the
ones who really want to do things, the ones who want to stop complaining in
our homes and do what the politicians are not doing: work out our day-to-day
problems, without political-party machines, just us and our organizations,''
said Guerra.
"Argentina - anarchists on neighbourhood assemblies", by "Folks
at the Biblioteca Popular José Ingenieros" - Buenos Aires -Argentina:
A local anarchist analysis of the
developing situation. Some comments on neighbourhood assemblies. Even before the events of 19 and 20 December, and faced with the increasing
deterioration of the economic and institutional situation, in some neighbourhoods
of the city of Buenos Aires, local people began to meet up, almost spontaneously,
on street corners, to share their unease and to discuss effective forms of protest.
In the two weeks that followed the fall of Fernando De la Rua, the phenomenon
multiplied, with around twenty neighbourhood assemblies being held and the creation
of an inter-neighbourhood assembly. This meets on a weekly basis to co-ordinate
the proposals of the neighbourhood assemblies, and has an average of 3000 "autoconvocados"
from all the city's neighbourhoods participating in it. "Autoconvocados"
is the word used in Argentina to describe people who are not part of institutionalised
political groups, who take part in political action. It literally means "self-convened".
Today there is already more than fifty assemblies operating in the city of Buenos
Aires alone, while in Greater Buenos Aires (the urban belt surrounding the city,
where there is the largest demographic concentration in the country), and in
the rest of the country, the first steps are beginning to be taken in this direction.
Faced with this phenomenon of incipient direct democracy, unprecedented in the history of this country, we need to formulate some considerations that arise from both participation in and observation of this movement: The majority of the population of the city of Buenos Aires, the cradle of the phenomenon in question, belong to the middle class. The movements of protest and resistance against the current economic model have had several years of gestation. The middle class, however, were generally unaware of these, adopting a position of passive observance of the dictates issued by the financial powers, acritically accepting the consensus created by the mass media concerning the marginal nature of these protest movements, and profiting, as far as possible, from the "advantages" that this model seemed to offer them.The initial reason for these first "encounters" between local people was the unanimous rejection of the financial ring-fence (the so-called "corralito") set up by the then Minister of the Economy, Domingo Cavallo. Broadly speaking, this "corralito" consisted in the expropriation by the banks (and large companies, often associated with them) of a substantial part of the capital of hundreds of thousands of small and medium savers, in an attempt to save certain banking institutions from collapse. These measures not only dealt a direct blow to the impoverished middle class, who had originally been the main supporters of the government of the Alliance, but also had a devastating effect on domestic consumption, deepening a recession in the local economy that had been going on for more than four years. It was this situation that prompted the middle class - who felt let down and used by those who in turn had used them to reach power to meet in assemblies, thus giving material form to a growing mistrust and rejection of the traditional forms of participation that the institutions of representative democracy offered them.With time (in the very short time that this has gone on), the fundamental concerns of the assemblies moved on from the specific subject of the "corralito" to more general questions of the economic model and the political system.
At the same time there began to develop a sort of rapprochement between the assembly movement and the "piqueteros" movement; the latter are from anoth er socio-economic grouping, and have many years of struggle and resistance against the neoliberal model behind them, but not against capitalism as a whole. We consider this point, the union in the struggle between assembly - members and piqueteros, as one of the most interesting and positive aspects in this process. We must also remember that in the inter-neighbourhood assembly it was resolved to include delegates from both the piqueteros and the workers struggling against employers? organisations or the state, who had been left to their fate by the bureaucratic union leaders, as in the cases of the Bruckman textile workers or the Zanón ceramic workers, who in both cases occupied their factories before these were closed down by the respective companies.This whole assembly movement is in its very early stages and is just beginning to take its first steps. Coexisting in it are local people with no experience of political participation, alongside experienced militants from the whole spectrum of the left, and even some poorly camouflaged "snipers" from the discredited traditional parties. The assemblies generally operate horizontally, with rotation of co-ordinators, speaking times, etc. In them the people talk quite freely, and are able to listen to speeches of all types: from naive local people who repeat the alienating discourses of the mass media, to "self-sacrificing" militants who repeat the alienating discourses of the party, to "eminent" fascists who are in raptures before the flag and the national anthem, to the occasional libertarian, and so on. Nevertheless, it is the voice of "common sense" that prevails, and a marked distrust and rejection of any whiff of institutions, leaderships or political parties can be perceived. Each assembly is autonomous from the rest of the assemblies. No assembly speaks or decides for any other than itself.
This autonomy is reflected in the co-ordinating inter-neighbourhood assembly, where in a manner much closer to federalism than centralism, even if with the inevitable defects of all new movements, all the assemblies usually have the same opportunities when presenting their proposals to the rest. Another feature that it is important to highlight, in this case of the inter-neighbourhood assembly, is that this is co-ordinated by rotation, that is to say, every week the neighbourhood assemblies rotate the function of co-ordinating and organising the inter-neighbourhood ones.As a final point, it is necessary to warn about the fragility of these assemblies; this fragility is constantly stressed by the groups that do not benefit from an exercise of direct and popular democracy, and so try to undermine a movement that, if it were to take root, would make the rotten foundations of many power structures tremble. This fragility is perceived in aspects such as the lack of patience when faced with certain difficulties that arise from limited experience of horizontal practices, particularly at the time of making or voting on resolutions, with many feeling that this apparent wasting of time is in turn a wasting of forces; also regarding the capacity to put these resolutions into practice, when the desired impact is often not achieved in the actual actions.Resolutions: Perhaps an analysis of the resolutions that are proposed and voted on in both the neighbourhood and the inter-neighbourhood assemblies will enable us to understand this phenomenon that is very new at local level, but is spreading fast. The fact that there are contradictory resolutions, we believe, faithfully reflects the heterogeneous nature of the assembly movement, as well as its understandable immaturity.
Taking as our example the fourth inter-neighbourhood assembly, we see that at the same time proposals of a radical nature are voted for, as is the case of: "The people must (self) govern through its assemblies" or the case of "Annul article 22 of the constitution, which prevents the people from self-governing, only being able to do so through representatives" along with moderate ones such as "Remove the special powers of the Head of the City's Government, Aníbal Ibarra", or one previously voted for, which demanded "Representation of neighbourhood assemblies in the legislative chambers with voice and vote". It can also be seen through some proposals that certain groups, especially the CTA (Union of Argentinian Workers), the MST (Workers' Socialist Movement, in the United Left coalition) and the P.O (Workers Party, i.e Trotskyite), attempt to manouevre the assembly movement in their own direction. A clear (and pathetic) example of this was when, in the fifth inter-neighbourhood assembly, there was a vote in favour of a proposal to march round the National Congress on 13.02.2002, the day when there was to be discussion on the approval of the executive budget for the year 2002; when the assemblies reached the Congress they saw that a stage had previously been erected, from which leaders of the CTA were speaking. Other examples quickly come to light when we review the proposals for votes, and we note that some of these are party manifestos, such as the call for a "free and sovereign Constituent Assembly", the platform of the ultra-troskyist P.O. However, it is important and positive that the proposals that in our view are freshest and most original almost all come from assembly-members who are not involved in union or party structures, or at least, are not "brainwashed" by these structures and their discourses. But we cannot help but stress the naive character of many resolutions, such as the one that proposes that "hiding information by an organ of the mass media must be sanctioned by the penal code", ignoring the fact that it is the very essence of these media conglomerates to be shapers of consent. As regards the role that the libertarian or anarchist movement in general plays in these assemblies, it would be difficult to outline a general line of action; we believe it would even be unnecessary.
Many members of these groups participate in the assemblies, and immediately after the events of 19 and 20 December, there was an attempt by some groups to positively disseminate the message and promote the creation of neighbourhood assemblies, when these were still a minuscule and isolated phenomenon. Just days before the fall of President De la Rua, Osvaldo Bayer, a recognised libertarian writer, was asked on a radio programme who should lead an imminent change in the country's political and economic situation. Bayer answered that "the assemblies must do it, everybody's assemblies", and this aroused an almost mocking and amazed silence on the part of the person who had asked him the question. At that time, few imagined that a movement with these characteristics could arise and spread with the spontaneity and force that it is showing today. We believe that as anarchists we must defend and enrich the resource, the valuable space that these assemblies/associations are, to in turn enrich ourselves with them, provided they maintain their characteristics of horizontality, solidarity, freedom of speech, respect for other assemblies, autonomy and co-ordination in the various struggles. Almost without knowing it, and sometimes in spite of us, from the very beginning these assemblies, if not in word then in deed, raised historic libertarian flags, such as federalism, autonomy and the construction of an alternative from the bottom up. We believe that it is our task to prevent these principles from being lost, distorted, or, in the worst of cases, from being just that, principles, and not concrete practices. Fortunately there is a lot to learn, a lot to do, to improve, and a long way to walk. The Fellows of the José Ingenieros Popular Library, Buenos Aires, 22.02.2002
29.03.2002: "As mentioned, these assemblies/associations may be very well, similar to the co-operatives of local welfare "Norges Vel" and "Velforeninger" in the anarchy of Norway, but it is not anarchosyndicalist labor federations for autogestion in the factories, and not consumers' co-operatives for trade, housing and services or farming co-operatives - and not communal, federal and confederal public sector organizations, for decisions on anarchist demand management, and anarchist political economy in general, tribunals included, to promote and secure that anarchist principles really are working. Thus, it is as mentioned by the Anarchist Library, a very long way to go, if this is going to be a basis for a solution," IIFOR says: "Perhaps something should be done more quick in Argentina?"
28-29.03.2002: Argentina has received its first financial assistance since its economy went into full-scale meltdown late last year. Because of the precarious social conditions, we can no longer delay making all possible resources available to the population. Enrique Iglesias president, IADB, The Inter-American Development Bank, the biggest lender for development purposes in Latin America and the Caribbean, has redirected $694m (£487m) to Argentina to help the near-crippled country rebuild its social services. Officially, unemployment in Argentina is affecting about a quarter of the workforce and nearly half the population is regarded as below the poverty line. The nightmare state of the country's books means the government has had to quadruple some export taxes on commodities to bring them in line with the plummet in the value of the peso. With no money expected any time soon from the International Monetary Fund, although a team is due in Buenos Aires next week for talks, the IADB - an altogether separate institution - said Argentina could wait no longer. "Because of the precarious social conditions, we can no longer delay making all possible resources available to the population and in this way open spaces for relief and hope," said IADB President Enrique Iglesias in a statement. While the IADB money is peanuts compared to the $25bn or so Argentina is hoping to raise from the International Monetary Fund, it makes possible a vital $1bn social fund the government is setting up. The fund aims to: Improve aid to destitute families; Provide emergency medical and sanitation help; Payments to encourage parents to keep their children in schools, and; Rebuild social infrastructure and housing in deprived areas.
Waiting at banks and bureaux de change is a weary business. The loan is desperately needed because Argentina has been cut off from outside funds since it defaulted on $141bn in external loans in December. Since then, prices have spiralled a bit, joblessness has surged, and the economy is in a state of near-collapse.The current government of President Eduardo Duhalde is still struggling to build an economic policy which will dig Argentina out of its hole. But difficulties in dealing with provincial governors and the populist leanings of Mr Duhalde's Peronist Party mean that cuts to public sector pay and pensions, which are generally regarded as essential, are nowhere to be seen. Pressure on the peso: The harsh conditions affecting many Argentines are being exacerbated by a sharp slide in the value of the peso, which was devalued in January after a decade of being pegged at parity with the US dollar. From a level of 1.40 to the dollar on its flotation, the peso-dollar rate has sunk to a low of around 4. Exchange controls were introduced earlier this week after the government blew nearly 10% of its foreign currency reserves trying to defend the peso. They seem to be having some effect: since Monday, the rate has moderated, and dealers in Buenos Aires are quoting a rate of about 2.70-2.80.
President Eduardo Duhalde said on Thursday he wants Argentina's peso to firm to the level of neighboring Brazil's currency, but denied he would re-peg the peso to the dollar to achieve that goal. And, as public unrest smoldered, the IMF hinted aid could be around the corner if all goes well in negotiations next month aimed at helping Argentina out of its crisis and avoiding hyperinflation. Argentina's currency markets were closed on Thursday for the long Easter holiday, bringing relative calm after chaos earlier this week, when thousands queued outside banks downtown to seek refuge in dollars. Before dawn on Thursday, sporadic thefts from shops raised the specter of a return to mass supermarket looting and bloody riots that killed 27 people in December and helped topple the elected government. Local television showed a couple in a poor suburb of the capital who had barricaded their store-front and sought refuge on their roof, brandishing a shotgun to fend off a small group seeking to loot their shop. In Washington, the International Monetary Fund said that a mission going to Argentina next week could be followed in short order by a second visit if talks go well, a sign the country could be close to unlocking sorely needed cash. Argentina hopes the IMF will front a multi-billion dollar aid package to help end a grinding four-year recession -- but has to meet a raft of conditions first including making deep political and economic reforms and killing the runaway spending that bankrupt the country in the first place. Government sources have said Duhalde is considering abandoning the free-floating currency rate, possibly in favor of a currency band but Duhalde denied that. "We have not analyzed (a new peg)," he told local television. "We have to anchor the macroeconomic variables to the exchange rate ... so that the (peso) is ... slightly firmer than Brazil's real," said Duhalde, Argentina's fifth leader since mid-December. "More bureaucratic ties on the peso will not do the Argentinian economy any good" the anarchists say.
The peso, pegged at one-to-one with the dollar until it was floated, closed at 3.05 to the dollar on Wednesday, a long way from Brazil's real, currently around 2.32. IMF spokesman Tom Dawson also said re-pegging the currency was not on the agenda. Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said on Thursday the government plans to increase recently introduced export taxes on commodities and agricultural oils and flour to "around" 20 percent to lift sinking tax revenues. "The only thing we have planned for this week is to modify the level of exporter taxes to adjust them to the exchange rate," Todesca told reporters, saying the government expected the tax increases to bring in $1.2 billion in revenue. 31.03.2002: "Quasieconomical measures as here mentioned, will probably not increase the total demand sufficiently to do away with the unemployment problem." - the anarchists say.Easter may have brought a welcome lull to Argentina's smoldering social tensions, but a new IMF mission visit next week could make or break a government desperate for billions of dollars in aid. Daily protests of everything from deepening poverty to economic policy thinned over the Easter break as thousands of Argentines headed out of town for the five-day public holiday, while police reported only a handful of isolated, small-scale shop robberies and looting incidents. But amid fears incipient unrest could flare into repeat scenes of bloody rioting and pillaging that toppled the elected government late last year, President Eduardo Duhalde faces a race against time to win international aid. The International Monetary Fund has hinted aid could be around the corner if all goes well in April negotiations with mission officials due to arrive in Argentina from Monday.
Argentina hopes the IMF will front a multi-billion dollar aid package to help end its grinding four-year recession. As local papers devoted their covers on Sunday to troubles in the Middle East and the impending 20th anniversary of Argentina's failed bid to recover the Falkland Islands in a breath of fresh air from economic crisis, the Catholic Church used its Easter sermons to call for an end to corruption. "(We must) open our eyes once and for all and stop with the lies, the fiction ... (and meet) our responsibilities to the next generations," Archbishop of Santa Fe Edgardo Gabriel Storni said in his Easter Sunday address. Duhalde has his work cut out to restore confidence among international lenders and investors alike, and to contain the fears of a public that continues to scramble to seek refuge from the depressed peso - raising the specter of a return to Argentina's hyperinflationary past. The government meanwhile continues to cement its reputation for policy flip-flops.
Duhalde on Saturday contradicted statements from Vice Economy Minister Jorge Todesca, saying he had not yet decided on whether to raise taxes on exporters as widely expected by market participants. "The president's decision to backtrack on the measures unexpectedly opened a fissure between Duhalde and his economy minister," Jorge Remes Lenicov, daily La Nacion said in an editorial, saying Duhalde was bowing to pressure from lobbyist groups. Todesca had said the government intended to raise export taxes on commodities, agricultural oils and flour to around 20 percent to help rake in $1.2 billion in extra revenues to offset a sharp slump in tax revenues. Investors, awaiting word on promised economic measures from the government, will also be looking to see if the Central Bank manages to stem the slide of the peso when local foreign exchange and stock markets resume trading on Tuesday. Duhalde wants to see the peso firm to the level of neighboring Brazil's real -- but has not said how he plans to stabilize the depressed currency, now trading at around 3.0 to the dollar. Brazil's real is currently trading at around 2.32 to the dollar -- considerably stronger than the peso's 3.05 closing rate to the dollar for large-scale transactions on the foreign exchange markets on Wednesday. Government sources have said Duhalde is considering abandoning the free-floating currency rate he introduced, possibly in favor of a currency band. But the president has dismissed the idea of re-pegging the currency to the dollar. Regardless of the government's pledge to cap the overspending that landed Argentina in a crisis that culminated in debt default and devaluation, only a major aid bailout is likely to spur investor confidence.
"Chaotic flip-flops, hoping for new loans to "pay" for old times looting, neomercantilistic tax on export, new bureaucratic pegging of the peso, etc., are just diseconomy, and will not help Argentina out of its major problems, powerty and unemployment included," the anarchists say 01.04.2002. A private investment trust that got stuck holding defaulted Argentine debt said it plans on Monday to file court papers demanding that the investment be returned immediately, in what could be the first such case since the country stopped paying interest three months ago. "As soon as we obtain a default judgment we will take immediate collection action outside of Argentina," Allan H. Applestein, managing trustee at DCA Grantor Trust based Aventura, Fla., told Reuters, adding that he believed it was the first such legal action against Argentina since the default. In July of 2000 DCA bought $1,020,000 in debt issued by the Province of Buenos Aires, according to a complaint filed on March 6. In January of last year DCA bought $245,000 in debt issued by the Republic of Argentina. The country has defaulted on both obligations and now DCA is asking a U.S. federal court to grant the trust all principal, interest and attorney fees. The suit was originally filed on March 6 in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. No response has come from either Argentina or the Province of Buenos Aires, said DCA's lawyer Marc Dreier of the New York firm Dreier & Baritz. "Today we are filing the papers necessary to start the process of obtaining a default judgment," Dreier told Reuters. A default judgment would clear the way for DCA to claim Argentine and Buenos Aires Province assets that are held outside of Argentina, Applestein said. Last year Argentina's foreign creditors formed the Argentina Bondholders Committee (ABC) in a bid to increase their influence when time comes for the country to restructure its debt.
The committee has so far refrained from taking legal action, preferring to try to work out an accord with the government. "Many members of the ABC are with investment banks and commercial banks that might want do business with Argentina in the future. But DCA Grantor Trust does not require a continuing relationship with Argentina," Applestein said. "Other creditors might feel restrained from taking action at this time but we believe that what we are doing is legally and ethically appropriate," he added. "Sovereign governments and all contracting parties have an obligation to live up to their word." Last month the ABC said that the government's suggestion of a 40 percent reduction in its external debt burden was premature given the uncertainties still plaguing Latin America's third biggest economy. Argentina had said it needed to reduce its foreign debt to less than 60 percent of its original value, the first clue to the scope of an upcoming restructuring since the country defaulted on part of its $141 billion public debt burden in early January. But until Argentina has attained greater stability punctuated by a viable budget and a new lending program from the International Monetary Fund, the amount of debt forgiveness cannot be realistically discussed, said Peter Allen, financial advisor to the New York-based bondholders committee.
"The foreigners looted by the Argentinian bureaucracy, are not happy about it, and try to reduce their losses", the anarchists say to IJ@ 6(31) for the 02.04.2002 update.03.04.2002 Argentina's embattled peso was firmer on Tuesday after the long Easter holiday, buoyed as exporters were forced by a new rule to exchange foreign currency revenues for devalued pesos, traders said. Shares meanwhile were slightly firmer in thin volume trade. At mid-session, the peso traded up at 2.87/2.92. (buy/sell rate) per dollar for large-scale trades, compared to last Wednesday's close of 3.00/3.05, but is still down over 65 percent since January's devaluation. The central bank has recently instituted a raft of measures to reverse the slide of the peso. Under a key regulation issued March 25, exporters must now exchange foreign currency earned since mid-March within five working days instead of 180 days. The deadline to turn in the foreign currency is early this week. ""Artificial breathing" up the peso", the anarchists say. Argentina on Tuesday feted its short-lived occupation of the Falkland Islands 20 years ago and paid tribute to its fallen heroes - but for many veterans the occasion was tinged with bitterness."Nationalistic, militaristic crap!" the anarchists say. Argentina, desperate for cash to narrow a budget deficit and allay fears of social unrest, plans to increase taxes on agricultural exports, one of the few rising stars in the crisis-ridden economy, an economy ministry official said on Tuesday.
The government of Latin America's No. 3 economy will increase taxes on primary goods exporters, mainly the agricultural industry, to 20 percent from the current five to 10 percent range, to bring in an extra $1.2 billion in revenues annually, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous. "The measure will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday)," the official said. Tax revenues have plunged as the country slouches through a four-year recession, forcing the government to default on part of its national debt.The government is also scraping for money to pay for food programs and social projects aimed at reducing the risk of civil unrest and supermarket looting that hit Argentina in December. Farm products account for about 50 percent of the $26 billion worth of goods the country exports annually. The state has said the farm export sector should be taxed because it would gain the most from devaluation, which has made the country's exports more competitive. Farmers benefit as they sell their goods on world markets at prices set in dollars while most of their costs are in pesos. The peso has lost nearly two thirds of its value against the dollar since January, when the currency was floated after a decade of being fixed at one to one with the U.S. dollar.
"Tax the plutarchs and plutarchists, not foreign trade!" the anarchists say. 03.04.2002: Former Argentina Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, a titan of Latin American finance until he fell from power last year amid fiscal chaos and food riots, was arrested on Wednesday during an investigation into arms smuggling. "They are taking him to a police headquarters," said a judicial official, who asked to remain anonymous, after a judge ordered the arrest following questioning of the 55-year-old Cavallo in court. Judge Julio Speroni has 10 days to decide whether to bring criminal charges against the former minister for alleged involvement in illegal shipments from 1991-1995 of cannons, rifles, ammunition and gun powder to Croatia and Ecuador. Cavallo, as economy minister under then-President Carlos Menem, was one of several ministers who signed decrees ordering arms sales to Panama and Venezuela that eventually ended up illegally in Croatia and Ecuador. Menem was placed under house arrest for five months last year amid probes into the smuggling but was later released. If Cavallo is charged and found guilty of arms smuggling, he could face up to 12 years in prison, legal sources said. It would be a huge change in fate for a man who held markets on tenterhooks last year while at the helm of Latin America's troubled but third biggest economy. He has denied selling arms to Croatia in 1991 and 1993, when the warring Balkan state was under a U.N. arms embargo, and to Ecuador in 1995 during a border war with Peru in which Argentina was meant to be a peace mediator. But the arrest is another blow for Cavallo, already despised in Argentina for freezing bank accounts last year to stop a run on banks and failing to prevent the economy from degenerating into chaos and civil unrest.
His arrest added to a climate in which investors worry financiers and ex-officials are being made scapegoats for an economic crisis that has seen courts besieged by Argentines protesting what they call judicial corruption. "Nobody will ever know if Cavallo is guilty because of justice in this country. It doesn't exist," said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, standing in a bank line trying to withdraw savings originally frozen by Cavallo. Cavallo left Menem's government in 1996 before joining former President Fernando de la Rua's administration as economy minister in 2001. He was forced to quit in December along with De la Rua amid economic crisis, food looting and bloody riots. Since De la Rua's resignation, courts have probed foreign bank executives for possible illegal capital transfers -- investigations that have worried some officials. One senior government official said fears of being arrested on a witch hunt after he left office kept him awake at night. "It is a little bit like open season on vindictive actions to blame one part of society or another and this Cavallo allegation is just another part of that story," said Geoffrey Dennis, a senior researcher at Salomon Smith Barney. Cavallo was once feted as the architect of Argentina's decade-old one-to-one peg to the U.S. dollar that heralded economic growth and made Argentina a darling of Wall Street investors in the 1990s.
"He should be arrested at that time,- the bureaucratic pegging to the US$ is the main reason for today's problems!" the anarchists say. He was unable to end a grinding four-year recession that he himself mainly had created. After being toppled from power along with De la Rua amid rioting in December that left 27 dead, the peg to the dollar, as mentioned, was ditched and the peso was devalued. Argentina's Senate Thursday 04.04.2002 approved a fiscal pact between the government and the provinces in a long-awaited sign of legislative support for efforts to slash spending as demanded by the International Monetary Fund. But the pact, which cuts the amount of money the state sends to the provinces each month, still needs the approval of the Lower House of Congress -- which is due to discuss the deal next week. Argentina faces a stark choice between a tough International Monetary Fund program with no new cash to help end a brutal recession or a "market-driven and wild adjustment," IMF sources said on Thursday. As talks begin with the fund over a new economic program, President Eduardo Duhalde may find himself having to choose between walking away from the IMF and facing a possible return to hyperinflation and economic chaos or signing up for an austerity program likely to further enrage his populace. Nor is there likely to be any IMF cash to soften the blow. Sources at the fund told Reuters the almost $10 billion left under the IMF's frozen $22 billion loan program is not going to be made available as Buenos Aires had hoped. The sources said it is likely that Argentina will only receive enough financing to pay back what it already owes the Washington-based lender this year -- about $5 billion.
05.04.2002: "Duhalde's neomercantilist populist policy is worst case diseconomy and IMF's monetarist liberalism is second worste case. Only approximations to the anarchist economical plans will do. The problem is to find someone to implement it, as real democratic (anarchistic) revolutionary political economic forces and organizations are not really significant," the anarchists say. IMF 'to ignore' Argentina cash plea: The international lender is set, for Argentina's 'own good', to refuse to hand the crisis-ridden country fresh aid, a report said. Argentina battles spread of poverty. President Eduardo Duhalde Thursday unveils plans for supporting the unemployed in Argentina, where an estimated 45% of people live in poverty. "Probably just more bureaucratic tricks", the anarchists say 06.04.2002.Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said on Saturday that he was confident the country would reach a new accord with the International Monetary Fund this month, in a bid to obtain the financing needed to begin recovering from its economic crisis. An IMF mission is in Buenos Aires to discuss the country's economic program and the Argentine government hopes the talks will unlock some $10 billion in aid suspended in December after the country repeatedly missed deficit targets agreed with the Washington-based lender. "I have the impression that, yes (there will be help from the IMF)," Duhalde told local radio. "In any case, we have to continue working with the (IMF) delegation and I hope the issue will be more or less resolved this month." A new agreement with the IMF could pave the way for billions of dollars in fresh aid from other multilateral lenders, but that will not help much. The country badly needs an anarchist economical policy, demand management included, to establish the conditions necessary for an economic recovery. "Argentina needs international help," Duhalde said, adding that countries like Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay received funds from the IMF that helped "speed their recovery."
"Populist nonsense", the anarchists say. IMF sources told Reuters last week the nearly $10 billion left under the IMF's frozen $22 billion loan program is not going to be made available to Argentina and that under a new accord the country would only receive enough financing to pay back what it already owes the lender this year -- about $5 billion. "Yes, no additional money to the populist looting regime of Argentina" the anarchists say 07.04.2002.Prices will rise 45 percent this year in Argentina, Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca said in an interview published in Pagina 12 newspaper on Sunday. Todesca's estimate, based on an exchange rate of 2.50 pesos per dollar, is much higher than the 15 percent annual inflation forecast in the 2002 budget. Prices will rise "around 30 percent of the increase in the dollar," Todesca said. "But it's going to happen bit by bit, it's not going to be next month. I think we are seeing a competitive devaluation, which means prices are rising much less than the (cost of the) dollar." The peso has lost nearly two-thirds against the dollar this year, closing at 2.78/2.82 (buy/sell) per dollar for large-scale transactions on Friday. The weak peso has sparked fears of a return to the hyperinflation of the late 1980s. The government said last week consumer prices rose 4 percent in March. That adds to the misery of the more than 20 percent of Argentines who are unemployed and the 45 percent of the nation's 36 million people that live below the poverty line. Even a small amount of IMF aid would be a strong sign of support that would open the door to billions of dollars in fresh help from other multilateral lenders, analysts have said. "By designing an adequate program we are going to reach a deal that will allow us to receive money from the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and the (International Monetary) Fund itself," Todesca said. "In addition we will resume normal relations with the world. Private companies have more than $40 billion in foreign debt and those companies need us to normalize our international relationships so that they can refinance their debt," he said. Todesca said the government was working on a plan to eliminate provincial bonds -- scrip used to pay public employees' salaries. He said the plan would require financial help from the IMF.
"More borrowing and more lootingof foreigners and own people will not help the Argentinian economy much, only an approximation to the anarchis economical plans will do!"- the anarchists say.Protesters burned U.S. flags at the airport as the IMF's top negotiator arrived in Argentina on Monday for fresh talks amid scant signs of any new aid for Latin America's No. 3 economy. Sources at the International Monetary Fund, which is frustrated at endemic overspending and is pressing for severe spending cuts, have said the bankrupt government may only get $5 billion in aid, just enough to repay this year's debts to the international lending agency. That is a far cry from the $20 billion Argentine officials had said was needed to save a banking system from collapse and it is less than the $9 billion left under last year's frozen loan program that the government had hoped could be released. Some analysts say that if the IMF forces Argentina to go it alone to teach it a lesson, these talks could be a watershed, heralding a get-tough policy from the IMF and the United States toward emerging nations which fail to control spending. IMF negotiating chief Anoop Singh arrives in a country of 36 million people immersed in a climate of impending doom. A four-year recession has seen growing civil unrest, a near breakdown of state services in December food riots. In the latest piece of bad news for the beleaguered government, supermarkets reported a shortage of basic goods, from matches to cookies, as suppliers hoarded goods unsure over prices amid escalating inflation and a weak peso. Highlighting tension generated by the visit from the IMF -- commonly known in Argentina as the International Misery Fund -- a hundred leftwing marxist militants burned U.S. flags at the airport but failed to find Singh despite checking departing cars. "Go home. Let us live by our own means. You've helped us a lot, and this is what has become of the country," said one demonstrator at a similar protest in the lobby of the downtown hotel where Singh is due to stay.
Hundreds of militant unemployed blocked off a major avenue into the city chanting anti-IMF slogans, the latest in almost daily protests against President Eduardo Duhalde. Unemployment is over 20 percent. The IMF had earmarked $22 billion for Argentina as fears rose its collapse could spark a global emerging markets crisis. But while foreign companies have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in Argentina, the crisis appears contained and the IMF's tough hand has been strengthened. On the other side of the negotiating table is Duhalde, only three months into the job and desperately trying to appease the IMF with austerity policies, while also trying to stop more social unrest, strikes and road blocks. Argentine stocks fell on Monday on low volume due to export taxes on farm goods, a stable peso and investors keeping an eye on talks to unlock billions of dollars in suspended IMF aid, traders said. The leading MerVal .MERV stock index, up almost 40 percent this year after tumbling last year, fell 3.9 percent by Monday's close to 385.29 points in a session in which only 23 million pesos ($8.3 million) were traded. The index is down 10.7 percent from last Tuesday. Overall, 10 stocks rose, 40 declined and seven remained unchanged. "After the increased export taxes and a frozen peso, the market was lacking reasons to move, above all on a day characterized by the notable fall in volume," said Marcelo Paccione of consultants ConsulCapital. The Argentine government doubled export taxes to 20 percent on grains, oil seeds, vegetable oils and vegetable meals last Thursday to boost dwindling tax revenues. Farm shipments accounted for half of Argentina's roughly $26.5 billion in exports last year. Molinos MOL.BA , one of Argentinas largest food companies posted the largest decline in percentage terms, falling 11.69 percent, or 69 centavos, to 5.21 pesos per share. Argentina increased the tax to fund social programs in the continued absence of international aid. Officials met with an International Monetary Fund mission in Buenos Aires on Monday to try and unlock billions of dollars in suspended aid. The peso edged up at 2.76/2.79 (buy/sell rate) to the dollar for large-scale transactions in the foreign-exchange market, slightly firmer than Friday's close of 2.78/2.82.
The sliding local currency has lost around 64 percent of its value against the dollar since January's devaluation, but is currently holding firm due to Central Bank regulations after the peso reached historic lows of four pesos to the dollar two weeks ago. The peso's value relative to the dollar is often reflected inversely in local stocks, where investors have shifted savings to blue-chip issues to try to preserve their purchasing power when the peso loses ground against the dollar. Now, after more than three months in power, President Eduardo Duhaldes government is desperate to prevent hyperinflation that threatens to cripple South America's third-largest economy. Energy group Perez Companc PCH.BA was the most actively traded stock, falling 9 centavos to 2.24 pesos, followed by financial holding company Grupo Financiero Galicia GFG.BA , which shed 1.3 centavos to 36.5 centavos. ($1=2.8 pesos).
"The export-taxes are harming the total demand, and economy in general! " the anarchists say 09.04.2002.Argentina said on Tuesday the International Monetary Fund wants it to seek financing to end issues of provincial bonds as cash and that the lender could offer 2 billion pesos (about $714 million) to help it do so. Interior Minister Rodolfo Gabrielli told a news conference Argentina would set a timetable to absorb provincial scrip from the financial system "in its own time". The IMF has called for an end to the printing of provincial currencies as a condition for giving Latin America's third largest economy billions of dollars in aid. Around 5 billion pesos worth of such bonds are in circulation issued by around 20 provinces to pay state workers' salaries to cope with a cash crunch amid the grinding four-year recession. "A litle bit of this and a little bit of that, that's just more bureaucratic crap!" the anarchists say 10.04.2002.
The IMF vowed on Wednesday to help Argentina pull out of its worst ever financial crisis, but said the crippled economy would need wide-ranging reforms before it would consider doling out cash. The International Monetary Fund's chief negotiator on Argentina told reporters the lender was trying "very hard" to free up aid from other multilateral lenders for emergency social programs and trade finance. But even as Anoop Singh spoke, sporadic protests continued to flare across Argentina, with police firing teargas in Cordoba in central Argentina to disperse would-be looters who tried to ransack trucks laden with food. Savers furious at the freeze on their cash designed to avert a total collapse of the banking system slammed pots and pans against the barricaded facades of banks downtown, while a train drivers' union called a strike for next week to protest for better working conditions. "The IMF is firmly committed to help Argentina to find a way out of this crisis and recover sustained growth," Singh said in a statement issued in Buenos Aires, his first public comment since arriving earlier this week to a barrage of U.S. flag-burning protests by anti-IMF demonstrators. "We are trying very hard to develop the social safety net program so they (World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank) can go ahead immediately. We're trying very hard to redevelop trade financing in Argentina. These are immediate stratagems," he later told reporters. Many Argentines blame the U.S. and the Fund alike for helping land Argentina in its current crisis via misguided economic advice and irresponsible lending to Latin America's No. 3 economy despite endemic corruption. A government source said Wednesday an aid pact with the IMF should be clinched by mid-May and the Fund was insisting the government and Central Bank stop trying to prop up the devalued peso on the foreign exchange markets and allow it to float freely as first promised.
The government said this week that the IMF also wants it to seek financing to end the issue of provincial bonds that are used for cash and that the lender could offer 2 billion pesos (about $714 million) to help end the practice. But IMF sources have made clear Buenos Aires will not be getting nearly the $10 billion in aid the government had hoped for. Argentina is desperate for even limited aid from the IMF, in the hope that any sign of support eventually will unlock more aid from other lenders to help it pull out of a four-year recession that culminated in a debt default and currency devaluation in January. The government now expects inflation to reach 45 percent, threatening hyperinflation, so President Eduardo Duhalde needs an IMF aid deal to shore up his administration, the economy and help support a peso that has lost two thirds of its value against the dollar since January -- the steepest currency depreciation in the world in the first quarter of this year. The government, which has already passed a budget cutting federal spending by 14 percent this year, fears any more calls for spending cuts will lead to a "social explosion." One in two Argentines live in poverty on only a few dollars a day. The peso closed unchanged from Tuesday at 2.78/2.80 (buy/sell rate) to the U.S. dollar for large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange market .
"More borrowing will help very little unless it is used for productive realinvestments. More "artificial breathing" of the economy will not hold the "dead meat" alive for long. There must be built workplaces in private and public sector, matching the anarchist demand management, land-reform, taxation of the plutarchy, and redistribution to the poor, etc. In general, it must pay to work, and nothing else," the anarchists say.11.04.2002: The International Monetary Fund has vowed to help Argentina resolve its serious financial crisis as long as the country undertakes wide-ranging reforms and cuts public spending. In his first public statement since arriving in Buenos Aires earlier this week, the head of the IMF delegation, Anoop Singh, denied that the Fund was unconcerned by the plight of the Argentine people. He said the burden on the poor would be much greater if the government tried to get out of the crisis without international support. The Argentine government is seeking up to $25bn in aid to help revive the economy. As mentioned Argentina's four-year recession culminated the suspension of payments on its $140bn, and the currency devaluation.
"We guess Santa Claus - Father Christmas - himself is into town", the anarchists say 12.04.2002. Argentina's peso slipped by Friday's midsession as Central Bank trading suspensions on 75 financial institutions squeezed liquidity, while stocks crept up in low volume, traders said. Argentina's peso weakened to 2.93/2.96 (buy/sell rate) per dollar for large-scale transactions as the Central Bank suspended financial institutions, including most major foreign banks, from trading in the foreign exchange markets because they did not present requested information. The peso has fallen 66 percent against the dollar since's January's currency devaluation, but has recovered from lows of 4.0 to the dollar hit more than two weeks ago.
"The peso is approximately at the right level at the moment. However the rest of the anarchist plans are far from set at work!" the anarchists say 13.04.2002: "We guess the Argentinian people should believe more in the anarchist plans than Father Christmas/IMF."European Union finance ministers on Saturday urged Argentina to salvage its economy and said they would help by taking steps to boost trade. The call will form part of a speech Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato on the EU's behalf to an International Monetary Fund meeting next week, to which Argentina is also invited. Rato told reporters that his IMF address would clearly emphasise the EU's concern over the economic situation and the bloc's opinion that a deal with the IMF, which committed Argentina to reform, was "urgently needed" for its economy to recover from a protracted slump and parallel social upheaval. Argentina's economy has not grown since mid-1998 and although IMF officials have praised the country for passing an austere 2002 budget, it says more has to be done to end overspending and restore investor confidence in the economy.
"Yes, that is an understatement", the anarchists say.Rato, current chairman of EU finance ministers, discussed the speech with other ministers at a meeting in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo on Saturday. The EU will urge Buenos Aires to implement a sound and transparent economic framework, make progress towards restructuring its debt, make its banking system water-tight and encourage private investment, Spanish officials said. "Meanwhile the EU, in collaboration with the IMF and the World Bank, will facilitate mechanisms to increase trade with Argentina as well as...technical assistance to increase trade," Luis de Guindos, Spain's secretary general for economic policy and competition, told reporters. Rato added that Argentina's recovery programme should also include a realistic and sustainable fiscal programme and a restructuring of its mammoth $140 billion debt burden. "There should be an international debt restructuring process," he said. Spain, whose companies have made huge investments in Argentina over the past decade, has played a leading role in supporting the South American nation throughout its economic crisis which culminated in a debt default and currency devaluation in January. The Argentine government itself said earlier this week that it was not ready to start renegotiating its defaulted debt with foreign creditors until it saw clear progress in aid talks with the IMF.
"Well, when Argentina by itself is not able to approximately implement the anarchist plans, a helping hand by EU may perhaps do the trick, at least a little step ahead?" the anarchists say 14.04.2002.VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul prayed on Sunday for the success of peace efforts in the Middle East, where Secretary of State Colin Powell was meeting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The Pope also celebrated the beatification of six people, elevating two women and four men to one step from sainthood, including four who worked with the poor and sick in Latin America. Holding them up as models for society today, he praised their dedication to God even in the face of difficulty and fear at a ceremony attended by hundreds from around the world. Father Artemide Zatti, looked after the sick in Argentina, earning him the name "the saintly nurse of Patagonia." Argentina's Maria del Transito de Jesus Sacramentado, who founded the Franciscan Tertiary Missionary Sisters of Argentina, were also beatified on Sunday. Beatification is the penultimate step before sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope has beatified some 1,300 people, more than all his predecessors in the last four centuries combined.
"We guess Argentina will get help from both Father Christmas/IMF, EU as well as higher powers as perhaps the Holy Spirit's Commersial Bank in Portugal, and the Pope's prayers to approximately implement the anarchist economical plans. There will probably be no end to happiness. Perhaps it's even gonna be heaven similar to the Anarchy of Norway...." the anarchists say 15.04.2002. This is of course caustic meant, the Argentinian people should neither believe much in Father Christmas, i.e. IMF + EU, nor the Holy Spirit of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" in the markets. The Argentine government, fearing a broad collapse of the financial system amid a deep recession, said on Monday it will allow banks to appeal court rulings forcing them to return frozen deposits. The move comes after courts -- overruling in individual cases a government-decreed freeze of accounts to halt a run last December -- have allowed depositors to withdraw about $50 million a day in trapped bank funds, sparking worries some banks could run out of cash. Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov told reporters the government would sign a decree in coming days permitting banks to appeal both pending and past such cases to the Supreme Court, opening the door for banks to recover money already given back to depositors.
16.04.2002. The Argentinian workers should join the International Workers of the World' s solidarity action for the general strike in Italy, see homepage of the anarchosyndicalist confederation at www.anarchy.no. - The general strike in Italy and support actions were working well. Guess Berlusconi got something to think about! Perhaps also Duhalde should think about it. The PR-stunts of Father Christmas IMF + EU, and the pope, to get more popular in Argentina, are nothing to put too much weight on.17.04.2002: Provincial state workers protested across Argentina on Wednesday against budget cuts sought by the IMF, occupying a legislature and battling police in the latest challenge to what is seen as President Eduardo Duhalde's increasingly floundering rule. In La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires province, police fired rubber bullets to disperse 400 state workers protesting unpaid salaries, a sharp reminder of the social unrest that overthrew Duhalde's two predecessors in quick succession in December. Hundreds of public employees also demanding three months of back pay and waving banners calling the leader of Latin America's No.3 economy, a "thief," broke windows and occupied the legislature of San Juan, a small and bankrupt province at the foot of Argentina's Andes.
The protests, in which at least one demonstrator and two police were injured, coincided with the scheduled departure of IMF mission head Anoop Singh for Washington after two weeks of talks trying to make the government swallow huge spending cuts in the provinces as a key condition for vital financial aid. Four years of recession, compounded this year by debt default and devaluation, have isolated Argentina from world markets and pushed this country of 36 million people to the brink of civil unrest and financial meltdown. Argentina's provinces, where the vast majority of the population lives, have become an investor's bete noire, accused of being run by unaccountable local strongmen freely spending federal tax transfers and giving out jobs to win friends. State services were nearly paralyzed in Cordoba, the country's second biggest city and an industrial hub, amid a strike by public employees such as hospital workers and teachers. Like nearly all provincial workers, they are dependent on federal funds for their wages. IMF head Horst Koehler -- heralding a new get-tough attitude with Argentina after years of overspending -- said "the IMF is not asking for the impossible" and bluntly told the provinces and government to "face reality" and cut jobs. If an accord was made with provinces -- criticized for printing over a dozen currencies to ease their cash crunch -- Koehler said he was optimistic the IMF could back Argentina. The hotel where Singh was staying was ringed with riot police and metal barriers were erected overnight as several hundred leftist and unemployed militants gathered to protest the lending agency's policies. Planned strikes this week -- including drivers of the armored vans that provide banks with cash -- show how difficult it will be for Duhalde to make Argentines accept more austerity after a long recession that has helped make one in two Argentines live in poverty on a few dollars a day. Duhalde, in power for just over three months but already in the low double digits in approval ratings, himself was in no doubt of the costs involved. "There will be social upheaval, of course there will be," Duhalde, who has been accused of using fears of anarchy (obviously meaning chaos) to keep himself in office, told local radio. The IAT will have something to say in this case, the IJ@ edition says 18.04.2002...Later on the IAT reports Duhalde has got a brown card warning.
Adding to a feeling of indecision at the helm, Duhalde backtracked on plans to make it more difficult for Argentines to withdraw savings from shaky banks and reprimanded his economy minister on the eve of aid talks with the IMF and the U.S. Treasury. Duhalde refused to sign into law an economy ministry decree aimed at stopping Argentines using court orders to withdraw deposits frozen in December to stop a bank run. Argentines have taken out some $50 million a day thanks to courts overturning the government freeze. With deposits down 20 percent last year, Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov wanted to allow banks to make legal appeals but Duhalde feared the move would be illegal and spark a popular backlash. If unpaid wages were not enough, the government bent under pressure from utility companies to allow gas and electricity price rises ahead of the winter. With winter clothes reportedly doubling in price, consumer anger is bound to rise. Prices are already up nearly 10 percent in three months, after years of no inflation. Economists fear inflation could spiral out of control, spawning fears of the multi-thousand annual inflation rate of the late 1980s. Supermarkets are crammed with long lines of customers, berating helpless cashiers for rises in the prices of basic goods such as eggs and cooking oil. Argentina's government sent a bill to Congress on Thursday to reform a controversial bankruptcy law -- which would meet a key demand made by the IMF in return for possible aid, legislative sources said. The government also sent a separate bill that would nullify a so-called "economic subversion" law used by judges probing foreign bank executives over alleged capital flight and meet another condition set by the International Monetary Fund. Argentina hopes the reforms, plus steep budget cuts, will convince the IMF to provide billions in fresh aid to help stabilize the economy. Critics of the bankruptcy law said it allows companies facing insolvency to simply walk away from their obligations and effectively kills creditor rights.
The changes President Eduardo Duhalde has asked Congress to make seek to balance the rights of debtors and creditors. But lawmakers have expressed only grudging support for changes to the bankruptcy law, declining to give a time frame for its possible approval. "If it was up to us, the law would stay as is," said Peronist deputy Eduardo Di Cola. "But it's also true that we're advancing in negotiations to get credit back. So with that in mind, we're closer to a deal." Meanwhile, Argentine judges have triggered an international uproar by using the "economic subversion" law -- generally considered an anachronism from the 1970's, when guerrilla activity was rife -- to keep several foreign and local bankers from leaving the country. If you're an investor waiting for a clear plan on how to pull Argentina out of a four-year recession, here's a bit of advice: Don't hold your breath. The government has repeatedly changed its policies, sometimes within hours, and analysts say the only constant is flux. In the latest episode, President Eduardo Duhalde this week appeared unsure whether or not the forcible transformation of bank deposits into bonds would be the best measure to help prevent a collapse of the banking sector. After decades of rampant over-spending and tax evasion plunged the country into a crisis that forced a default on debt and devaluation, despite billions of dollars in aid, Argentina is back where it started -- struggling to restore credibility and hoping for an IMF rescue deal to kick-start recovery. But Duhalde's about-faces -- on taxes, on freezing bank accounts, on monetary policy -- are undermining attempts to boost confidence with the public, investors and the all- important multilateral lenders, analysts say. "The government still hasn't established an economic model and can't build confidence internationally or at home," said political analyst Ricardo Rouvier.
Earlier this month, the Central Bank said it would give banks the option of returning deposits next January, a decision the local media reported came as a complete surprise to the Economy Ministry and that would be reversed. Perhaps the biggest and most memorable flip-flop came after Duhalde's inauguration in January when he declared: "Those who deposited dollars (in banks) will receive dollars." That oath was forgotten in the ensuing weeks when the peso was devalued and banks were ordered to turn their dollars over to the Central Bank, a move partially reversed later. Local TV programs air clips of the fiery speech in much the same vein as comedy spots satirized ex-U.S. President George Bush's highly publicized vow: "Read my lips, no new taxes." A POLICY OF INCONSISTENCY: The switchbacks along the road toward a credible rescue plan have been numerous. Duhalde said in January that he would not bring back taxes on farm exports ditched a decade ago. In March, the state did just that and later doubled and in some cases quadrupled the rates. Wednesday, he issued a decree saying the taxes would be charged on the shipment date for goods rather than the purchase date. Exporters pulled out of the grain market and Thursday a government official said the measure would be repealed. In March, Duhalde said there would be no "special" measures to support the peso. Then the Central Bank introduced rules to force banks and exchange houses to use state-set rates. "It's trial and error," said Emilio Boto, a bond trader at BNP Paribas Asset Management. "Resolutions come out that change previous resolutions and this keeps happening. We are living through legislative and tax volatility ... this means that you can't forecast for investments. You can't make any plans." Duhalde, an old-style populist known for back-room deals, seems torn between International Monetary Fund demands for austerity and the needs of a country where at least 20 percent of the population is unemployed.
Analysts say that, if Duhalde does not stop flip-flopping soon, he could face the same fate as Fernando de la Rua -- who was ousted in December amid riots that killed 27 people. Indecision hurts the peso, which draws its only strength from people with enough faith in the economy to hold onto it. A weak peso could mean a return of the kind of hyperinflation that sparked supermarket looting in 1989. Many people have put their lives on hold as the recession drags on and the government struggles to find a way out. "The only model that will work is an approximation to the anarchist economical plan," the anarchists say 19.04.2002. The eagerly awaited repeal of an export tax change paralyzing Argentine grain markets has been delayed because President Eduardo Duhalde wants changes in the fine print before signing it into law, an economy ministry spokesman said on Friday. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the economy ministry had already decided to reverse a decree published on Wednesday that would require exporters to pay export taxes on farm goods at shipment time rather than at purchase. But the spokesman added the reversal still needed the support of Duhalde, who in recent weeks has been slow to give the go-ahead to several initiatives proposed by his own Cabinet. The government introduced the levies in March to boost tax revenues that have plunged during a four-year recession, a move many analysts argued would hurt the only dynamic sector of the economy and prompt a drop in grain and oilseed output next year. In April, the government doubled and in some cases quadrupled the tax rate to 20 percent for grains, oilseeds, vegetable oils and vegetable meals. The rate for unprocessed oilseeds is 23.5 percent because the state continued a previous tax of 3.5 percent.
The controversy over the decree has led to the paralysis of the grains market right in the middle of harvest, with numerous grain, oilseed and subproduct contracts to be filled at the end of April and the beginning of May. Grain and oilseed exporters stayed out of the local grain market for a third day on Friday, awaiting confirmation the government would repeal the decree. They argue Wednesday's measure would make it impossible for them to determine how much to pay farmers for their goods, making it difficult for farmers to make seeding plans for the next crop, which could cut production. "The market is not operating," said a trader at a major international grain firm. "Until the modification, the rectification, comes out in the official bulletin, we are not going to start operating again." Farm exports made up half of the $26.5 billion worth of goods Argentina shipped last year. "We warned Duhalde about the foreign trade taxes, because it will choke the total demand and create more unemployment!" the anarchists say 20.04.2002.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, April 19 - Argentina will shut down its creaking financial system indefinitely starting next week, the Central Bank said on Friday, amid fears an exodus of deposits could break creaking banks. The Central Bank declared a banking and foreign exchange suspension beginning Monday, citing a shortage of cash in a system that has bled an estimated 10 percent of total deposits since January and forced one major Canadian-owned bank to close temporarily. "The bank has decided to ... call a banking and foreign exchange holiday from the close of trade on April 19 (Friday)," the Central Bank said in a brief statement. It gave no further details. A wholesale collapse of Argentina's financial system would be catastrophic for Latin America's cash-strapped No. 3 economy, battered by daily protests by depositors furious at a savings freeze and by jobless workers outraged at deepening poverty and rising unemployment. The Central Bank earlier forced Canadian-owned Scotiabank to halt most operations due to cash problems, raising fears the government may be unable to prevent a banking system collapse. The 30-day closure of Scotiabank Quilmes, a unit of Bank of Nova ScotiaBNS.TO , is a high-risk strategy by the national leaders, effectively telling foreign banks to either protect their local units with new cash or face closing them down. "If they think it will be impossible to operate in Argentina, no one will want to stay," one bank analyst said. Hundreds of people lined up outside Scotiabank's main Buenos Aires branch to withdraw their salaries, one of the few operations Argentina's 11th-biggest bank can still perform.
Within a few hours, other banks closed branches across the city and put guards at the doors. Argentina's near-bankrupt financial sector has hemorrhaged around $50 million a day since December's freeze after many savers won lawsuits to overturn the ban on letting them have their money. The government now plans to return most depositors' savings as 10-year bonds, not cash, further angering depositors. Legislators are likely to support the plan, Congressional sources said. Of all foreign banks operating in Argentina, Scotiabank is the first to clearly state it is not willing to shore up its local unit until bank rules are clearer. Others have either said nothing or are mulling cash injections. Analysts and bankers now expect Scotiabank Quilmes to be broken up and auctioned off. "(The deposit drain) affects a lot of banks, and in the way these deposit withdrawals are increasing, they are making it more difficult for other banks," said Gabriel Caracciolo, an analyst for Standard & Poor's rating agency. State workers in the poor Andean province of San Juan were still occupying government offices to demand back pay on Friday, a day after police dispersed protesters in the northern province of Jujuy using teargas. The protests in the provinces "are the most critical point" for the government now, a presidential aide told Reuters. Social revolt last December triggered riots and looting, toppled the government and left 27 dead. "The central bank's decision to suspend Banco Quilmes' operations for 30 days may be a sign that the government is taking a tougher stand with the foreign-owned banks," BCP securities analyst Walter Molano said in a research note.
Suspension of operations "may be a subtle way of encouraging the other banks to capitalize their institutions or turn over the keys," Molano added. Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin urged Argentina to treat foreign and domestic banks alike. Martin plans to meet with his Argentine counterpart Jorge Remes Lenicov on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Washington this weekend. "If every emerging market government thinks they can do whatever they want because we (the banks) don't dare abandon a branch and will always come up with money, that's a very bad incentive," said ING Barings economist Freddy Thomsen. The IMF wants Argentina to slash its bloated public sector, which would mean firing tens of thousands in a country where nearly one in two already live in poverty on a few dollars a day, and the government is scrambling to find alternatives so it can pull the country out of its worst-ever economic crisis. The IMF, which wants to see the virtually autonomous provinces deliver on a vow to cut their fiscal deficits by 60 percent, has forecast the economy will contract 10-15 percent this year and that rising inflation is "unavoidable."
"Such policy will just increase unemployment and increase the economical depression!" the anarchists say.20.04.2002: Argentina has closed all the country's banks, suspending operations and transactions indefinitely amid fears of a financial collapse. The announcement by the central bank is aimed at stemming the rush by customers to withdraw funds which is threatening to break overstretched banks. Huge crowds gathered outside banks as people tried to cash their salary cheques and get money from automated teller machines. There is a total loss of confidence in the system and the signs are that the situation will get even worse. Argentina's banking system has lost about 10% of its total deposits since the start of the year, with many savers launching successful court challenges to government-imposed restrictions on withdrawals. Finance ministers want to turn savings into 10-year government bonds. The government is now hoping to pass a bill that would convert most depositors' savings into 10-year bonds. The savings for bond-swap would make it harder for savers to have the government's $500-a-month limit on withdrawals legally overturned. Earlier, the government ordered Canadian-owned Scotiabank Quilmes, the country's 11th biggest deposit holder, to close for 30 days. Hundreds of people lined up outside Scotiabank's main Buenos Aires branch to withdraw their salaries, one of the few operations the bank was still allowed to perform.Within a few hours, other banks closed branches across the city and put guards at the doors.
"This will probably choke demand and create even more unemployment. Duhalde seems to be an arch-idiot!" the anarchists say 21.04.2002.Argentina's entire financial system could collapse if the run on its banks continues, President Eduardo Duhalde has warned. People have to be prepared to overcome the crisis that is affecting the whole country. His comments come a day after all foreign exchange and banking transactions were halted indefinitely. Banks have come under renewed pressure because of increasing cash withdrawals after courts overturned restrictions on access to savings. Limits were first imposed last year as Argentina sought to tackle an economic crisis which began in earnest after it defaulted on part of its massive foreign debt. A plan to turn all deposits into government bonds is proving unpopular. Serious concern about the situation has been expressed by leading industrialised nations meeting in Washington. But no new agreement was reached in talks between the IMF and Argentine Finance Minister, Jorge Remes Lenicov, although the IMF is sending out a new mission to negotiate the terms of financial aid. In his weekly national radio address on Saturday, President Duhalde said a solution to the problem of capital outflows was urgently needed and that his advisers were working on alternatives. "We run the risk that the system will explode if the judges continue to authorise people to withdraw their money," he said.
On Friday alone, account holders withdrew $200m dollars from banks in Argentina, according to one newspaper estimate. Huge crowds gathered outside banks as people tried to cash their salary cheques and get money from automated teller machines. The Argentine authorities had limited withdrawals to $500 a month in December, but individual account holders gained access to their savings after mounting legal challenges. Government figures say about $70m were withdrawn by individual savers armed with court orders in the first 10 days of April. The government is hoping to pass a bill that would convert most depositors' savings into 10-year bonds, making it harder to legally overturn limits on withdrawals.
"Let the banks go broke and buy them cheap and refinance them", the anarchists say. 22.04.2002 and 23.04.2002. "We are waiting for Duhaldes next move. Saving the banks and ruining the people are bad real economics!" the anarchists say. Argentina's economy minister resigned on Tuesday after Congress delayed the embattled government's unpopular plans to avert a banking collapse by giving depositors bonds instead of cash. Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov quit amid media speculation that others, including President Eduardo Duhalde, could resign and bring forward elections due in 2003. "Yes, it has happened," an Economy Ministry official said when asked if Remes Lenicov, who returned empty-handed from Washington, where he had sought International Monetary Fund help, this weekend, had stepped down. A senior ministry source said the likely replacement was Alieto Guadagni, the energy secretary. He ran the industry department for ex-President Carlos Menem in the 1990s. However, his appointment could not be officially confirmed. Duhalde, who in January's upheaval became the fifth leader in two weeks, was due to see powerful provincial governors at 6 p.m. EDT to seek support for the bank rescue plan, criticized by Congress as tough on depositors and soft on banks. The peso has now tumbled beyond 3.0 to the dollar, bringing some inflation to a country whose economy has not grown in four years. The banks were losing tens of millions of pesos in deposits a day as judges declared illegal a freeze on term deposits and limits on cash withdrawals decreed in December. The measures have starved the economy of cash, choked demand, created more unemployment and generated angry protests. This week the government ordered all banks to shut until Friday while Congress debated the bonds-for-savings plan -- angering legislators who saw the bank holiday as blackmail. "It's essentially a reflection of the failure of (Remes Lenicov's) bonds plan.
Whereas it was going to be really grim for the man on the street, it was generally seen as the orthodox way out of a really nightmarish situation," said Ben Laidler, an analyst at UBS Warburg bank. Christian Stracke, emerging market debt strategist at Commerzbank said it seemed Duhalde's support was "crumbling away" -- reflecting the atmosphere on the streets where protesters' anger is directed at the entire political class. The most common slogan is "They Must All Go!" Local political analyst James Neilson said the cabinet change removed a "brake" on Duhalde's roots in the Peronist Party's populist, pro-worker roots, calling Remes Lenicov a "very sensible orthodox minister holding back the populist." Argentine Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich, whose job was also reported to be on the line, put a brave face on Congress' reaction, saying it "was not meant as resistance but in a spirit of cooperation." But legislators who faced taunting crowds outside Congress on Monday and fresh protests on Tuesday, said they did not want banks to get away scot-free, offloading depositors on the state via the issue of government bonds. "One inescapable condition is that the banks don't evade their responsibilities," said Sen. Marcelo Lopez Arias of Duhalde's Peronist Party. "There are two positions: either we take the side of the banks or we take the side of the people," said Peronist deputy Mario Becerra.
"Perhaps Becerra has read last nights comments in IJ@ 6 (31)", the anarchists say.Foreign banks here blame local authorities for dashing faith in the financial system by declaring a freeze on deposits in December in order to save Argentine-owned banks suffering liquidity problems. Making huge provisions for Argentine operations, foreign banks are not keen to recapitalize them, raising doubts they will stay. British banking giant HSBC said on Tuesday it had no plans to pull out of Argentina, but senior executive David Eldon added: "We will not be inclined to put any more money into Argentina at this stage. We would like to be in a position to work with the IMF, with the government, with the regulators to see if there are ways in which we can assist." Bankers are about as popular as politicians in a country that has seen daily protests since the peso was devalued, triggering sharp inflation and memories of the 5,000 percent hyperinflation seen here a decade ago. In a country of 36-7 million people bowed by ca 23 percent unemployment and ca 45 percent poverty, the growing desperation was evident. About 1,000 unemployed people marched on the town hall of Duhalde's home town Lomas de Zamora, south of Buenos Aires, demanding food. In two other suburbs, crowds grew outside supermarkets guarded by mounted police, mindful of looting and riots in December. In the northwestern province of San Juan, unpaid state workers attacked government buildings with stones for the fifth consecutive day and police fired back with rubber bullets.
"It is soon time to act approximately consistent with
the anarchist economical plan. Costs are increasing and benefits by the Duhalde
policy are not very significant," the anarchists say. 24.04.2002: Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde is holding crisis meetings
to put together a new cabinet after the resignation of the economy minister
and other officials. Jorge Remes Lenicov - Argentina's fifth economy minister
in as many months - stepped down after Congress refused to consider emergency
legislation to prevent the banking system from collapsing. The president understood
that social peace was in jeopardy and decided to undertake a general review
of his strategy. His proposals to convert people's savings into government bonds
in order to prevent banks from running out of money triggered widespread protests
across the country. Banks remain closed and there are growing fears of a return
to the violent unrest which shook the country in December. After meetings with
congressional, provincial and union leaders, Mr Duhalde is expected to announce
a major government reshuffle as well as new emergency plans, reports from Argentina
say. "The president understood that social peace was in jeopardy and
decided to undertake a general review of his strategy," Anibal Fernandez,
a presidential aide, said on television. The government is hoping its new economic
programme will give it a better platform to negotiate with the International
Monetary Fund. Remes Lenicov failed to secure IMF aid. Lending was cut off in
December when Argentina defaulted on its debt repayments, and Mr Remes Lenicov
failed to secure new loans during meetings with the IMF last weekend. He also
failed to win political backing for his plans to end the run on the country's
banks. Congress refused to consider the package, which would have allowed Argentine
banks to convert about 60% of deposits into government bonds - in effect forcing
people to lend money to a government they do not trust to pay up. Protesters who gathered outside the upper house of Argentina's parliament responded
by dubbing the proposed securities "Mafia bonds". The crowd cheered
upon learning that the Senate had refused to debate the bill, and cheered again
when they heard that Mr Remes had resigned.More protests are expected on Wednesday,
when legislators convene to debate the economic crisis. Banks have been ordered
to remain shut until Friday, when Congress is due to have completed its debate
of the proposed legal changes. President Duhalde is to announce a new cabinet.
The bank closures were ordered to prevent panic withdrawals by account holders
who, rightly, feared that high-level talks to restart aid payments to Argentina
would fail. President Duhalde has warned that the run on banks could lead to
the collapse of the country's banking system. The move to close the banks partially
succeeded, in that the withdrawals were indeed stopped. But the public mood
turned sour when Mr Duhalde promised the International Monetary Fund that he
would push ahead with economic and legal reforms and a serious belt-tightening
exercise. Analysts say the latest turmoil has left President Duhalde in a weakened
position, dependent on securing the support of the country's powerful provincial
governors. "No surprise that Duhalde's position is weakening," the anarchists say. 25.04.2002: Argentina's President Eduardo Duhalde has said that his country's
only way out of its worst economic crisis is to live up to its international
agreements and continue seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"Duhalde has lost the grip on realities, a dangerous man by now...",
the anarchists say. Argentina's Congress has passed a law aimed at rescuing
the country's banks by making it more difficult for savers to withdraw their
cash. Under the measure, savers who mount successful legal challenges against
existing restrictions on withdrawals will be prevented from claiming their money
until the government has had a chance to appeal. "Duhalde has chosen
to save the banks, not the people,....", the anarchists say: "This
will probably not pay in the long run..." Thousands of Argentines marched
towards Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo while protesting against the administration
of President Eduardo Duhalde on April 25.
26.04.2002: Roberto Lavagna is appointed to new Argentine economy minister.
He is generally seen as something of an unknown quantity. "He's fairly
obscure," Societe Generale emerging markets economist Stan Rudcenko has
said. "He hasn't done anything to make him famous." The proof of the
pudding, as Mr Rudcenko points out, will be in the eating. The 60-year-old Lavagna
flew back to Buenos Aires on Thursday night from his base in Brussels, where
he had been ambassador to the European Union and in charge of Argentina's dealings
with the World Trade Organisation. Before that he was a professor - he is a graduate in economics of Harvard University
in the US - and a consultant to a number of companies. As for government experience,
he served as industry and foreign trade minister in the 1980s, playing a major
role in the creation of the South American common market, Mercosur. This background
on the world stage is probably the key to why Eduardo Duhalde, Argentina's hard-pressed
populist president, picked him for the job. Few would deny that Mr Lavagna is
inheriting a poisoned chalice. In the world of international finance Argentina's
name is mud, its promises worthless. So a man with strong "free-market" credentials and a background in global trade can at least get a foot in the
door of the global moneylenders Argentina, the liberalists and populists believe,
needs to get back on its feet. So much to do...
For some Argentines even food is hard to afford. But the devil is in the detail,
as Mr Lavagna pointed out in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. The so called "14-point plan", a bad mix of liberalism and populism, needs more
than fleshing out, and anyway no-one is going to pay much attention until concrete
action is taken. For one thing, Mr Duhalde is muttering about a return to a
pegged currency. For another, the banking question has only been put off for
a few days - and Mr Duhalde's populist instincts could still get in the way
of Mr Lavagna, should he decide to get tough. Mr Lavagna made it clear he had
little time for making anyone's life easier - least of all the financiers who
have invested in Argentina, and who have the most to gain from an IMF bailout.
Many of the billions pumped in by the IMF last year were earmarked for payback
for investors and creditors, rather than for rebuilding Argentina's economy
by real investments. Mr Lavagna's reading of the principle of "free markets"
means that this has to change. Investors, he told Dow Jones, "will have
to suffer as much as the general public". With 40% of the population below
the poverty line, the investors "are bound to the crisis with them, without
any special treatment". Not a remark that will gain him many friends, admittedly.
But could it be an indication of a balance between hardline fiscal rectitude
and an awareness of the nightmare facing Argentina's citizens - a balance which
Argentina badly needs?
"As mentioned before, only an approximation to the anarchist economical plan will work for the Argentinian people, i.e. not the upper classes," the anarchists say. 27.04.2002 - 28.04.2002: Argentina has partially lifted emergency banking restrictions, but severe cash shortages continue to strain the battered economy. The government allowed banks to reopen for the first time this week on Friday, but deposit withdrawals remained banned, leaving many Argentines with no access to cash until Monday 29.04.2002 at the earliest. The Argentine banking authorities have said that banks will be allowed to operate as normal next week.
"Time will show!" the anarchists say.Argentina's new economy minister repeats on Sunday they will allow banks to reopen and the battered currency to float on Monday, emphasizing his free market and pro-IMF credentials and appeasing a cash-hungry public unable last week to access ATMs or use credit cards. "The economy has to be oxygenated" Roberto Lavagna said in an interview with leading Clarin newspaper on Sunday, a few days after his predecessor resigned amid a mounting financial crisis that forced the government to close banks for a week.
"Oxygen is one thing, sufficient real investments, consumption demand and exportsurplus to do away with the unemployment, and free contracts - not slave-contracts, something else!" the anarchists say 29.04.2002.Argentina hopes to honor multilateral debts due in May by negotiating bridge financing that would keep it from defaulting on those loans, a government source said on Monday. "Negotiations will begin on that this week," the source said. When asked if the bridge financing could come from the Paris Club of creditor nations, the source added: "I can't answer that question." Argentina owes $554 million to multilateral lenders in May but has defaulted on part of its $140 billion public debt with bondholders since January. Argentina's Central Bank said it had reset a rate of 2.90/3.00 (buy/sell) pesos per dollar for retail sales at banks and exchange houses following a week without foreign exchange trades. The bank had set the rate at 3.15/3.25 per dollar before resetting it at 3.05/3.15 earlier on Monday. The local currency closed at 3.10/3.30 pesos per dollar for retail transactions in free market trade on April 19, while the peso ended at 3.18/3.21 per dollar for large-scale transactions on the last day of trade before last week's banking and foreign exchange holiday was decreed. The retail rate is set by the Central Bank to tighten controls on the foreign exchange market. Banks and exchange houses that participate in the program are restocked in dollars if they agree to buy- and sell-rates as set by the Central Bank within the range of current market rates. US National security adviser Condoleezza Rice urged Argentina on April 29, 2002 to carry out the 'difficult' economic reforms advocated by the International Monetary Fund, saying Washington would then be willing to support more aid.
"More aid will not solve the basic problems, only an approximation to the anarchist economical plan will do!" the anarchists say. 30.04.2002 Argentina's new economy minister heard words of encouragement on Tuesday from the IMF and U.S. Treasury, but new fears arose that the financial system could collapse after a Spanish bank warned its local unit was running out of money. The plaudits came after Roberto Lavagna, the sixth economy minister in just over a year, decided to stay the course on floating the peso currency, which firmed against the dollar after a week without banks and foreign exchange trade. The International Monetary Fund welcomed Lavagna's decision to keep the peso floating after President Eduardo Duhalde last week mulled a return to a fixed exchange rate.
01.05.2002 The International Workers of the World, IWW/AI, is celebrating their 20/130 years anniversary world wide. The Secretary General L. Jakobsen at the International Confederal Council of IWW/AI in Oslo sends regards to the fellow anarchosyndicalists and anarchists in Argentina and the workingclass people in general, saying "The May Day is no party day!"The Argentine government on Wednesday unveiled new economy minister Roberto Lavagna's team, with the lineup of top aides including economists and longtime associates. Economist and Lavagna confidant Enrique Devoto will be the new vice minister and economic policy secretary. Former Buenos Aires Province economy minister Jorge Sarghini was named Treasury Secretary, while Alieto Guadagni, who many had expected to take the economy chief spot before Lavagna's appointment, was named Energy Secretary. Guillermo Nielsen, the economy ministry representative at the Central Bank, was named Finance Secretary. Lavagna, who took office on Saturday to become Argentina's sixth economy minister in just over a year after the resignation of Jorge Remes Lenicov amid economic chaos, has been greeted with words of encouragement from the IMF and U.S. Treasury. Lavagna has so far decided to stay the course on floating the peso currency, as preferred by the International Monetary Fund, with which he must negotiate vital aid Argentina needs to help clamber out of its worst ever economic crisis and end a four-year recession.
"Liberal-populism will not give a good solution to Argentina's economical problems," the anarchists say 02.04.2002.The immediate future for Argentina, a country which till December saw itself as set apart from the poverty prevalent elsewhere in Latin America, remains highly uncertain. Today's Argentina looks very different, with unemployment rates topping 25%, millions now relying on barter to feed and clothe their families, and shanty towns multiplying. The once-prosperous middle class and other poor people are protesting in the streets. Inflation in April is likely to run at 10%, boosted by the effects , i.e. also enterprises rising price-margins to hike profit, - of the plummeting currency, while the economy is likely to contract as much as 15% this year, probably increasing the unemployment even more.
"That is if they don't manage to approximately implement the anarchist economical plans," the anarchists say 03.05.2002.Argentina on Friday swore in three new cabinet ministers with union ties, one the wife of a union boss turned senator who has opposed reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund. Sworn in on Friday were Graciela Camano as Labor Minister; Alfredo Atanasof as Cabinet Chief and Jorge Matzkin as Interior Minister. Outside the ceremony, protesters hemmed in by armed riot police demanded the release of frozen bank deposits. And truckers' union boss Hugo Moyano called a national strike for May 14 against President Eduardo Duhalde's economic policies, despite the union ties of two of Duhalde's three new ministers. A few dozen protesters in the historic Plaza de Mayo outside the swearing-in ceremony chanted "sons of bitches" as the new ministers were sworn in. Heavily outnumbered by armed riot police, they were demanding the release of bank deposits which have been frozen by law since December. Camano, the new Labor Minister, is a congresswoman and wife of union boss Luis Barrionuevo, a ruling Peronist party senator and vocal opponent of Duhalde's economic reform proposals that must be enacted to secure IMF aid to pull Argentina out of a four-year recession. One of Camano's immediate tasks will be the organization, distribution and supervision of Duhalde's brainchild: monthly benefits of 150 pesos (about $50) for unemployed heads of households from May 15. Her predecessor as labor minister, former provincial union leader Alfredo Atanasof, takes over as cabinet chief. The new interior minister is Jorge Matzkin, a Peronist congressman and accountant who chairs the budget committee. With no union ties, he was party leader in the lower house of Congress during Carlos Menem's presidency in the 1990s. uvier said Duhalde's appointment of a new political team which "has nothing in common with his economic team" showed the president was "in retreat" from Duhalde's economic policies. The provincial governors and the mainstream elements of the political class are drifting away. The congressional decision to postpone for 10 days the vote on the bankruptcy law (which the IMF wants changed) confirmed the growing gap between Duhalde and mainstream elements of the Peronists," U.S. analyst Walter Molano said.
"These labor-representations seem to be a bit similar to Mussolini's", the anarchists say 04.05.2002 - 05.05.2002. 06.05.2002: Lavagna denies price controls. The government insisted yesterday that it was not considering placing price controls on a handful of basic foods. “The reply to the questions of fixing prices ... is decidedly no,” Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna told a news conference yesterday.
Consumer prices, from cooking oil to cellphone fees, rose in April at the highest monthly rate in a decade amid fears that runaway inflation could stoke further civil unrest. Lavagna, less than a week into his job after his predecessor resigned, said yesterday that prices were up some 10 percent in April, the fourth consecutive month of rises. That means an inflation rate of about 20 percent, with the peso weakened about 70 percent against the dollar since January’s devaluation. For most Argentines, even official inflation data seemed out of touch with the daily reality of trying to make ends meet on wages cut to the bone after a four-year recession and a government freeze of most bank savings. “It’s a lie that prices have risen 10 percent. It’s a lot more,” said Adela Lamas, a street seller outside a railroad station. A leading retail group said prices of basic foods and clothing, which account for the majority of a poor family’s spending, rose between 30 percent and 50 percent in April and are up 150 percent since January. The government is to release official inflation data on Monday and Lavagna said he based his provisional figure of 10 percent on information given to him by the outgoing economic team after he was appointed last Saturday.
"Price-regulations on the basic foods etc., to stop plutarchical speculations, may be OK! Liberalistical dogmatism will not work well in this case" the anarchist says: "This seems to be going a bit out of hand...".06.05.2002 - 07.05.2002:: Argentina's Congress will debate this week bills to reform a controversial bankruptcy law and an "economic subversion" law which should meet demands made by the IMF in return for possible aid, a top legislator said on Monday. "There's an agreement to work this week on the bills and have both chambers (of Congress) vote on them, ... that's the idea," Jose Luis Gioja, the head of the ruling Peronist party in the Senate, told reporters. The "economic subversion" law has been used by judges probing foreign bank executives over alleged capital flight. Critics of the bankruptcy law said it allows companies facing insolvency to simply walk away from their obligations and effectively kills creditor rights. Argentina hopes the reforms, plus steep budget cuts, will convince the International Monetary Fund to provide billions in aid to help it pay off outstanding multilateral loans. Argentine judges have triggered an international uproar by using the "economic subversion" law, generally considered an anachronism from the 1970's, when guerrilla activity was rife, to keep several foreign and local bankers from leaving the country. The President has not found an easy way in trying to implement a 90-day governability plan agreed upon with most of the country’s governors on April 24. The plan is widely seen as Duhalde’s last chance to save his politically weak administration from collapse. Yesterday morning, the President unexpectedly boarded a helicopter and visited the poverty-ridden districts of Malvinas Argentinas and José C. Paz in the city’s western suburbs to “have a direct contact with the people,” something he also used to do when he was governor of Buenos Aires between 1991-99. “The situation is very complicated,” the head of state told a group of local reporters, “but I am not going to abandon Argentina or let it sink.” Duhalde went on to explain that the country is still suffering the negative aspects of a devaluation of the peso he ordered in January, and that the good things are yet to come. “Now we won’t be able to import all the rubbish we used to import, so we will have to produce it here,” said the President. The President also referred to the first general strike called against his four-month government by Hugo Moyano — the powerful leader of the teamsters who was until very recently his close political ally — saying that “it does not resolve anything.” “The strike does not resolve anything, but I understand union leaders who, pushed by workers, try to somehow express their complaints,” said Duhalde.
"The devaluation is sound, but what about the rest of the anarchist economical plans? There will be little domestic production if no hike in total demand and investments are made", the anarchists say. 08.05.2002: A history from Buenos Aires's brown & blue market“Here there are no bosses except, me - the small time criminal brown & blue plutarch, doing what I can to exploit my customers and cheat on the public services by not paying taxes", says “Uncle Sam” a 25 year-old arbolito (little tree), the slang word for those whispering Cambio (exchange) in the streets of downtown Buenos Aires. “Uncle Sam.” is one of many who, out of opportunism or necessity, are devoted to the illegal exchange of money in broad daylight. “It’s just another exchange office,” guarantees the young man. “We don’t pay taxes, but the legal exchange houses steal more. Any idea how much that bank launders?,” he asks, pointing at a building behind him. In spite of the accusation, “Uncle Sam” confesses that arbolitos and exchange houses work in unison. The houses provide the arbolitos with dollars and information, though all this is “unofficial, of course!” The official exchange houses even have their own arbolitos, but their numbers are now reduced, “due to reduced demand for dollars”, he adds. “Uncle Sam” lives in the neighbourhood of Once. He lives alone and has worked on the street for 14 years. His usual spot is around San Martín 150. When the crisis hit, he began exchanging dollars. “The peak was in January and February. Recently there are fewer arbolitos because the dollar is more stable,” he says. Although he achieves his best earnings through small transactions with Argentine clients, he once did one exchange for 10.000 dollars for a foreigner. “The street has always provided for me”, he adds.Despite the risks, “Uncle Sam” is happy with the work. He earns triple what he did as a taxi-driver. “Working 20 days,” he says, “I can support myself very well and pay for my mother’s treatment against armpit and breast cancer.” Even so, “Uncle Sam" complains that in the streets, the arbolitos “are exposed to the noise, the smog, the bad food - it’s very stressful.” He works for a brother, who has been an underground exchange trader for over 17 years, and earns a fixed salary plus 10 percent of the profits, in dollars. According to “Uncle Sam” those who want to get into the arbolito business won’t have problems with other arbolitos. All it calls for is some initial capital, reliable financial sources, and some street experience. Oh, and a canon of 100 dollars a week to “grease” the right authorities. “Everything can be arranged,” he smiles.He has been in the same street for more than a decade and has a regular clientele. “It’s the same, everybody knows me: exchangers, money transporters, cops....” he says, as he greets a city government official passing by. “Hey! They’re not friends of mine,” he makes clear. “The relationship is strictly professional.”
Security is a serious matter in the business. Assaults, swindles and the like are part and parcel of this small time mafia job. Although a promotion would bring him three times the earnings, “Uncle Sam” says that “being a chief of a larger hierarchy involves more risks.” He is content with just being a salesperson, exploiting the customers and cheat on taxes. “They fool arbolitos new to the game because they’re greedy,” he explains. The most common method is taking the victim to a supposed office to carry out the transaction more safely, and rob them once inside the elevator. However, the thieves don’t go completely unpunished. “Everything is known,” says “Uncle Sam” - a small time mafia plutarch, cheating mainly on his own customers in the brown& blue market, far to the right and downwards on the economical political map.
"This is blue & brown mob rule, ochlarchy plus plutarchy, the opposite of anarchy," the anarchists say. 11.05.2002. Over 50% of the population in Argentina are now living below the poverty line, mostly du to rising food-prices. The Industrial Bakers Centre of Buenos Aires province and city yesterday said that they plan to hike the price of bread by up to 30 percent in coming days to cope with highly increasing commodity costs. The main factor for the planned hike is the cost of wheat. A (50-kilo) bag of wheat last week cost about 40 pesos, now it costs 48. Wheat prices are “outrageously high” even with the dollar quoting at about 3.20 pesos, they should possibly be at least 20 percent lower. Growing rents and public services fees also favours the planned price increase. Many bakeries in Buenos Aires have closed down in April and May as they were unable to afford the cost of raw materials. Additionally, closures are also due to shortages as suppliers reduced deliveries, and to people increasingly resorting to barter fairs. Bread sales have dropped significantly over last month.
Referring to an agreement reached with City Hall in March to keep the price of bread at 1.60 pesos per kilo, bakers were trying to maintain it the closest possible to that figure. However a spokesman for the Bakers Centre was suggesting a minimum price of 1,80 pesos but that he doubted whether they would be able to abide even by that figure.The Buenos Aires City administration of Aníbal Ibarra launched an advertising campaign saying that it managed to keep the price of bread at 1,60 pesos despite a peso devaluation of some 70 percent since early January. In the rest of the country the sector’s situation is even worse as most employees are paid in bonds and the prices of commodities like wheat are dollarized. 13.05.2002: The Senate yesterday postponed debate on a key economic bill, defying the International Monetary Fund, which has demanded quick changes to the law as a condition for further economic assistance. A heated political week in Congress ended yesterday with the approval at committee level in the Senate yesterday of amendments of bankruptcy legislation which had the green light from the Lower House on Thursday night. The Senate general legislation committee did not introduce changes to the bill but senators from the ruling Peronist Party said they needed more time to consider it and postponed further debate until next week. Amendments to the bankruptcy and the economic subversion laws have been presented as conditions by the IMF to resume financial aid talks with President Eduardo Duhalde’s embattled caretaker administration.
"These measures are just superficial no good bureaucratic tricks, not real demand and income policy at all. More loans will not save the Argentinian economy!" the anarchists say.13.05.2002: In a major government policy U-turn, Argentina scrambled on Monday to find another way to end a despised freeze on depositors' savings after scrapping plans to convert the deposits to bonds. With daily protests against the rapid spread of poverty and the deposit freeze while mindful of bloody rioting that toppled the elected government in December, President Eduardo Duhalde needs to come up with a replacement for the bonds-for-savings plan, and fast. However, he won an unexpected reprieve on Monday thanks to the weather when hard-line unions postponed a 12-hour strike and marches planned for Tuesday because of heavy rains that forced nearly many people to flee their homes in Buenos Aires province. The government also averted defaulting on a $680 million debt payment to the World bank by using Central Bank reserves as recommended by the United States. Defaulting on payments to multilateral lenders could cut off the last remaining avenue to aid -- an option that one official described as "suicide." Inter-American Development Bank chief Enrique Iglesias, meanwhile put the official seal of approval on a $700 million loan for social programs after visiting Argentine Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, the country's sixth economy chief in just over a year. Lavagna earlier huddled with his economic team to devise a new strategy to help free up the creaking banking system and convince international lenders to deliver aid vitally needed to help relieve the country's grinding four-year recession. One proposed alternative for Latin America's No. 3 economy to the savings freeze plan -- which Lavagna said on Sunday he had set aside to "take another approach" -- includes selling off the bankrupt government's real estate and using the proceeds to pay back savings. "The government has been analyzing the possibility of using idle state assets to resolve the savings freeze," Cabinet Chief Alfredo Atanasof told local television. "This is one of the ideas. There is a very clear political decision to end the freeze, to free depositors of this worry." Officials say the bond plan was abandoned because the banks were unhappy with it and implementation costs were high. But lifting the freeze is just one of many hurdles the floundering government must yet clear.
The reforms of controversial laws covering economic crimes and bankruptcy -- demanded by the International Monetary Fund as a condition for possible aid -- are stuck in a bitterly divided Congress with only partial approval in hand. To qualify for aid, Argentina would have to ensure that the largely autonomous provinces would slash the runaway spending that pushed the country to default on the national debt pile in January. It would also have to keep a lid on soaring inflation. The government said it would this week launch a program to help bring down the cost of basic goods by setting up warehouses where consumers could buy direct from producers at up to 40 percent below supermarket prices. But some analysts said Duhalde's policy flip-flops were stamping out hopes of rebuilding battered investor confidence. "People are resigned to the fact Duhalde simply doesn't know what he's doing," said political analyst James Neilson. "All this is doing is delaying the possible recuperation of the country and making the problems of the next government far worse." Duhalde has ruled out calling early elections, hoping to make it through to October 2003. But with public anger welling, he may have no choice. Almost one in two Argentines now lives in poverty, unable to pay for basics like food and electricity. One in four Argentines is jobless, and prices for everything from meat to clothing are being raised to offset the peso's depreciation.
Unemployed groups say they still plan to stage roadblocks across the country to protest IMF-prescribed economic policies and demand job creation despite the weather. "It's more and more and more time for a bit of anarchist economics", the anarchists say 14.05.2002.Argentina's President Eduardo Duhalde is considering whether to sell-off state property in order to compensate savers. "The state has thousands of properties and millions of acres of land that it doesn't use," Mr Duhalde said. "We should study how we can compensate people's savings with the state's property." Mr Duhalde and his new economy minister Roberto Lavagna are desperate to find a way of placating the general public who face highly unpopular limits on the amount of cash they are allowed to withdraw. The new propositions to sell state land, railroads or even furniture demonstrate just how few alternatives Argentina has to help its poverty-stricken people. They come as Argentina faces a 12-hour strike by unions in protest against economic policies, and daily protests from the general public due to the difficult living conditions. "There is a very clear political decision to end the freeze, to free depositors of this worry," Cabinet chief Alfredo Atanasof told local television. The savings freeze has been in place for five months in order to avoid financial collapse at the country's ailing banking system. As well as the highly unpopular withdrawal limits, Argentina's banks were shut for a whole week earlier this month in order to try and stop a cash crunch. While Argentines have been unable to access their savings, the value of the peso has declined about 70% against the dollar. The freeze has also driven a wedge between the president and the Supreme Court, which has twice ruled it unconstitutional. Economic officials had previously been assessing whether to convert the savings into bonds but have now scrapped this idea. But there is already some scepticism over whether the new plan to sell land would work.
"People are resigned to the fact Mr Duhalde doesn't know what he's doing," said political analyst James Nelson. "We are also a bit resigned", the anarchists say. Lifting the freeze is just one problem that the government must solve to lift its nation out of the deep recession that is expected to see the economy contract by 15% this year. Duhalde thinks the biggest challenge is to try and ensure the correct economic policies to uncap new aid from the International Monetary Fund. And Argentina must also meet an imminent $800m debt repayment to the World Bank or have the last remaining avenue to aid cut-off. Argentina now has unemployment rates topping 25%, and millions now rely on barter to feed and clothe their families, while shanty towns are multiplying. The once-prosperous middle class is now protesting in the streets. 15.5.2002.
-16.05.2002: Alfonsín warns of coup: Radical Senator Raúl Alfonsín yesterday warned that if social problems deepen a rightwing coup could take place. The former president added that due to the current crisis the only outcome that could benefit Argentina is Peronist President Eduardo Duhalde finishing his term as scheduled in 2003.Alfonsín, a strategic ally of the President, said that “if Duhalde leaves, the situation would be much worse with something well to the right emerging.” He said that Radicals reaffirm their institutional support to help Duhalde reach 2003 in office.Alfonsín added that there is always a group of people who hope for a civic and military coup, but he added: “I’m convinced that today the armed forces don’t want to take power.” He also said that coups are always a combination of military and civic forces and “are organized, carried out, and sought by the far right.”However, Alfonsín stressed that the armed forces must have a plan in case “chaos arises, which does not mean taking power but defending strategic aspects of the nation.” Regarding a call for early elections by different sectors of society, the former head of state said that if they were held in advance, only a weak government would result. He added that currently there are three forces on which Argentines rely: “The Radical and Peronist parties and the General Labour Confederation (CGT), and all three have lost — for different reasons— their prestige.” Referring to the strategic alliance between the Buenos Aires provincial branch of the Radical party and Duhalde’s Peronists, Alfonsín highlighted the importance, in spite of the differences, of strengthening it and called on all Radicals not to place stumbling- blocks but lend a hand. Separately, Alfonsín yesterday considered that if “the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not crazy”, it will have to extend debt deadlines Argentina is facing this year. He also said that had he been in Duhalde’s shoes, he “would have never paid the World Bank” the 680 million dollars delivered on Monday.
That day, the caretaker administration of Duhalde paid the World Bank, using Central Bank reserves in the first repayment of a 2.5 billion-dollar emergency loan granted the country in 1998. Regarding financial aid, the Radical senator said he was “skeptical” that the International Monetary Fund would eventually send money to the country. “With the money which Argentina gave the World Bank, the government could have paid complete salaries for two months in all provinces” adding that the government will face problems related to the subsequent internal debt. Alfonsín also criticized the US administration of Republican George W. Bush, describing him as an “international danger.” He said that Argentina’s situation would be much easier with another head in that country. “The (former US president Bill) Clinton was more tolerant” with Argentina than Bush, said Alfonsín. The Senator accused the US chief of state of heading a “far- right government, advised by far-right people,” adding that this also meant a terrible institutional setback for the United States.
"Strangely how the Argentinian politicians always put the blame on foreigners. They are togetheter with the domestic plutarchs mainly responsible for the chaos themselves", the anarchists say. Washington policy makers on Thursday offered Argentina crumbs of encouragement as it tries desperately to get out of a deep economic crisis, welcoming changes to a bankruptcy law and offering to extend the deadline on a debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund. "That will not help much", the anarchists say.
17.05.2002: Argentina will automatically be granted a delay in its $130 million repayment to the International Monetary Fund, due next week, if there are no objections by board members to the idea by noon on Tuesday, IMF sources said. IMF management sent a proposal to the fund's executive board, which must approve all lending decisions, suggesting Argentina be allowed to delay the repayment, which is due on May 22. "It's a lapse of time thing on Argentina, if there are no objections by noon on the 22nd it will take effect," one source said. IMF management does not normally make recommendations to the board if it does not believe the board is in favor of them. The board represents the 183 countries members of the IMF. Argentina is due to pay the IMF around $5 billion in repayments this year from around $15 billion owed in total. Bankrupt Argentina has been struggling to get together repayments owed to the multilateral lenders like the IMF. After much speculation about whether it would or wouldn't, Argentina made a payment, already a month late, to the World Bank on Monday. If the country had not done so it would not have been eligible for new loans from the bank. In any case, an IMF deal is the key to unlocking new money from the bank as well as from the Inter-American Development Bank. Argentina is hoping to win billions of dollars in new money from the fund and Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna is coming to Washington next week for talks with top IMF management. " As mentioned before, more loans will not solve the economical political problems!" the anarchists say (19.05.2002)."President Eduardo Duhalde’s laments about his personal calvary with the cross would be blasphemous enough coming from any mere mortal but they are doubly outrageous when coming from a man of so little faith himself." From BAH editorial...
XXXVIII. Report from F.O.R.A. - Organización Obrera Nº56 - in Spanish. 1º DE MAYO ¡ORGANIZACIÓN!
RECUPEREMOS NUESTROS DERECHOS Y NUESTRA DIGNIDAD
1° DE MAYO 1886 - 1° DE MAYO 2002
Esta fecha trágica que debe ser recordada por parte del pueblo explotado, en cualquier lugar de la tierra, y los que aún les imponen horas indefinidas y donde se logró la conquista de las 8 horas de trabajo, gracias al sacrificio de los 5 MÁRTIRES EJECUTADOS EN CHICAGO deben ser recordados con PROTESTAS por el alevoso crimen.
En esta región los políticos ambiciosos del poder del Estado, y através del parlamento por sugerencias de los SOCIOS LISTOS (socialistas), transformaron este día de protesta, en festivo y además pago, de esta manera se anuló el ímpetu a esta gran fecha de los explotados y oprimidos. Através de todos los tiempos variados que ha soportado la F.O.R.A. sigue en su camino impertérrita, sin dobleces, en defensa del ideal comunista anárquico que ha sido el ideal por el cual pagaron con sus vidas los mártires de Chicago. ¿Es un ideal inalcanzable? Cuando este sostiene como base el Amor a la especie humana sin distingo de ninguna naturaleza, que sea libre, en igualdad de derechos y deberes y la solidaridad como el abrazo fraternal universal ¿Quién puede superar este ideal por la nobleza expresada en esta síntesis? ¿O quién tiene otro punto de vista opuesto y ajeno a estos principios?
Los hombres que dieron vida a la F.O.R.A. entendieron que era necesario el aditamento de Comunismo para combatir a ese adversario que se funda en el principio de autoridad y su apoyo al Estado con ese corolario y los demás que tanto daño criminal cometen en el mundo para sentirse segura y mantenerse en su lugar. Mientras que la F.O.R.A. adoptó el sistema federal para su administración y en consecuencia todos los socios que la integran son y gozan de la igualdad de derechos y deberes, aboliendo de hecho al rentado, y la práctica de asambleas deliberativas para todo el problema que necesita tener solución colectiva. Si la F.O.R.A. hubiera quedado en anarquista unicamente, hacía tiempo hubiera desaparecido, como les ocurre a todo grupo que se enamora del ideal y lleva en su seno los gérmenes autoritarios que hasta hoy soporta todo ser humano. A pasado más de un siglo que la F.O.R.A. ha demostrado que no ambiciona el poder del Estado porque es corrupto se llame como quiera y cuanto más centralista autoritario persigue con ensañamiento cruel la idea de libertad, sin querer reconocer ese déspota tirano que como cualquier ser que nace a la vida, le debe lo que es a la humanidad desde el 1° pañal que cubrió su cuerpo hasta la más bella y excelsa manifestación del pensamiento humano.
Es lógico que la reacción del Estado haya perseguido a la F.O.R.A. para anularla, pero es más doloroso cuando los grupos afines carecen del elemental sentido solidario y lamentan al no poder ser extinguida por unos y otros. Como muestra de su vigor el primero de Mayo estará en Plaza Once a las 16 hs.
¡¡SALUD!! VIVA EL PRIMERO DE MAYO.
El Consejo Federal
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LA PRODUCCIÓN QUE CRECE
La producción de malhechores desde la institución Estado en todos
los niveles, nacional, provincial y municipal es conocida y soportada con indignación
por todo el pueblo laborioso. Este mismo pueblo cuando el empleo era más
o menos estable se lo afiliaba compulsivamente en los distintos gremios de la
industria, los servicios, etc., la dirigencia de estos gremios y la C.G.T. sin
ningún empacho se identifican políticamente y su mayor ambición
era y es defender y posicionarse en las distintas jerarquías dentro del
estado que tanta impunidad y privilegios sostiene desde la antigüedad,
la edad media y la actualidad o sea la llamada era moderna.
Bajo esta simple observación a nadie sorprende que los enemigos del pueblo
laborioso, por ejemplo los sindicalistas profesionales que manejaron y manejan
sumas siderales en complicidad con los gobiernos de turno, nunca les interesó
en tomar en sus manos la educación, primaria, secundaria, etc., ni la
fundación de escuelas de arte y oficios, por lo contrario dejaron esta
vital tarea en manos de la religión, en la mal llamada educación
privada.
La religión es enemiga de la ciencia, del estudio y del razonamiento, cuantos estudiosos y sabios fueron condenados a morir en la hoguera por que sus descubrimientos ponían en ridículo las fábulas de las santas escrituras.
El sindicalista profesional, ambiciona ser político de estado por lo tanto es un enemigo del pueblo laborioso al igual que los legisladores, el poder ejecutivo y el poder judicial, las fuerzas armadas, la fuerza policial, etc.
Cuando empezó la era industrial a vapor los políticos de entonces por decreto les robaron las tierras comunales a los campesinos para obligarlos a trabajar sin límite de jornada a los hombres, mujeres y niños; llevándolos a una muerte prematura por la salvaje explotación en ese tiempo.
En la actualidad el reordenamiento económico internacional, llamado globalización, pactado por los países más poderosos en la década del 1970 fue aceptado por los gobiernos de los países en desarrollo.
La Argentina por ejemplo entregó en alquiler las empresas de servicios, agua, gas, luz eléctrica, obras sanitarias, ferrocarriles, peajes de autopistas, rutas, puertos y depósitos de los mismos, etc.
Al permitir la entrada sin restricción de productos importados, o sea el excedente de producción de los países industrializados, terminó en corto plazo con la mediana y pequeña industria.
Los terratenientes agrarios e industriales se dedicaron a la especulación financiera, lavado de dólares, en sociedad con los banqueros internos e internacionales. El resultado está a la vista, multiplicaron la riqueza las jerarquías parasitarias de todo pelaje, mientras el pueblo laborioso con indignación, impotencia y movilización desea hacer justicia por mano propia.
Desde la Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (F.O.R.A.) sostenemos un método de organización horizontal, sin dirigentismo, pliego de condiciones avalado o revocado total o parcialmente por la asamblea.
La F.O.R.A. desde 1901 hasta la fecha con su finalidad practica y filosófica de fundar una sociedad basada en la igualdad política y económica se enfrentó al Estado, fábrica de corrupción, malhechores y privilegios, desde donde vino la orden de asesinar a los trabajadores que reclamaban mejores condiciones de trabajo y aumento de salarios, por ejemplo la Patagonia Trágica, Jacinto Aráoz, la Semana Trágica, etc., etc.
Si deseas participar por una sociedad basada en el trabajo útil y necesario,
te esperamos.
F.O.R.A., Coronel Salvadores 1200, barrio de La Boca, Capital Federal.C. N.
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APARIENCIAS Y ESCLAVITUD
Platón mandó expulsar a los poetas pues decía que eran constructores de apariencias. Buscaba la república perfecta. Los mismos, decía, atacan al orden contra un poder que necesita certezas. Aún Moro no había escrito su «Utopia»; refugio de soñadores.
Hoy que existe el gran Estado donde en Afganistán se lucha entre la democracia y el fanatismo religioso tenemos la certeza que las corporaciones tienen mucho que ver. Eso nos lleva a ver el ahogo del hombre en un poder que cansado de la explotación ahora ignora al habitante. El ejemplo es los 20 millones de seres que en el país son echados del sistema, donde como gracia nos dicen que todo hombre tiene derecho (con hijos menores de 18 años) a recibir $150. Si no reaccionamos con ideas de libertad la esclavitud será tan manifiesta que la identidad sería una apariencia platónica.
D. S.____________________________________________
TOMEMOS NUESTRO DESTINO
En estos tiempos de crisis social, política y económica miles
de voces resuenan por doquier y dicen traer la solución, llamativo es
que las supuestas panaceas provengan desde el mismo lugar del que partieron
y en el que comenzaron todos los conflictos. Aquellos quienes produjeron y fomentaron
estos desastres son al parecer, hoy, quienes dicen tener las respuestas y las
recetas mágicas para poder acabar con la miseria que provocaron y de
la cual salieron, y salen, enriquecidos.
Lo patético no es que ellos hablen sino que lo terrible es que quienes
fueron, son y serán, perjudicados y sometidos por estos parásitos
hagan eco de esos llamados al fortalecimiento del sistema y de las instituciones,
los cuales fueron creados con el único fin de esclavizar a los hombres
y están basados en la expropiación y explotación que lleva
al enriquecimiento de los grandes grupos económicos, de quienes todos
los dirigentes políticos, sindicales y «representantes espirituales»
son beneficiarios y promotores. No debemos permitir que nuestras gargantas y
esfuerzos sean saboteados por sus intereses. La crisis social no se supera apoyándose
en las mismas instituciones y formas parasitarias de existencia que dieron lugar
a la creación de este sistema que se basa en la explotación de
todos y cada uno de nosotros, en y para el beneficio de un sector privilegiado
que avanza sobre nuestras espaldas.
No debemos desperdiciar nuestros esfuerzos en intentar fortalecer este tipo de modo de vida que ha demostrado ser nefasto para toda la humanidad. Debemos unirnos en un mismo camino que lleve a la real liberación de todos los hombres y mujeres, y esta no se logrará con las formas establecidas por quienes humillan y abusan del pueblo.
Como seres conscientes debemos aunar nuestros esfuerzos, debemos vislumbrar
el camino hacia la construcción de una nueva sociedad que en su caminar
englobe a toda la humanidad.V. R.
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DE MARTILLERO A PRESIDENTE
A fines de 1999 «el Cabezón» Eduardo Alberto Duhalde volvía masticando bronca a su inmobiliaria de la zona sur del Gran Buenos Aires, cumpliendo momentáneamente con lo que había dicho antes: «si pierdo me retiro de la política». En esas elecciones presidenciales de 1999 más que una lucha entre dos posturas ideológicas distintas, la agencia publicitaria de la Alianza le había ganado a la agencia publicitaria del peronismo. Recordemos que Carlos Menem, compañero de fórmula diez años antes, no había ayudado demasiado. Quedaban atrás los años dorados del placer de la política clientelística donde recibía 600 millones de dólares al año gracias al Ente de Reparación Histórica del Conurbano Bonaerense, durante su gestión en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Años dorados para Duhalde, pero no para los bonaerenses: la desocupación en el conurbano bonaerense saltó del 5,7% en 1991 al 16,5% en 1999. La deuda total de la provincia alcanzó los 5029 millones de pesos y el déficit fiscal los 1827 millones. El gasto público pasó de 3902 millones de pesos en 1991 a 10794 millones a fines de 1999. Además existe una deuda con el Banco Provincia de 1906 millones de pesos.
Siendo gobernador, su esposa Hilda Beatriz «Chiche» González de Duhalde manejaba el Consejo Provincial de la Mujer, el Ministerio de Acción Social y el Instituto Provincial de la Vivienda. Fue así como pasó de administrar la economia hogareña a disponer de ciento cincuenta millones de dólares al año. Ante esta gran responsabilidad Chiche admitió: «No tenía ni idea de lo que era la administración pública. Yo tengo muy en claro que estoy acá no por ser una gran política, o una mujer preparada, sino por ser la mujer del gobernador. Resuelvo un montón de cosas con una simple llamada telefónica». Chiche es fanática de la moral severa y cristiana. Las relaciones carnales entre personas que no han recibido el sacramento del matrimonio, para ella no es otra cosa que un verdadero insulto a Dios. Desde su privilegiada posición económica emplea parte de sus ratos de ocio y de fondos estatales para los servicios caritativos, pero entiende la «caridad» como un mezquino proceso en virtud del cual este sentimiento se reduce a una transferencia monetaria que marca la superioridad del donante y la inferioridad del que recibe, acentuando las diferencias sociales. Solo basta recordar el ejército de manzaneras que bajo su mando distribuían bolsas de alimentos en las zonas más afectadas por la desocupación, a cambio por supuesto, de promesas de apoyo partidario.
La reelección de Duhalde como gobernador también tiene su costado oscuro, ya que en 1994 en la Convención Constituyente de la provincia de Buenos Aires habría pagado doce millones de dólares al represor golpista Aldo Rico para aprobar una cláusula que permitía su reelección.
La familia Duhalde no tiene sus necesidades básicas insatisfechas ni
necesita del nuevo subsidio asistencialista de 150 pesos. Según la declaración
patrimonial que presentó a Poder Ciudadano en diciembre de 1998, Duhalde
afirmó ser propietario de dos inmuebles valuados en 700 mil dólares:
uno en Pinamar, el otro en Lomas de Zamora, donde reside. En la misma declaración
demuestra cierta pasión por los autos: un Mercedes Benz ómnibus,
una Renault Traffic y dos Chevrolet.
Las sospechas acerca de la presunta relación de Duhalde con el narcotráfico
siempre vuelven, y son millones de dólares los que están en juego.
En Lomas de Zamora por ejemplo, el dueño anterior de una propiedad que
está a nombre de su primo Julio Grigera, era un narcotraficante colombiano
de la banda de José Padilla Echeverry. Por otra parte, su compañero
de fórmula en las elecciones presidenciales de 1999, Ramón Ortega,
trajo consigo a Aldo Ducler, cabeza visible de Mercado Abierto Bank, acusado
de lavar dinero procedente del narcotráfico. Claro que gracias a Ducler,
el gobernador pudo destinar 44 millones de pesos a la campaña electoral
y gastar un promedio de cinco millones mensuales en publicidad institucional.
Otro personaje cercano al ex senador Duhalde es «el Muñeco» Alberto Pierri, eslabón fundamental entre el poder político y las decenas de grupos de matones del conurbano bonaerense. Sus servicios son valiosos a la hora de romper huelgas o romperle la cabeza a algún piquetero, como lo hicieron los pierristas en la entrada del Mercado Central hace unos meses.
Tomando en cuenta todo lo expuesto, no es casual que en sus primeros pasos Duhalde simpatizara con el sector más conservador, ortodoxo y ultracatólico (recientemente ante la grave crisis política dijo: «que sea lo que Dios quiera») del peronismo. Tampoco es casual que luego de ganar la intendencia de Lomas de Zamora en 1974, la dictadura militar no lo inquietara demasiado ya que tenía una buena relación con la jerarquía militar y con el obispo Desiderio Elsio Colino, confesor del borracho asesino Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri.
Eduardo Duhalde, antiguo jefe de la «mejor policía del mundo», y a los pocos meses aparecía el cadáver incinerado de José Luis Cabezas (producto de la pelea mafiosa entre Cavallo, Menem, Duhalde y Yabrán). Eduardo Duhalde, defensor acérrimo del brutal proceso de privatizaciones que impulsó Carlos Menem. Eduardo Duhalde, el que iba a devolver el dinero de los ahorristas en moneda de origen y ahora no se puede sacar ni papel pintado. ¿Cumplirá su promesa de terminar con la recesión antes del 9 de julio, Día de la Independencia?
Sin embargo hay que ser justos y reconocer una verdad pronunciada por el presidente
Duhalde: «La dirigencia política es una mierda, y por supuesto
que yo me incluyo».SudacaGran parte de la información de esta nota fue extraída del libro
El Otro, de H. L. E.
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1° DE MAYO
En este primero de mayo tenemos que recordar que esta fecha, si bien es la recordación
de la lucha justa por la jornada laboral de las 8 horas, es también el
símbolo mismo de la esclavitud que vivimos. Aquellos compañeros
que en el paso por la vida se encontraron con la muerte adelantada por culpa
de la maquinaria asesina del Estado exigían la reducción de las
horas laborales a 8 horas y por la justicia de su lucha fueron muertos por los
verdugos del Estado que no son otros que los jueces y todo el sistema judicial
que está exclusivamente al servicio del capital y del privilegio, por
tanto, de la esclavitud y la desigualdad.
El mismo sistema judicial que hoy legaliza la ampliación de la explotación
tirando por el suelo las conquistas logradas con el sufrimiento y la sangre
de los trabajadores que como aquellos mártires de Chicago y tantos otros
anónimos perdieron su vida por la lucha de la emancipación, siempre
al servicio de las empresas capitalistas cuando necesitan ahorcarnos un poco
más.
En 1886 como en el 2002, la lucha es la misma, ya que hoy necesitamos recuperar
las perdidas 8 horas de trabajo, y por medio de la organización horizontal
y de la solidaridad lograr el fin de la emancipación económica
y espiritual que traerá la igualdad y la libertad para todos los seres
humanos.N. F.
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PROSTITUTAS Y PROSTITUTOS
El viernes 5 de abril fue caratulado por los principales medios de comunicación como «viernes negro», porque ese mismo día habían caído varios policías. Especial énfasis se puso en la muerte del oficial principal Adrián Luis Falduto, jefe de la custodia de Carlos Ruckauf. Los hechos fueron confusos, y no se sabe bien si Falduto intentó evitar un asalto en un bar del barrio porteño de Palermo o fue un ajuste de cuentas. Lo que si quedó claro es que el tema de la inseguridad fue instalado de nuevo por los medios y el gobierno, y nadie mejor para hacer esto que el apostol de la mano dura Carlos Ruckauf.
Como si fuera una película repetida, en el velatorio de Falduto encontramos más de lo mismo, o peor. 53 patrulleros, uno por cada comisaría, desfilaron por el Panteón Policial del cementerio de la Chacarita, cientos de policías con toda su parafernalia se agolparon simulando caras de víctimas. También asistieron representantes de la Iglesia y autoridades del gobierno. Y es en ese momento, que los medios más importantes se ocuparon de difundir, donde los policías y funcionarios del gobierno hacen causa común usando a la muerte para implantar políticas demagógicas y de mayor control social. Recordemos que en junio de 2001 el Senado de la Nación aprobó la Reforma al Código Procesal Penal que otorgó a la Policía una ampliación de facultades que le permite interrogar, requisar, realizar allanamientos y detener sin previa autorización judicial. Ahora quieren dictar una ley que condene a cadena perpetua a todo aquel que mate a un policía, como si un policía valiera más (si es que puede cuantificarse el valor de una persona) que un médico o un maestro.
A pesar de que la crisis política y económica son el tema del día, esto no ha impedido a los medios crear la moda de los asaltos y asesinatos en los trenes, lo cual refuerza el objetivo de amparar legalmente a la violencia policial, como una versión mejorada de la teoría de los dos demonios, usada en democracia para justificar la dictadura militar. Desde este periódico ya hemos explicado que nada cambiará hasta que no se modifiquen las condiciones políticas y económicas y hasta que no cesen las desigualdades sociales.
Por supuesto que los mil cien asesinatos ejecutados por el gatillo fácil policial en los últimos quince años y las decenas de niños y niñas que mueren de hambre todos los días, no tienen el funeral que tuvo el oficial principal Falduto, ni tampoco merecen un solo segundo de aire de las empresas multimediáticas. Daniel Hadad y su cría, Enrique Llamas de Madariaga, Santo Biasatti, Mariano Grondona, César Mascetti y su esposa, por solo nombrar algunas de las estrellas televisivas, tienen cosas más importantes de que hablar.
Sin embargo, la imbecilidad y ambición ilimitada de ciertos personajes
hace que a veces se deschave la verdadera función de algunos aparatos,
como le pasó al jefe de la organización armada más grande
de Buenos Aires, comisario inspector Amadeo D’Angelo. En efecto, el jefe
de la Policía Bonaerense, nombrado por Carlos Ruckauf, fue renunciado
al comprobarse que estaba implicado en el negocio de la prostitución.
Uno de los cafishios confesó que le pagaba 18000 pesos mensuales a dirigentes
policiales y políticos. La privación ilegal de la libertad y explotación
de las mujeres era posible gracias a la vista gorda de gobernantes y policías.
Como si la humillación de vender sexo no fuera suficiente, además
tenían que darle una parte de sus míseros ingresos a los jefes
de turno.Bacunin de trapo
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HECHA LA LEY, HECHA LA TRAMPA
Los hombres no podemos permitir que cualquier estructura de poder intervenga
en nuestras vidas. Los «derechos» que la burguesía rica y
opulenta nos tiran como migajas, escondiéndose detrás de la represión
armada traen aparejados también obligaciones, responder a tu «patria»,
respetar la propiedad privada, inscribirte en sus padrones, tener como organización
una personería jurídica, CUIT, DNI. ¿A quién tengo
que justificar mi punto de vista o forma de vida?, ¿Quién les
otorgó esos privilegios?, ¿Por qué he de respetar leyes
que están hechas para cuidar los intereses de los que nos explotan?
Desde la Sociedad de Resistencia de Oficios Varios de la Comarca Andina, llamamos
a la reflexión y la insumisión antiestatal, creemos que tenemos
un solo derecho, el derecho a la libertad, en su máxima expresión
y no esa fragmentacion justificada por jurídicos católicos, asesinos
que consideran a Dios como la punta de la jerarquía, y detrás
de esta idea absurda justifican su totalitarismo.
Basta de leyes, la lucha por la emancipación del ser humano no puede
ser sostenida en la legalidad, los
partidos, sindicatos peronistas, o de cualquier otra corriente autoritaria no
hacen mas que afirmar la propiedad privada, esa que nosotros queremos expropiar
y trabajar, ocupar y desarrollar, ahí donde podremos sembrar la semilla
de la evolución social que perseguimos hacia la realización de
nuestro comunismo anarquista. G. F. (Sociedad de Resistencia de Oficios Varios de la Comarca Andina)
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TODO ESTADO ES ASESINO
No es difícil de ver que día a día el autoritarismo crece y se fortalece; el Estado Democrático –una de sus caras– en estos momentos nos demuestra el gran control que posee sobre las masas, robándole con inexistentes medidas económicas, las pocas migajas que el trabajador sumiso se gana con torturantes horas de trabajo, medidas que jamás van a favorecer al trabajador ya que estas sirven solo para alimentar el poder de las mentes que manipulan el sistema político-económico impuesto. El costo de vida aumenta a un nivel insoportable creando así el miedo y la desesperación de la gente de solo pensar que a fin de mes no podrá comer, ignorando que la gran mayoría ya hace varias medidas económicas que muere de hambre, y esto no es todo, porque a aquellos que expresan su discrepancia con el sistema impuesto, los asesinan con sus verdugos a sueldo respaldados por las leyes creadas y dictadas por ellos mismos; ante todo esto la Federación Obrera Regional Argentina propone organizarse contra toda idea autoritaria
las cuales aprovechándose de las necesidades de la gente absorben la
esperanza de la humanidad haciéndole creer que no existe otra forma de
vida; pero esto no es así, la libertad existe y si realmente la queremos
concientizándonos y solidarizándonos la podremos obtener y así
vivir libremente sin que nadie decida por nosotros.
JAZ
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ORGANIZARSE CONTRA EL CAPITALISMO NO ES EVADIRLO (II)
Hubo un tiempo en que prefería ser mendigo y hasta me sentía orgulloso
de viajar en tren, u otro transporte sin pagar. Recuerdo que me sorprendía
y hasta me sentía ofendido al oír decir a un compañero
adherido a la F.O.R.A.: «¡Estoy orgulloso de ser explotado!».
Hoy comprendo que toda la sociedad está enferma y que para encontrar
la cura necesitamos aprender a luchar solidariamente por nuestro trabajo. ¡Salud
y gracias, compañero!
«Que la explotación ha cambiado, la han sofisticado, cambió el modo, el cómo, pero que es explotación no cabe la menor duda; un trabajador que labura 12 o 14 horas por día sigue siendo explotado, un oficinista que trabaja 9 o 12 horas por día también, una empleada doméstica que trabaja todo el día también es explotada, un changarín, un electricista, un minero, etc. también (damos por sentado que explotación es cuando se obliga a vender a una persona su fuerza de trabajo física e intelectual independientemente de la cantidad de horas y del trabajo asignado)», extraído de una revista anarquista.
Allí también dice: «Es sabido que el movimiento anarquista adoptó diversas formas en la mayoría de los países, pero tengamos en cuenta que la lucha esporádica de grupos anarquistas no llega a esclarecer al pueblo sino por medio de la propaganda acompañada con el gesto del ejemplo. Nosotros no queremos quedarnos en el pasado anárquico, queremos ir moldeando la realidad social, pero este moldeado lo haremos en base de los principios del comunismo anárquico, que quede en claro, para nosotros es lo mismo de inmoral el marxismo como el peronismo, el trotkismo como el fascismo, todos defensores y sostenedores del principio de autoridad». (Para más información remitirse a la lectura de la declaración de principios de lo que es la F.O.R.A. del 5° Congreso). Por otro lado, en un escrito de Murray Bookchin se describe a los movimientos juveniles que buscan crear espacios de libertad en instalaciones abandonadas y que para ello se sirven del ideal anarquista pero no de nuestros métodos de organización. Lo que estos jóvenes, que entre otras cosas les gusta pintar una «A» circulada en todas las paredes –dice Bookchin–, no saben que esos «espacios liberados» no pueden existir siempre y cuando sus vecinos no compartan ese sentimiento o simulacro de libertad, así como un «municipio libertario», a despecho de este escritor, no puede existir rodeado de un ejército nacional, de una gendarmería, o sea, de un Estado. Por eso rechazamos estas tendencias que no apuntan a resolver la cuestión social desde el seno de la producción; que es donde realmente se puede practicar el ejercicio sano de la libertad, en las asambleas, para organizar la producción y su distribución por medio de federaciones o sea, de abajo hacia arriba. Perfecto simulacro para que, una vez desatada la revolución social, se organice toda la sociedad de abajo hacia arriba. Llamamos a la formación de Sociedades de Resistencia al Capital, ya sea entre diferentes lugares de trabajo e individuos desocupados, como Oficios Varios o, si se da el caso, entre los mismos compañeros de trabajo de un solo oficio. Esto último, fortalecería más a la asamblea como así también, las Sociedades al federarse fortalecen al movimiento forista e internacional.
Claro que mientras el movimiento obrero y de desocupados vayan de la mano con los partidos políticos son menores nuestras posibilidades de organización. Es menester que aquel que se precie de anarquista ataque a diestra y siniestra a los parlamentaristas y demás jueces y ministros hasta desprenderlos como garrapatas del cuello de los trabajadores. ¡Y a no temer las represalias militares! ¡Si hasta Hitler requirió de la ideología de Marx para fundar un partido obrero! ¡¿A qué esperaremos?!
«No; el bienestar para todos no es un sueño. Podía serlo cuando a duras penas lograba el hombre recolectar ocho o diez hectolitros por hectárea, o construir por su propia mano los instrumentos mecánicos necesarios para la agricultura y la industria. Ya no es un sueño desde que el hombre ha inventado el motor que, con un poco de hierro y algunos kilos de carbón, le da una fuerza de un caballo dócil, manejable, capaz de poner en movimiento la máquina más complicada». «Mas para que el bienestar llegue a ser una realidad, es preciso que el inmenso capital deje de ser considerado como una propiedad privada, de la que el acaparador disponga a su antojo. Es menester que el rico instrumento de la producción sea propiedad común, a fin de que el espíritu colectivo saque de él los mayores beneficios para todos. Se necesita la expropiación».
«EL BIENESTAR DE TODOS, COMO FIN; LA EXPROPIACION, COMO MEDIO.» (La conquista del pan). «La propiedad es el robo», decía Proudhon; pero la expropiación no lo es. Si yo nunca trabajé, ¿porqué voy a tomar lo que no me corresponde? Y aún siendo un niño, si mis padres trabajan entonces tengo un derecho innegable. Pero si ellos robaron el esfuerzo de otras manos, ¿no debería sentir vergüenza de mis privilegios? «Tomar posesión, en nombre del pueblo sublevado, de los graneros de trigo, de los almacenes atestados de ropa y de las casas habitables. No derrochar nada, organizarse enseguida para llenar los vacíos, hacer frente a todas las necesidades, satisfacerlas todas; producir, no ya para dar beneficios, sea a quien fuere, sino para hacer que viva y se desarrolle la sociedad». «... a tomar las casas e instalarse en ellas con arreglo a las necesidades de cada familia; a tomar los víveres acumulados y consumirlos de suerte que conozcan la hartura tanto como conocen el hambre...».
«El derecho al bienestar es la posibilidad de vivir como seres humanos y de criar a los hijos para hacerlos miembros iguales de una sociedad superior a la nuestra; al paso que el derecho al trabajo es un derecho a continuar siempre siendo un esclavo asalariado, un hombre de labor, gobernado y explotado por los burgueses de mañana. EL DERECHO AL BIENESTAR ES LA REVOLUCION SOCIAL; EL DERECHO AL TRABAJO ES, A LO SUMO, UN PRESIDIO INDUSTRIAL.» (La conquista del pan).
SOMOS LOS QUE DEFENDEMOS EL IDEAL SUPERIOR DEL COMUNISMO ANARQUICO, EL IDEAL
SUPERIOR DE JUSTICIA Y DE FRATERNIDAD INTERNACIONAL. NO HABLAMOS NI NECESITAMOS
DE UNA RAZA SUPERIOR; NI SIQUIERA DE UNA MENTE SUPERIOR. SE LUCHA EN POS DE
UNA LIBERTAD SUPERIOR: LA LIBERTAD DE TODOS LOS SERES HUMANOS.
Nota: La primera parte de este artículo apareció en Organización
Obrera nº55, enero 2002.
D. M.
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FESTEJO O DIGNIDAD
Explotación, humillación, sueldos miserables, jornadas laborales
interminables, derecho a huelga limitado...
Y esta lista podría continuar dado que estos, son solo algunos de los
innumerables abusos que deben soportar día a día los trabajadores
en actividad; por demás estaría mencionar lo que padecen los desocupados
(más del 20% de la población activa).
Esta situación es sostenida por la patronal dedicada a la explotación del hombre por el hombre amparada y protegida vilmente por políticos, jueces, abogados, policías, curas y por supuesto los parásitos de las CGTs, cuyos dirigentes utilizan al obrero en beneficio propio y de los empresarios; firmando con estos «convenios de trabajo» donde se pasa siempre por encima de los pocos derechos del asalariado, aumentando así su explotación, haciendo ganar mucho dinero a los empresarios, sin conceder ningún beneficio a quienes se rompen el lomo todos los días.
Otro primero de Mayo sin nada que festejar, solo protestar, luchar y organizarse
contra los miles de atropellos padecidos por los trabajadores acá y en
el resto del mundo, teniendo siempre en la memoria a nuestros compañeros
asesinados por el Estado en Chicago en 1886, solo por creer en la posibilidad
de vivir una sociedad más igualitaria, solidaria y libre; principios
estos defendidos por la F.O.R.A. y sus adherentes.F. A. S.
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EL NEGOCIO
Relación de un empleado. Si aseguro que no soy rico, se me creerá
probablemente. Lo peor es que, de cuando en cuando se necesita gastar más
dinero del que hay, porque la resignación es poca y las tentaciones muchas,
como debe decir la Biblia en alguna parte. En una de estas ocasiones llenas
de pecado me dijo un amigo:
–No necesitas molestar a nadie. Tratándose de esa pequeña
suma y a fin de mes como estamos, nada te será más fácil
que vender tu sueldo. Hay aquí un banco, una verdadera providencia, que
satisfará tu capricho mediante un interés muy razonable.
Pido perdón por descubrir a la faz del pueblo estas intimidades. Sé
perfectamente que a nadie le importan pero, paciencia, que ahora viene el interés:
–Y... ¿cuánto llevan?
–El 2 mensual.
Cosa hecha, pensé. El 24% al año no es nada, en países
donde la plata se gana a espuertas. Vamos allá. Banco X... he aquí
el nombre indicado, sigue reflexionando. Han de llover sobre este establecimiento
bendiciones de los que tienen hambre y sed de un poco de oro. ¡Oh beneficios
del crédito, base del comercio, fuente de la prosperidad de las naciones!
Entro y me aproximo a una de las ventanillas como el penitente a la celosía
del confesionario, y con los ojos suplicantes y la voz temblorosa del que va
a recibir el inmenso favor de que le presten, con absoluta garantía,
el 24%, expongo mi caso.
–¿Es usted accionista? –me pregunta el padre confesor.
–No, señor, usted perdone.
–Tiene que comprar treinta acciones.
–¡Treinta acciones!
–Pero este mes no abona más que treinta acciones. Además
del 2% hay un 8% de depósito. Además...
–Usted dispense. Tenga la amabilidad de decirme cuanto me cobra por los
300 pesos que el tesorero de mi oficina le va a entregar dentro de ocho días.
–Si, señor. (Cálculos rápidos). 69 pesos. (¡¡!!)
Yo; (mareado). –¿Y aún debo... 27 acciones?
Él –Efectivamente.
Yo –Permítame retirarme... No me siento bien.
(Mirada indignada del financista).
Aturdido me arrastro hasta el compañero que me envió a semejante
emboscada. Me mira y sé rie.
–Resultado: me sacan 69 pesos y debo 27 acciones
–Articulo penosamente.
–¿Y que más quieres que ser accionista? Nunca las habrás
visto más gordas.
–¡Lo cierto es que nunca he visto nada igual! Pero esas malditas
acciones ¿Dónde se cotizan?
–En ninguna parte.
–¿Quién las quiere?
–Nadie.
–¿Pero reparte el banco dividendo?
–Nunca.
–Entonces...
–¿Entonces?
–Nada, que así es como se hace la América: deshaciendo a
los americanos.Rafael Barrett (noviembre de 1907)
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LA DEMOCRACIA SI NO ES DIRECTA,
ES UNA FARSA
El pueblo no gobierna sino através de sus representantes, dice la carta magna. Pero estos representantes no son más que delincuentes que viven atrincherados en el Congreso, en los Ministerios y en la Casa Rosada. Junto con los jueces componen la división de poderes que, a costillas nuestras, sostienen al verdadero Poder. El Poder económico y político-militar que castiga al pueblo con hambre y terror. Con ese mismo objetivo y con el pretexto de defender al pueblo productor de los poderosos que los parasitan están los que quieren ocupar su lugar en nombre de la Democracia Proletaria. Al igual que en nuestro país vivimos una democracia que tiene la herencia autoritaria dejada por la última dictadura militar, también la dictadura del Poder Soviético se transformo en un abanico de colores revolucionarios con un único fin: Envenenar al pueblo para matar su autodeterminación y, por consiguiente, eliminar sus aspiraciones de libertad.
Los sindicatos empresariales se llevan parte de la torta y sus dirigentes tienen cargo político. Junto con aquellos que pretenden que «todo el poder sea de los sindicatos» aseguran el futuro de nuestros hijos para mantener amansado al rebaño. Toda nuestra historia, toda nuestra rebelión ha sido pisoteada; amparados por la ley de Asociaciones Profesionales han creado la central obrera más fascista que hemos conocido y que envidiarían Hitler y Mussolini.
El Pueblo sigue aguantando el yugo, el robo y el miedo cada vez más latente. Aun así salen a la calle a descargar la bronca contra el gobierno de turno. ¿Qué es lo que quieren? ¿Gobernantes menos corruptos? ¡¿Menos corruptos?!
En los barrios sé esta aprendiendo a hacer asambleas; pero, ¿es necesario que militantes políticos nos enseñen a tomar decisiones? De esta manera estos militantes se aseguran que no aprendamos a tomar decisiones que ellos tomarán en el futuro por nosotros. O sea, que no aprendamos a hacer Democracia Directa. ¡Que aprendan ellos que no los necesitamos!
Que aprendan que toda la organización social se basta a sí misma
y no requiere, ni ahora ni nunca, de una organización política,
militar ni religiosa que la respalde, la controle ni la castigue. ¡Por
la emancipación integral! ¡Que viva la F.O.R.A.!
D. M.
____________________________________________
ESPERANDO MEDIDAS ECONÓMICAS
Con pocas ilusiones y tristeza el obrero espera medidas económicas que
alivien su situación. La F.O.R.A. conoce que todo cambio de cualquier
signo político solo trae mejora al privilegio y la corrupción.
Los mismos que crean leyes amparándose en un Estado que a espaldas del
hombre beneficia a su inútil maquinaria. Nosotros debemos crear asambleas
permanentes con el fin de derrotar a la infamia que nos hace perder dignidad
y libertad.
David Suaya
____________________________________________
F.O.R.A. Y MOVIMIENTOS DE BASE
Unir compulsivamente al movimiento obrero, no es una simple e ingenua actitud,
sino que es la desvirtualización máxima del encauce que los trabajadores
tuvimos para lograr grandes conquistas, en la cual también desarrollamos
organizaciones para lograr la definitiva (si es que hay algo definitivo en este
mundo) emancipación.
Los políticos profesionales (marxistas, conservadores, fascistas, etc.)
han usado abiertamente este artilugio para desmembrar la capacidad de decisión
de los obreros, aplastando las organizaciones antijerárquicas. El beneficio
que obtuvieron estos parlamentaristas y burócratas fue enorme ya que
todo cambió y de ahí en más pasarían las decisiones
por sus garras politiqueras. Los trabajadores que creyeron en su líder
y en la «unidad» apolítica-antirrevo-lucionaria, se vieron
de la noche a la mañana sin posibilidades de luchar contra toda la gran
maquinaria estatal-capitalista, la fraseología utilizada por estos paladines
parlamentarios proclamaba que a los obreros no se le tenía que inculcar
ideas ajenas a su naturaleza, desconociendo estos señores, que basta
con que se junten dos obreros para que haya un debate de ideas y acciones. Osea
que lo natural es tener una visión ideológica de las cosas, y
por otro lado la contradicción se suscitaba cuando estos jerarcas pedían
el voto a los trabajadores. Entonces con su lógica también se
le estaría pidiendo al obrero algo ajeno a su «naturaleza»,
pues bien, ahí sale a la luz la verdad. Lo que estos parásitos
querían hacer, que lentamente fueron logrando, esto es que al ver el
peligro que los trabajadores por sí solos pudieran voltear esta sociedad
y hacer algo nuevo, tuvieron que por diferentes medios diluir su potente organización
y una vez hecho esto llevaron al proletariado nuevo, sin experiencia, para sus
aparatos políticos, destruyendo lo peligroso, lo que realmente les preocupa,
esto es las actividades de lucha que la F.O.R.A. generaba, llámese huelga
general, desobediencia civil, autogestión, acción directa, escuelas
racionalistas, ateismo, boicot, sabotaje y un largo etc. Así estos tiempos
nos encuentran hechos cenizas, entonces nuestro papel será el del ave
fénix y hacer renacer, esto significa que el pueblo trabajador vuelva
a estrecharse solidariamente de una vez y para siempre, con miras en una sociedad
futura, una sociedad anarquista.L.
____________________________________________
XXXIX. The development 20.05.2002-31.12.2004. 16.12.2005: Argentina has said it will pay its $10bn debt to the International Monetary Fund three years early. 04.04.2007: Teacher killed during demonstration. 28.10.2007: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner elected to president. Argentina's place on the economical-political map.
20.05.2002: Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Argentina demanding food and jobs. The protests - just days before a planned general strike called by the country's main trade union - came as the unemployment rate hit 25% and. The stoppage will be the first industrial action since President Eduardo Duhalde took office in January. With rising poverty and little prospect of an end to the four-year economic crisis, the people of Argentina are desperate for change. In Buenos Aires, at least 10,000 demonstrators packed the streets, while several hundred protesters reportedly blocked entry points into the city. Similar protests were reported to have taken place the provinces of Chubut, Mendoza, San Juan, Santa Fe, Tucman, Salta and La Matanza. As Argentina continued to look for a way out of its economic turmoil, Finance Minister Ricardo Lavagna was due to meet officials from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Tuesday. Argentina is hoping to gain access to much-needed loans suspended by the IMF in December, 2001, after it failed to meet budget-cutting targets. The IMF has insisted Argentina's provinces slash their deficits by about three billion pesos ($585m) from 2001 levels before it releases $22bn in financial aid. 21.05.2002:
"Protests and general strike may be very well, but it is not new libertarian organization and anarchist economics for full employment, fairness and efficiency," the anarchists say. The Argentine government will pay tax rebates to exporters only when they turn in to the Central Bank dollar revenues from sales abroad, according to a national tax agency resolution issued Tuesday. The Central Bank needs those dollars to help support the peso, which has sunk about 70 percent against the dollar since the recession-hit government devalued the currency in January. Under tax agency rules, exporters will only receive payment of some government tax rebates and money owed to them from a now-expired export subsidy if they turn in the export-earned dollars immediately to the Central Bank. The tax agency resolution did not specify which tax rebates will fall under the new rules. But an agency official said it did not include rebates from the value added, or sales, tax. The new measure will enter into force when it is published in the official bulletin this week. The government has accused exporters of delaying the transfer of the dollars to the Central Bank to speculate in the foreign exchange market, sapping the Central Bank of money it needs to prop up the plummeting value of the peso. "The level of exports does not coincide with the level of dollar liquidation (turning in dollars to the Central Bank) and this noncompliance makes the dollar rise (value of the peso fall)," said tax agency head Alberto Abad. Exporters deny the charge. "It's completely wrong to link tax issues with exchange rate issues," said Enrique Mantilla, president of the Argentina Chamber of Exporters. "This is something the government says to explain the rise of the dollar. If we weren't bringing in dollars, the (grain) market wouldn't be operating," said Alberto Rodriguez, head of the Argentine Chamber of Vegetable Oil Industries (CIARA).
Grain firms also say many exports are pre-financed so the money from the sales often enters the country before the goods are shipped. Separately, the government owes grain and oilseed exporters $500 million in value added tax rebates and $140 million from export subsidies from 2001, according to CIARA, which joins major grain firms like Cargill, Louis Dreyfus and Bunge BG.N . Argentina is a major exporter of grains and oilseeds and farm exports are a big dollar earner, making up half of the $26.5 billion worth of goods the country shipped last year. Earlier this year, the government agreed to pay exporters millions of dollars in value added tax rebates in 19 monthly installments starting March. It has paid two of the installments, with the third due May 27. While the government pays exporters the equivalent of $30 million in monthly installments for rebates from 2001 exports -- in pesos at the market rate -- the vegetable oils industry alone generates 130 million pesos monthly in new rebates for 2002. The peso closed Tuesday at 3.48/3.50 per dollar for large-scale transactions. In total, the government owes exporters some $1.2 billion in tax rebate and subsidy payments from both 2001 and 2002, said Rodriguez. "That's too much for the companies to take on the risk," he said, adding that he expected the payment of tax rebates up to March 2002 -- due to be paid starting in June -- would be delayed for at least a month. Farmers have been hesitant to unload their grains in recent weeks because of the lack of signs of a solid government plan to rescue the economy and the financial system from a complete collapse, said the Center for Grain Exports. The volume of grains sold in 2002 is the lowest in 10 years, according to a trader at the port of Rosario, the country's main farm good exporting port.
"More authoritarian bureaucratic tricks will not help much on the economic situation. This is all in all going in the wrong direction", the anarchists say 22.05.2002.The Argentine President, Eduardo Duhalde, faces the first industrial action against his government since he took office in January. The protest - scheduled to begin at midday Wednesday and last 12 hours - has been called by one of the main trade union organisations, the faction of the Argentine Labour Confederation known as the dissident CGT. There are growing demands for change.CGT leader Hugo Moyano said that workers will demand a pay rise and will protest against the austerity measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund before it releases aid to Argentina. On Tuesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina, demanding food, jobs and a change in the government's economic policies. Other trade unions have called a day of strikes next week. Mr Moyano's followers are due to march through the centre of Buenos Aires, before meeting to listen to four speakers in the capital's main square, outside the presidential palace.
Duhalde's austerity plans have met with opposition. However, correspondents say the strike may have a limited impact, as public transport will continue to function as normal. The stoppage was initially scheduled for last week but, in a heavily criticised move, the CGT cancelled it because of bad weather. Workers are demanding a 20% rise in salaries to compensate for inflation since January's devaluation. They are also demanding that cuts in pensions be reversed and that the unemployed be given benefits. In January, Mr Duhalde - a Peronist - became Argentina's fifth president in a month, after a wave of rioting and protests swept the country forcing President Fernando de la Rua to step down. But according to a Gallup poll conducted for one of Argentina's main newspapers, La Nacion, 58% of people believe the country needs a new government to overcome the crisis. Of those consulted, 70% said the cause of the recession was political.
"The strike had a limited impact", the anarchists say. 23.05.2002 - Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde has threatened to quit out of exasperation over political squabbling that has delayed reforms demanded by the IMF, a senior aide said on Thursday. Presidential spokesman Eduardo Amadeo said Duhalde pounded his fist and warned lawmakers overnight that he was not interested in staying in the job if spending cuts and Congress' handling of a controversial economic crimes law proceeded too slowly. With daily protests stemming from the soaring poverty now afflicting half of the population of 36-7 million people, and with one in four workers unemployed, Duhalde faces a race against time to secure support for reforms. Bank workers were on strike on Thursday, while unemployed groups blocked roads across the country to decry poverty. Protesting depositors banged pots and pans outside banks in Buenos Aires to demand that frozen savings be returned to them. "The President's warning yesterday was a strong one," Amadeo told local radio station Continental. "Duhalde said that 'At this pace, I am not interested."' "He said 'I am working 20 hours a day and it is killing me, and it seems others are not taking stock of what is going on.' So he hit his fist on the table and warned this is no joke." There was no explanation as to why Cabinet Chief Alfredo Atanasof had earlier publicly denied that such a threat was made. Local dailies on Thursday had cited unnamed legislative sources as saying that Duhalde had threatened to resign as a strong-arm tactic to get lawmakers to pass crucial reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
Many Argentines would be delighted to see Duhalde go. Protesters marching in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata south of the capital staged a mock lynching of Argentina's fifth president since mid-December. "We have no work, no money, no food. We are fed up with this situation," one furious demonstrator said, as a fellow protester wearing a rubber Duhalde mask stood on a stool, with a noose around his neck and palms clasped, begging for mercy. Central Bank chief Mario Blejer also was reported to have threatened to resign on Wednesday but was persuaded to stay. The episode heightened the political uncertainty clouding hopes of soon clinching crucial IMF aid, which could in turn lead to loans from other multilateral institutions. In one note of relief for Duhalde, Congress and government sources said the lower house was finally due to debate whether to reform or ditch a law governing economic crimes that the IMF has made clear is a key condition for accessing frozen aid. The fund demands the repeal of the broad "economic subversion" law, under which a host of foreign bankers were barred from leaving Argentina while a judge investigated whether they had recently abetted capital flight. The bill to eliminate the law -- used in the 1970s by a military junta to stop guerrillas from getting financing -- has been mired in Congress for weeks due to bickering. Another hitch halting progress toward an IMF accord is that some powerful provinces have backtracked on vows to slash their budget deficits by 60 percent in line with fund demands. Duhalde is due to meet with provincial governors in La Pampa in central Argentina on Monday after Buenos Aires province, Argentina's richest but most heavily indebted, threatened this week not to sign an IMF-demanded budget deficit slashing pact unless it got government aid. Buenos Aires province, like a dozen other cash-starved provinces, has been forced to print its own bonds to pay state worker salaries. Interior Minister Jorge Matzkin said the meeting could also discuss bringing forward elections due in Sept. 2003, though Duhalde has repeatedly ruled out an early vote. Getting the IMF on its side is bankrupt Argentina's only hope of unlocking billions of dollars worth of aid that it crucially needs to underpin a banking system on its knees and help revive a moribund economy stuck in a four-year recession. The government has yet to announce final details of a plan to return frozen savings in the form of bonds to help end a liquidity crunch strangling the economy. The bonds could be used to buy homes, cars or even shares in local companies. Brokerage Allaria Ledesma said in a research note that the "weakness of (Argentina's) political image is stopping it from dealing with the underlying problems."
"We agree," the anarchists say 24.05.2002. Argentine supermarket sales tumbled 31.5 percent in April compared with a year ago in terms of volume of goods, the economy ministry said on Friday. Prices for supermarket goods rose 44.7 percent between January and April, the ministry said in a statement, as the January devaluation of the Argentine peso sparked inflation. Sales in April in terms of income -- not particularly indicative on a comparative basis due to inflation -- fell 2.5 percent from a year earlier to 1.149 billion pesos ($321.96 million), the ministry said. Spending, total demand, has been choked by the four-year recession and a freeze on bank deposits. Most Argentines' salaries have remained frozen or have even been cut despite constantly rising prices for food staples. President Eduardo Duhalde, threatening to quit if he fails to garner support for plans to "rescue Argentina from economic chaos", i.e. just creating more of it, suffered a major setback Friday after legislators rebelled against a key reform demanded by the IMF. Highlighting Duhalde's weak grip on power, Congress's lower house shelved reforms to an "economic subversion" law, used by 1970s military dictators to quash dissidents, that the International Monetary Fund wants changed as a condition for billions of dollars in vital aid. Duhalde has wrongly staked his future on aid from the IMF, which dislikes the economic subversion law because it gave judges carte-blanche to investigate bankers in what investors fear is a witch-hunt to distract from Argentina's worst economic crisis. Rock bottom in polls and facing daily street protests, Duhalde is the fifth president since December. The recession has put the banks on the brink of collapse and brought the economy to a virtual standstill."We are faced with these suspicions and rumors (of early elections). But we've a job to do: to get Argentina out of this crisis," said Interior Minister Jorge Matzkin. Polls show about half of Argentines want early elections in this agriculture-rich nation of 36 million people.
The narrowly averted resignation Wednesday of the Central Bank head Mario Blejer, a 20-year IMF veteran respected by lenders abroad, compounded uncertainty if the government could take any measures to ease the crisis. Political wrangling despairs ordinary Argentines, already poorer from the government's seizure in December of $40 billion in saving deposits, to stop a run on the banks. Those deposits are now worth a fraction with this year's 70 percent devaluation of the peso and soaring inflation. With politicians unable to show their face in public for fear of being assaulted, Duhalde has backed down from Saturday's traditional parade to the Cathedral in a parade to commemorate Independence Day. "Every day they fight among themselves, promising everything and doing nothing," said a person selling jewelry from a supermarket trolley by a railway station crowded with hawkers. Failure to win IMF aid would isolate Argentina, a bete noire of investors which is already unable to get private credit after defaulting on part of $140 billion public debt. Argentina's political and economic uncertainties have punished local markets in recent months and depressed local foreign exchange and share markets Friday. The foundations of what was one of the richest countries in the world a century ago are under threat. At least 50 police have been killed this year in a wave of crime. The middle class, once the strongest in Latin America, live in fear of a growing numbers of robberies and kidnaps. Armed guards have been posted outside private schools in the capital amid reports of the kidnapping of children for cash. The capital, once dubbed the Paris of Latin America, is ringed by shantytowns resembling the worst of the Third World. Soup kitchens have sprung up to supplant vastly insufficient government aid and children are increasingly going hungry.
25.05.2002: "Some simple income and demand economics will probably do the trick, but Duhalde seems not to be in that mood," the anarchists say.Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna is to unveil to governors on Monday the plan to be adopted to lift the banking freeze which includes a new tax on companies that benefited from a “pesification” of their debts, Economy Ministry sources said yesterday. Lavagna held a meeting yesterday morning with President Eduardo Duhalde and discussed the general outlines of the plan that will be used to lift the banking freeze. The plan would allow depositors a voluntary swap of their frozen deposits for a bond that could be used to buy real estate, cars and even state assets. Depositors will have up to 30 days to choose among the different options, including the dollarization of financial instruments that had been pesified. Another proposal for which Lavagna hopes to get the blessing of the governors is to tax those companies that benefited from a pesification of their debts if the resulting amount was in excess of three million pesos. This would be a one-off tax and would provide the Treasury with revenue of some two billion pesos. The tax rate would rise on higher amounts and Lavagna hopes to get the go-ahead from governors by sharing out 800 million pesos among the provinces of the two billion pesos collected. Lavagna and his team are also working on reducing the period in which exporters have to sell their dollars, from 120 to 60 days, although this move is opposed by exporters on technical grounds.
26.05.2002: "More bureaucratic tricks without any significant effect on the real economical problems of Argentina," the anarchists say. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde, rock bottom in the polls and unable to end a devastating recession that sparked deadly riots late last year, on Sunday denied speculation he plans to quit at this week's meeting with powerbrokers from his own party. Only days after threatening to resign unless a bitterly divided Congress backed reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund, Duhalde told local radio it would "make no sense" to move up presidential elections slated for late 2003. Argentina's fifth leader since December's deadly riots also rejected growing talk that powerful provincial governors could make the decision for him by forcing him to resign at a meeting on Monday in La Pampa that analysts say could decide the fate of his presidency. "They're not even going to bring up the topic of (early) elections," Duhalde said. "I've talked with all of them. They realize something that is fundamental: If there were elections now, they wouldn't have any support from Congress. The same thing that's happening to me would happen to them."
Polls show that most Argentines think Duhalde should step aside immediately. But many governors, while making no secret of their eventual presidential hopes, are said to be wary of taking the helm with the nation's financial system on the brink of collapse and unemployment soaring near 25 percent. Ongoing daily protests barged their way on Saturday night into the temple of Argentine haute couture, Buenos Aires' famed Colon opera house. Demonstrators broke into the upper balcony, chanted "All the politicians must go!" and threw paper leaflets, disrupting a ballet for several minutes. Many governors have ignored Duhalde's pleas for them to make steep budget cuts in their provinces, a key condition for desperately needed IMF loans, arguing that further austerity could spark a return of December's riots that left 27 dead. However, most have shied away from publicly calling for Duhalde to quit, offering vague support in the apparent hope the leader appointed by Congress in January will continue to absorb the political fallout from a chaotic recession about to enter its fifth year. Asked if Duhalde should call early elections, Cordoba province Gov. Jose Manuel de la Sota told Sunday's edition of Clarin newspaper: "If the president considers that he should take the measure of bringing elections forward, then he should notify the country." Many analysts and politicians believe Monday's meeting could set the groundwork for two very different outcomes. If the meeting goes well, Duhalde's increased political clout could spur Congress to end weeks of foot-dragging and repeal a controversial economic crimes law opposed by the IMF. That could then allow the government to implement its plan to ease a hated freeze of bank deposits. However, a meltdown of support could leave the reforms stalled and deprive Duhalde of the power to push through his plan to turn some frozen deposits into long-term government bonds, which has received only mild support from local banks. "I don't have any idea what's going to come out of Monday's meeting," said James Neilson, a respected local political analyst. "It could go either way. Duhalde is totally alone."
After several Peronist Party governors simply failed to show up for a similar meeting in December, then-President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa resigned that same day, citing a lack of political backing. Duhalde said on Saturday he felt "alone and without political support," but on Sunday denied a front-page report in La Nacion that he was depressed and considering quitting. "I'm not depressed, but I am very worried. I would be sick if I wasn't worried by this situation," Duhalde said. "I don't think anybody can lead Argentina out of the worst crisis in its history unless we're all on the same side." "Yes, on the people's side, not the authorities, " the anarchists say 27.05.2002: " But all the bureaucratic tricks of Duhalde mostly are directed at trying to leave the plutarchs' income untouched and making quick money for the public sector and political upper classes, and the policy is not in the interest of the people ."Days after threatening to quit unless he got more support from the nation's political leadership, Argentina's president told powerful provincial leaders on Monday "time runs out this week" for them to make IMF-mandated budget cuts. In a meeting that could make or break his presidency, Eduardo Duhalde tried to coax the governors to stop months of foot dragging and meet the International Monetary Fund's conditions for aid, which is desperately needed to stabilize a chaotic four-year recession. "We are completely conscious of the fact that this crisis is moving at 100 kilometers per hour but we're moving very slowly," Duhalde told the governors in a nationally televised speech. "Time runs out this week."
28.05.2002: "An IMF loan will not help the people much, but mainly the authorities," the anarchists say.Reuters news agency reported about a senior U.S. official on Tuesday urged Argentina to reach an agreement with International Monetary Fund as quickly as possible as the best guarantee against civil unrest. Argentina is hoping to strike a multibillion dollar deal with the fund on a new economic program but first the country has to fulfill some IMF-requested conditions. The U.S. official said the cash-strapped country should be able to take the necessary measures. "They only have to come into agreement on two or three more important but doable areas," the Bush administration official, who did not want to be named, said. "It can be done and we urge them to do it, and we are certainly hopeful that that will happen and that's the best guarantee against civil disturbances." Days after threatening to quit, President Eduardo Duhalde said on Monday night he would stay in office after receiving backing from powerful provincial leaders for IMF-mandated reforms. The leader said calling elections would be going from a "difficult situation to anarchy or chaos". 29.05.2002 The anarchists say Duhalde "is a big bluff. The situation is already populist chaos. Of course it may develope to even more populist fascistoid chaos, but to think new elections would create something close to or significant anarchy, i.e. real democracy for the people, is quite overoptimistic. The IAT says although Duhalde probably misinterprets and mix up anarchy with the opposite, ochlarchy, it may theoretically be interpreted as anarchy in the real meaning of the word, and thus we will not give Duhalde a new Brown Card, just a warning against mixing up anarchy with authoritarian tendencies. As the IMF loan will not solve the basic economical problems, it will not help the people much, and thus probably not stop the ongoing civil unrest, more than quite marginally."Duhalde: hell no, I won't go! It would “make no sense” to move up presidential elections slated for September 2003.
Embattled caretaker President Eduardo Duhalde yesterday denied speculation he plans to quit or call early presidential elections at today’s crucial meeting with powerbrokers from his own party.Only days after threatening to resign unless a bitterly divided Congress backed reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund, Duhalde told local radio it would “make no sense” to move up presidential elections slated for September 2003.The President — seen in a pensive mood in the photo during Saturday’s Te Deum ceremony in the City Cathedral — rejected growing talk that powerful provincial governors could make the decision for him by forcing him to resign at a meeting in La Pampa today that analysts say could decide the fate of his presidency.“They’re not even going to bring up the topic of (early) elections,” Duhalde said. “I’ve talked with all of them. They realize something that is fundamental: if there were elections now, they wouldn’t have any support from Congress. The same thing that’s happening to me would happen to them.” Reports said the meeting with governors will have “an open agenda.” Duhalde boarded the Tango 01 presidential plane for the central province of La Pampa yesterday afternoon. Upon arrival, he held a private meeting with a few governors who had already arrived, among them host Governor Rubén Marín.“The President must continue at the job. We cannot have another transition president,” said Marín. “Calling elections is exclusively for the President to decide,” said Gildo Insfrán, the governor of Formosa. Polls show that most Argentines think Duhalde should step aside immediately. But many governors, while making no secret of their eventual presidential hopes, are said to be wary of taking the helm with the nation’s financial system on the brink of collapse and unemployment soaring near 25 percent. Many governors have ignored Duhalde’s pleas for them to make steep budget cuts in their provinces, a key condition for desperately needed IMF loans, arguing that further austerity could spark a return of December’s riots that left 27 dead.
However, most have shied away from publicly calling for Duhalde to quit, offering vague support in the apparent hope the leader appointed by Congress in January will continue to absorb the political fallout from a chaotic recession about to enter its fifth year. Asked if Duhalde should call early elections, Córdoba Peronist Governor José Manuel de la Sota said yesterday: “If the president considers that he should take the measure of bringing elections forward, then he should notify the country.” Many analysts and politicians believe Monday’s meeting could set the groundwork for two very different outcomes. If the meeting goes well, Duhalde’s increased political clout could spur Congress to end weeks of foot-dragging and repeal the controversial “economic subversion” law opposed by the IMF. However, a meltdown of support could leave the reforms stalled and deprive Duhalde of the power to push through his plan to turn some frozen deposits into long-term government bonds, which has received only mild support from local banks. A quarter of children go hungry: Nearly six out of 10 Argentine children live in poverty and over a quarter are so poor that they are going hungry, according to a new study of the impact of economic collapse here.After newspapers and television showed images this week of starving children in the province of Tucumán with sticklike limbs, staring eyes and stunted growth, Equis consultancy has said 58 percent of children, or 5.7 million, live in poverty and 27.7 percent or 2.7 million are so poor they are underfed. “If they do not get outside help, their basic biological survival is at risk,” said a report from the independent consultancy, whose studies into poverty are widely respected. Private and official data coincides that about half of the 36 million population of Argentina are now poor, while a quarter of the workforce is unemployed. Argentina, a beacon of foreign investment and free-market reform in the 1990s and one of the world’s richest nations in the early 20th century, crashed into crisis after a four-year recession led to January’s debt default and peso devaluation.
The 70 percent drop in the value of the peso against the dollar, plus a draconian freeze on bank savings in December and limits on cash withdrawals to halt a panic bank run, have drained the economy and pushed up prices which were stable for a decade of enforced peso-dollar “convertibility” parity. Now even those who do have jobs cannot afford increasingly expensive staple foods, violent crime is on the increase and the caretaker government of Eduardo Duhalde, appointed by Congress in January to rule until 2003 elections, is unable to alleviate the suffering. “People can’t take any more. Hunger and child malnutrition have got a grip of our country like never before,” said Jorge Ceballos, one of the leaders of an unemployed protest group that marched on the Social Welfare Ministry on Thursday. Last week the government began dishing out emergency aid to over one million poor families, worth 150 pesos a month each, but there were widespread reports of abuse by local officials charging impoverished recipients a “commission.” “The worst kind of corruption is letting children die of hunger,” said Catholic nun Asunción Scaduto, who feeds 200 Wichi Indian mothers and children every day in Salta province, on the northwest border with Bolivia and Paraguay. “We have to bury children who die of hunger sometimes,” she told local television. Dr. Jorge Coronel at Concepción Hospital, which covers poor areas of sugar cane and lemon orchards in Tucumán province, whose starving children have been featured on local media last week, said “Grade one” malnutrition, with a 25 percent weight deficit, was now common among children under two. “Hunger in rural areas is very common,” he said. In nearby Villa Quinteros, mothers held up children as much as 10 kilograms underweight in front of television cameras.
30.05.2002: "It is time for anarchist economical demand and income policy," the anarchists say. Tens of thousands of people across Argentina have taken part in a day of protest against the government's handling of the economic crisis - the worst in the country's history. There were road blocks across main access roads for much of the working day, and in the evening several thousand people gathered for a demonstration outside the presidential palace in the capital, Buenos Aires. President Duhalde is pushing ahead with unpopular spending cuts. The day of action was called by the third largest and most left-wing of the country's union federations, the CTA. They succeeded in organising a truly nationwide protest, with marches, demonstrations, stoppages and above all road blocks in virtually all provinces. Little violence was reported, apart from the throwing of a Molotov cocktail at a government building in the province of Entre Rios. Many health workers and teachers stayed at home, although adherence to the strike by these groups was by no means total, and the larger Peronist unions largely stayed out of the strike. The protest may have been widespread and the burning tyres at road blocks eye-catching, but the demonstrations were hardly massive shows of strength. The crowd which gathered outside Congress in Buenos Aires during the afternoon was only a few thousand strong, perhaps a reflection of the hopelessness which many people feel in the face of Argentina's overwhelming problems. Half the population is living in poverty, unemployment is at record levels and there is real hunger in the provinces. The protestors all agree on what they do not like - corrupt, old-style politicians, spending cuts and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - but they are divided on what should be done next. Some want early elections - others say there is no point since there are no credible politicians left.In the meantime, President Eduardo Duhalde believes the only thing he can do is to push through the unpopular spending cuts and changes to the law which the International Monetary Fund is demanding.Whether he can keep enough support among his fellow politicians to achieve these things is another matter.
"Time will show. We have given the right direction of the demand and incomepolicy, but there is no sufficient coalition of real democratical organizations to implement the solution,"the anarchists say 31.05.2002. Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde signed on Friday a decree partly lifting a bank deposit freeze that has been a lightning rod of public anger against the government and paralyzed a economy already suffering from a four-year recession. "The president signed the decree," Cabinet Chief Alfredo Atanasof told reporters. The freeze of originally some $40 billion of savings was instituted in December to end a run on banks -- some 20 percent of all deposits left banks in a few months -- by investors increasingly nervous after a four-year recession. That exit of savings threatened to topple the financial system. While details of the decree were not made immediately available, the plan envisages allowing Argentines to swap their 30 billion pesos (some $8.3 billion) in frozen term deposits for government bonds denominated in dollars or pesos. If Argentines reject the bond option, they will be given bank certificates that can be used to buy some goods such as property or vehicles, according to government sources. What they will not be given is cash. While angry savers protest outside banks daily demanding their cash back, the government says that Argentine banks -- which have lost billions of dollars from devaluation -- simply do not have the liquidity to pay back all their deposits in cash. The partial end of the deposit freeze is one of several conditions -- including cuts in deficit spending by provincial governments and reforms to some economic laws -- set by the IMF for providing billions of dollars in aid. In another victory for the embattled Duhalde -- who threatened to resign if these IMF conditions were not met -- Buenos Aires, the richest and most indebted province, signed on Friday a deal to cut deficit spending. Eaten away this year by further withdrawals through court orders as well as a 70 percent devaluation in the local peso currency, term deposits in the freeze now only total some 30 billion pesos. A similar amount is held in checking accounts mostly untouched by the freeze.
"This is not indicating sufficient amount of demand hike to do away with the unemployment," the anarchists say 01.06.2002.Argentina's President, Eduardo Duhalde, has signed a decree that outlines a plan to end the controversial and unpopular freeze on bank deposits. The government imposed restrictions six months ago to stop an anticipated run on bank accounts which would have triggered the collapse of the entire banking system. The government's new plan comes after six months of bitter complaints about the morality of blocking access to what rightfully belongs to the people.The banking freeze has kept deposits locked up since last December to protect the nation's fragile banking industry from collapse. But the government's plan does not give the public unfettered access to its cash, as so many have been demanding in daily protests. Instead, President Duhalde has offered to swap 30bn pesos ($8.5bn) of deposits for government bonds that can be converted to cash in either five or 10 years' time. Deposit holders who do not want the bonds will be given bank certificates that they can use to buy big ticket items such as properties and cars.The restrictions on cash withdrawals remain in place, but the government is also going to allow exporters to open dollar bank accounts for foreign trade. The hope is that the package will help stoke consumer demand, which has all but dried up in the country's worst economic crisis in its history. It also goes at least some of the way towards meeting the conditions the IMF has been demanding before it agrees to another multi-billion dollar aid package. But it is not likely to be enough to ease the public anger with politicians for enforcing the restrictions in the first place, or enough to restore faith in the banking system. Polls consistently show that the majority of Argentines now have so little faith in their financial institutions that in future they will stuff their savings under the mattress as soon as they can get access to them.
"It is easy to calculate that the demand hike will not be sufficient to do away with the present unemployment, " the anarchists say 02.06.2002.
03.06.2002: President Eduardo Duhalde yesterday said he will remain as head of state until 2003. Duhalde was indirectly responding to Córdoba’s governor José Manuel De la Sota, who for the first time openly called for early elections. The President was speaking from the province of Entre Ríos where he visited a local university. Duhalde said that “elections are not the important issue at the moment,” and that the main thing now is to make the country function after reaching an agreement with the international community. In an interview published yesterday by Argentine daily Buenos Aires Económico, De la Sota urged Duhalde to realize his is “undoubtedly a weak government” and to call for early elections.
“Governors do not co-govern,” emphasized De la Sota, who added that by signing a 14-point agreement to, among other things, reduce provincial spending, the provinces “are marking the path the government has to follow after we (the governors) heard from the president that he planned to abandon the international organizations and implement an "autonomous" model (read: nationalist-fascistoid).” De la Sota said he was not ready to become president although he did not rule out an alliance with fellow Peronist Governor Carlos Reutemann. Buenos Aires Governor Felipe Solá, in turn, said that before calling early elections there are priority problems that have to be solved. Solá added that it was very easy to call for early elections because in that way “a person can escape suspicions that he is holding to a post when everyone is demanding the renewal of the political class.” Solá also warned that elections are not a magical solution and that the President is the person that has the legal power and should call elections. The Buenos Aires province governor added that, at the moment, he backs the decision of the President to “stay and try to solve the problems”. 04.06.2002: With Argentina slumped in its fourth year of recession, cash-strapped banks can’t pay out their customers’ savings. Ordinary folk are reduced to bartering for basic foods. Unemployment is so high that 3,500 people a day join the ranks of the officially poor. Who’s to blame? Capitalism, according to many Argentines.
With free-market policies held responsible — rightly or wrongly — for much of this once-prosperous country’s current misery, a group of young professionals is finding it pays to be ethical executives. Adapting the business model of The Hunger Site, a US-based charity Web site, these executives, all of them volunteers, last month launched www.porloschicos.com to feed hungry children in a fast-growing shanty town in Buenos Aires’ outskirts. The name of the site translates as forthekids.com.
Every time a visitor clicks on the site’s “donate a free meal” button, one child gets fed. In return, sponsors get advertising space. "This a quite marginal action and it will not solve the basic economical-political problems in Argentina," the anarchists say: "It is a combination of statism and plutarchy, in a populist chaotic mix, statism without plan, and capitalism without markets, that is the main problem. The best solution is to get on the road towards a libertarian planned economy and similar markets, with less statism and plutarchy, a rational libertarian socialism.Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle has caused diplomatic uproar by describing neighbouring Argentines as a bunch of thieves. The president made the remarks in an interview broadcast widely in Argentina. He went on to say that his Argentine counterpart, Eduardo Duhalde, had no political power and no idea of where he was taking the country. President Duhalde has called a meeting with President Batlle for later on Tuesday to discuss the matter. It is not often that world leaders get as frank as this in public. Pounding the table, Mr Batlle told his interviewer that Argentines were "a bunch of thieves from start to finish". "You know the amount of corruption in Argentina," he said. The interview recorded for the Bloomberg news agency was intended to focus on the impact of Argentina's dramatic economic crisis on its tiny north-eastern neighbour. Uruguay's economy depends heavily on banking and tourism from Argentina, and both industries have all but dried up under the weight of the crash. The interview began staidly enough, but when it ended, Mr Batlle offered to say a little more. That is when he broke into his angry tirade, attacking not just Argentines in general, but President Eduardo Duhalde in person. "With Duhalde, I can't suggest anything," the Uruguayan leader said. "He doesn't have political strength, he doesn't have backing and he doesn't know where he's headed." The remarks were repeated time and again on local television and radio in Argentina. Although it is not clear if Mr Batlle knew the impact the interview would have, he hastily called a news conference to insist that he is committed to"fully supporting" Argentina's government in its moment of crisis. He also told reporters that sometimes he gets carried away."Some people here say I'm all spontaneous combustion," he admitted.
05.06.2002: "It is no news to us that Argentina is the land of mutual looting and ochlarchy," the anarchists say: "Thieves are an all to nice expression".06.06.2002: The head of the International Monetary Fund said yesterday he expects to announce next week that an IMF team will travel to Buenos Aires to lay the foundations for a possible new loan agreement. “Enough (progress) has happened to send what we have offered for weeks — an advanced mission to prepare for the negotiations,” IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler said in an interview, adding that the announcement would come, “Next week or so.”Köhler said the team would lay the groundwork for a later mission that could discuss the details of an economic plan that could restart aid which has been frozen since December of last year. But he stressed that while “there is progress and we are realistic, there needs to be a credible framework and this has to be checked and clarified.”In Buenos Aires however there was a feeling that despite the increasing number of changes being implemented by the government — as demanded by the IMF — there were still doubts at home and abroad whether this would be enough to satisfy the multilateral lending body.Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said yesterday the IMF was unhappy with the way the economic subversion law it opposed was ultimately abolished.
"More IMF loans will not solve the basic political economical problems", the anarchists say.06.06.2002: WASHINGTON- A top International Monetary Fund official on Thursday reinforced the differences between her proposal and a U.S. plan for trying to prevent devastating debt crises like the one seen recently in Argentina. The U.S. Treasury, broadly backed by other Group of Seven nations, has proposed inserting clauses into bonds which make it easier to restructure a country's debt if it has difficulty paying. But IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger drummed home her view that such clauses can be problematic and therefore a bankruptcy court is needed as well. "Collective action clauses...are one way to provide the key features of the new approach," Krueger said in a speech here. "But they have important drawbacks." Such clauses would mean a majority of creditors holding a bond would dictate the terms of a restructuring. At the moment, a few bondholders can upset the restructuring of a bond if they do not see eye to eye with the proposal put forward by the country in trouble.
Krueger said the clauses have limitations because they only bind holders of a single bond issue, they may deter countries from issuing new debt and creditors from exchanging existing debt, several legal jurisdictions are involved, and domestic laws of some countries do not provide a basis for minority creditor rights to be modified without their consent. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor told reporters, after speaking at the same event as Krueger, that he is keen to get collective action clauses in place as quickly as possible. "Something we've always stressed is that we want to move ahead on that as fast as we can," he said. "Right now the discussion is more about how to implement them." He said the Treasury proposal has won positive feedback from bankers and investors. Krueger called for a new forum with special legal powers which she said would be free from IMF influence. "In the end I am sure that we will need a statutory underpinning for the new approach as well," she said. Such an approach would be based on an amendment to the IMF's articles of agreement -- the rules that govern the fund. This would ensure a uniform interpretation of the rules but would not be used to assert IMF influence on decisions. A forum would be made up of candidates nominated by the 183 member countries of the IMF. They would nominate different people to the executive board to limit IMF influence over decisions and would elect a president who would choose three panel members. In addition, an independent committee of experts would sit at the forum. The group would administer creditor claims and resolve disputes among them. Key decisions would be certified and would need some way to make them legally binding, Krueger said. And this would mean each country would have to respect the certification. "We believe that a dispute settlement forum - small in size, limited in role, and demonstrably independent in its membership and operation - is the best way to achieve this," she said. "To help avoid chaotic defaults or expensive bailouts in the future, that is surely a price worth paying."
"Cutting debt one way or the other will mainly increase the looting," the anarchists say. "Of course the arch-rich Argentinian plutarchy should pay most of the debt: 1. by withdrawel of financial savings outside Argentina. 2. selling Argentinian domestic realcapital to foreigners. 3. By increased exportsurplus. And the necessary exportsurplus will contribute to more employment. This is a part of the anarchist economical plan."07.06.2002: IMF plays hard to get, putting off a decision on sending its team until next week after earlier suggesting it was all but on its way. The government of Peronist President Eduardo Duhalde, desperately seeking an IMF deal to brave the country’s worst crisis in history, yesterday urged the Fund exercise some restraint after its Managing Director Horst Köhler said that Argentina’s delay in putting forward an economic plan irritates him. 08.06.2002 Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said on Saturday that he was surprised the IMF was still not satisfied with recent reforms. "I am surprised, because there was a general acceptance that once conditions were met, there would be negotiations," Duhalde told local radio. Sources say the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is still not satisfied with a string of economic and political reforms Argentina has made in order to woo aid. The money is vital to ensure Argentina will not default on payments to the IMF as it did on part of the $140 billion debt pile.The IMF is said to be concerned that an abolished economic subversion law -- which left bankers exposed to possible arrest over capital flight -- is being resurrected through another law. Duhalde said he was studying tweaking that law to allay IMF concerns. "They want a total veto. Totally abolishing the four articles of the law is impossible," Duhalde added. "But what has been suggested to me is that there is one highly inconvenient article in particular opposed by (the fund) that is again bringing up discussions over the reliability of our laws."
"Start up production and hike exports and employment etc. to do away with the debt in stead of borrowing more to postpone the repayment." the anarcists say. 09.06.2002 The Argentine government will give banks the option to return frozen savings accounts to furious depositors as part of its strategy to end an unpopular cash freeze, Finance Secretary Guillermo Nielsen said Sunday. Several banks operating in Argentina have already signaled they will return cash trapped in the system after the freeze was imposed in December to stop a run of withdrawals that threatened to sink the banks, Nielsen told daily Pagina 12 in an interview. The government has already unveiled plans to partially ease the savings withdrawal clamp -- as the IMF demands -- by offering depositors a variety of government bonds in lieu of cash to help end Argentina's worst-ever economic crisis.
However by shifting the onus of deciding whether to return savings onto the banks, those who decide not to return cash will be left facing angry mobs of savers who have smashed their windows and pelted their facades with eggs in recent months. "Several banks have already advised us they will call their clients to give back their deposits," Nielsen said, saying banks would each be allowed separately to decide whether to return the cash thanks to a new decree to be published Monday. "The idea is to change the general mood: to stop fighting and do business," he added, saying some banks were preparing advertising campaigns to flag the fact they are prepared to give depositor's money back. However there were no details about the conditions under which savings, which in many cases was originally held in dollars and forcibly changed into pesos now worth a fraction of their original dollar value, would be returned. President Eduardo Duhalde's beleaguered government has offered to swap 30 billion pesos of term deposits ($8.3 billion or half of all accounts) for government bonds as one way out the 6-month-long savings withdrawal freeze. The International Monetary Fund -- which had made ending the freeze one of several conditions for considering aid vitally needed to help end a grinding four-year recession -- had favored forcing depositors to accept bonds whether they liked it or not. But by making the bonds optional, the success of the plan lies entirely at the discretion of depositors -- many of whom have vowed never to put their money in a bank again, according to recent polls. "There's no way I would accept a government bond instead of my money," said an office worker, whose life savings was trapped by the freeze. "Who in their right mind would trust the politicians we have to set things right? With a bond you'll never get your money back," she added.
10.06.2002. Argentina's Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna and the International Monetary Fund's No. 2 official Anne Krueger spoke over the telephone on Monday, but failed to make the progress needed to announce when talks about a much-needed new loan might begin. "They did talk and they will be talking again in the near future, in the next day or so," IMF spokesman Tom Dawson said. "What about some real economical policy", the anarchist say:" Say, production and employment, instead of waiting for more loans..." 11.6.2002. The IMF is coming to Argentina, says Duhalde, but BBC says IMF is not. The government says it will soon hold elections, i.e. if IMF is co-operating, giving new loans...just more flip-flops, says the anarchists 12.06.2002 The International Monetary Fund has announced it is sending an eagerly-awaited mission to Argentina on Thursday. But it says it will be an advance team to discuss economic programmes, rather than the release of new loans at this stage. 13.06.2002: Argentina has admitted it is unlikely to worm any new money out of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a result of talks going on in Buenos Aires. The beleaguered country is desperate for fresh aid of perhaps $9bn (£6.2bn) to stabilise its economy. But currently the best that can be hoped for is probably that the payments due this year will be rescheduled, a senior ruling party figure said.
"Well, the Duhalde-government seems to be a little more realistic for a while", the anarchists say 14.06.2002.Despite approval yesterday of a special subsidy for bus companies, the government failed to dissuade them from continuing with a night-hour lockout which successfully started on Wednesday night. Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna signed a resolution yesterday afternoon authorizing the payment of a subsidy for metropolitan bus companies, which have long been complaining about the financially crippling effects of the rapid devaluation of the peso since January. The subsidy reportedly grants companies a monthly subsidy of 900 pesos per bus. But leaders of the FATAP bus companies chamber, after meeting last night with government officials, rejected the government’s proposal to leave its distribution in the hands of provincial administrations, and will go ahead with the lockout every day between 11pm and 4am.
"Boycotts ans strikes will not solve the demand, production, employemt and distribution problems in Argentina," the anarchists say. Argentina’s international reserves fell 0.87 percent to below the psychologically significant 10 billion dollar threshold by midweek, the Central Bank said yesterday. International reserves fell to 9.97 billion dollars by June 11-12 after the Central Bank spent millions of dollars in reserves this week in a failed attempt to prop up the depreciating peso. Reserves have fallen over 30 percent since the end of 2001. After a three-day rise early this week, the domestic currency closed yesterday virtually unchanged from the start of June at 3.60/3.62 per dollar in large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange market compared with Thursday’s close of 3.53/3.55 despite the Central Bank selling about 19.5 million in dollars. The FATAP bus companies chamber announced that it reached an agreement with the government and that it was lifting as of last night a nighttime lockout launched on Wednesday in the metropolitan area.The accord envisages a government subsidy of 19 million a month for bus companies nationwide, involving a payment of between 600 and 900 pesos per bus. Under the deal, the government also pledges to maintain the current cheap fuel price for buses. The protest had suspended service from 11pm to 4am during weekdays. FATAP is also scrapping plans to reduce service to one an hour on Sundays and public holidays.But talks on the distribution of the subsidy will continue.
FATAP wants the government to handle it rather than provincial administrations. 16.06.2002Spanish energy group Repsol said on Sunday that Argentina had agreed to lift restrictions on oil exports in return for a pledge to keep fuel prices steady and guarantee supplies to the local market. Argentina had capped oil product exports to 36 percent of production to guarantee supplies and prevent price increases in the wake of a 72 percent decline in the value of the peso against the dollar earlier this year. "The agreement to lift exports is positive and should help clear up some the doubts that were hanging over the company," a Repsol spokeswoman said. "When will Duahalde try to start real demand and redistribution politics?" the anarchists say 17.06.2002.Facing bleak career prospects in a country crushed by its worst-ever economic crisis, many young Argentines are seeking an avenue of escape that was unthinkable for their parents — joining the military. For years Argentina’s military was synonymous with the murder and kidnap of thousands of suspected guerrillas and political opponents under the iron-fisted 1976-1983 dictatorship. Now, however, the low profile of the military as well as the free board and meager wages it offers are an attractive alternative to poverty. Military service, once seen as a mandatory nightmare, has become a ray of light for many young Argentines, some 966,000 of whom are out of work as a grinding recession heads into its fifth year. According to the Armed Forces, recruitment has already rocketed eightfold this year compared to last year. The economic paralysis forced 19-year-old Johanna Schwemee to “postpone” her dream of becoming a psychologist and opt instead for life in the army.
“One of the main factors was the economic situation. I couldn’t afford to continue studying. And I saw a chance in the army that would pay me enough to go back to my studies some day,” said Schwemee, who traded her short skirts for green army fatigues. "You arrive with lots of prejudices. (But) you go into the army because your situation forces you to,” she said. Schwemee was one of 4,558 women to sign up this year for military service.One in two of Argentina’s 36 million population are now living in poverty, unable to buy basic food and clothing. The country’s plight comes after decades of corruption, economic mismanagement and political ineptness bankrupted a nation that less than a century ago was one of the richest in the world. Amid the economic chaos, the prospect of a job, however menial — offering food, accommodation, health insurance and a monthly salary of around 350 pesos has people lining up to sign up for military service. More than 20,000 young people aged between 18 and 24 have signed up so far this year hoping to be accepted. But there are only 4,600 places available. Last year only around 2,600 applied. “The military has changed. We all know what happened and lots of people bring up the (dictatorship) when they know I’m in the army,” she said. “But as far as I am concerned it happened a long time ago and they have changed.” Until 1995 military service was compulsory in Argentina. But former president Carlos Menem was forced to cancel the century-old tradition after a serving recruit was murdered in the Patagonian province of Río Negro. The image of the military has improved so much in recent years that some now view serving their country as an honour. “It’s a great honour to be here,” said 21-year-old Javier Villegas who abandoned his provincial town so he could fulfill his vocation of serving the country. “My aim is to become a soldier. Obviously the economic situation influences decisions, but the army has always been my calling,” he said. Some, however, still have bitter memories of the military. Veterans who fought against the British in the Malvinas Islands 20 years ago under the dictatorship feel abandoned and forgotten by the nation they fought for in a war that claimed around 1,000 lives. Unable to get jobs, many veterans now wander the streets and subways wearing their dog-tags and camouflage vests and trying to sell military badges to eke out a living...
"What this is going to lead to, is not easy to say so far," the anarchists say 18.06.2002.IMF: slogging ahead. Government officials and members of the International Monetary Fund team were working yesterday on a monetary plan for Argentina, Economy Ministry sources said. According to the sources, the working sessions were being coordinated by Treasury Secretary Guillermo Nielsen and were analyzing forecasts for monetary emission, tax revenue, inflation and deficit. Depending on the progress made at these sessions, Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, Central Bank president Mario Blejer and IMF mission head John Thornton could be holding a meeting today. Thornton’s team is scheduled to return to Washington on Thursday and so it has become imperative for the government to have the groundwork done so that it can achieve a new agreement for financial aid within three or four weeks. Argentina has payments of some 1.75 billion dollars due to multilateral lending bodies on July 15 and is counting on an agreement for new aid to meet these payments, which, according to Lavagna, will not be met by Central Bank reserves this time around.
"More loans to pay for old loans... this doesn't seem like sound economics to us," the anarchists say 19.06.2002.Voluntary swap Day 1: wait "n" see Depositors choose to sit back and wait for government indications on some of the uses new bonds can be put to. Depositors played a wait-and-see game yesterday, on the first day the government opened its offer to swap frozen deposits for government bonds of varying maturity. The swap, involving an estimated 30 billion pesos, is the government’s first attempt to ease a freeze on deposits instituted by the former administration of Fernando de la Rúa last year to halt a run on banks. According to a survey of local banks, few depositors ventured to embark on the swap at this early stage, preferring to wait and see if the terms of the offer improve before the deadline on July 16. Banco Nación, the largest organization in the financial system by volume of deposits, “only fielded enquiries on the documents required and the process to be adopted as most people did not want to decide yet,” a source at the bank said. Another source at Banco Sudameris said that there had not been a surge of customers because “they must still be reading about it (the swap) in the newspapers before deciding what to do.” Further legislation is expected from the government shortly stipulating some of the uses these bonds can be put to, such as paying taxes or buying new houses or cars.
Depositors can choose between a peso bond and two dollar-denominated bonds, one maturing in 10 years and the other in three for deposits under 10,000 pesos and for exceptional cases, both paying a Libor rate and only available to those depositors who originally set up their accounts in dollars. In all cases, deposits can be swapped partially or totally and the balance not used in the swap will remain frozen in the bank where the customer holds the account. For the 10-year dollar bonds, capital amortization will be in eight yearly payments as of February 3, 2005, and for the three-year dollar bonds, amortization will be in three yearly payments (two of 30 percent and one of 40 percent) as of May 3 2003. As to the peso bonds, these will be amortized in eight yearly payments of 12.5 percent each as of August 3, 2003. In all cases interest will be paid twice yearly.
"This will not increase total demand much," the anarchists say: "Just more flip-flops!" 20.06.2002.Argentina's Great Depression:1ST QUARTER GOP PLUMMETS 16.3%. Argentina’s economy shrank 16.3 percent in the first quarter year-on-year, the biggest quarterly contraction since 1990, the Economy Ministry said yesterday.Fourteen consecutive quarters of contraction, an even lengthier period than that recorded in the Great Depression of the 1930s, have brought the gross domestic product down to 217.07 billion pesos. The drop in the GDP, the broadest measure of economic growth, surpassed some analysts’ expectations. “These figures are part of the worst possible scenario. We expected a drop of 12.3 percent for the first quarter. The drop in GDP this year could reach 20 percent,” said Santiago Gallichio, an economist at Exante.
"This is going in the wrong
direction, more and more chaos populist economics, more and more far from anarchist
economics..." the anarchists say. 21.06.200222-23.06.2002: From opulence to wasteland: In one of Argentina’s poorest
cities, people rummage through trash for scraps of food alongside pigs and wild
dogs, unemployment tops 40 percent and even the mayor says “hell”
is just around the corner. Desperate and hungry as Argentina suffers its worst
economic crisis, dozens of jobless gather every day at Concordia’s city
dump to sift through mounds of plastic bags, shards of glass and cigarette butts
in search of lunch. “You used to be able to find some chicken skins or
maybe a piece of potato to take home to your kids, but now too many people come
here,” said Fabián Martínez, 28, as others crowded around
a recently arrived garbage truck. “These people are killing themselves.
There are no jobs.” Just like Argentina itself, decades of corruption and
economic chaos have sparked Concordia’s spectacular fall from an opulent
city to a wasteland of crime, poverty and financial ruin. Only half a century
ago, the “Citrus Capital of Argentina” north of Buenos Aires was a
vibrant exporter of oranges, lumber and Argentina’s renowned grass-fed
beef. Floods of German and Italian immigrants arrived to plant lush orchards
and cash crops on some of the world’s richest farmland. But the local forestry
and furniture manufacturing business all but disappeared in the 90s, wiped out
by cheap imports from Brazil
.
As to the citrus industry, much of this activity has shifted to the northwest
of Argentina, especially Tucumán. These two activities alone drew thousands
of people to Concordia at the height of the boom years. Now the industries have
fallen in scale dramatically, leaving thousands without a job.
Today, a nationwide-high 70 percent of Concordia’s 140,000 people are unable
to meet their basic needs in food, health and clothing. One dollar buys 20 kg
of oranges at local fruit stands, and the city’s shantytowns are ringed
by thousands of hectares of unused land.
Many of the local problems trickle down from a four-year recession that has
left Argentina’s financial system near collapse, closed entire industries
and left half of the country’s 36 million people living in poverty.But with a new $30 million public hospital unable to open after construction
finished three years ago because the city has not hooked up running water, Concordia
seems like a microcosm of Argentina’s wider problems. “You want to
know what’s going on here? My kids are eating poison because there’s
so much corruption!” screams a furious elderly woman as she digs with her
hands through a pile of trash taller than she is. “That’s what this
is all about.”Just outside downtown sits a giant, wavy block of concrete that is actually
a monument to the “achievements” of Concordia’s previous mayor.
It cost $200,000 to build. The current mayor says his town is now paying the
cost for a long legacy of living off government handouts that suddenly dried
up after Argentina’s federal government defaulted in January on part of
its $141 billion public debt.
“For too many years, people lived off subsidies instead of investing or working on something productive,” Mayor Hernán Orduna said in an interview. “It became part of who we are.” Concordia has been further paralyzed by a nasty dispute with the provincial governor, who Orduna says had been withholding funds needed to cover salaries for city officials like police, some of whom have not been paid for months. The political brawl is the talk of Barrio Fátima, a shantytown where almost the only people with regular income “work” for the city government but are unable to explain what exactly it is they do. “The politicians make all the money disappear. But who fights over it? The poor do. It’s us,” said Andrés Martín, standing outside his shack. He hikes up his jogging suit pants to reveal a swollen left leg covered with bloody open sores crusted with dirt, the result of kidney problems.Most in the neighbourhood long ago gave up any hope of finding permanent work. Many are bloated from malnutrition. Most have some kind of visible serious health problem. “I don’t think about a job like my parents used to. Maybe one day I’ll go back and try fifth-grade again,” said Roxana, 16, cradling her 12-day-old baby in her arms as her 11 younger siblings frolicked among chickens, ducks and rabbits. Carlos Lieberman, editor of the daily El Heraldo, says such poverty is getting worse and will make the task of reviving the city that much harder if the national economy ever stabilizes.
“There’s a culture of not working,” Lieberman said. “It’s all political cronyism. We had terrible floods a couple months ago and transients actually moved in to areas that were underwater so they could get government assistance.” Doctors at Concordia’s largest hospital say a massive crime wave has been worsened by a sudden flood of guns into the city. An off-duty police officer had his throat slashed this month after being confronted in a bar.“Corruption and theft are everywhere, even here,” said Miguel Angel Nicola, a psychiatrist who runs the Felipe Heras hospital. “People steal cotton swabs, syringes, pills, everything, and then sell them on the street. It’s horrible.” Some efforts are being made locally to stem the crisis. The mayor waved a list of the names of the “sons of bitches” he said owed his government taxes. Others stage daily street protests to demand all politicians resign and call elections. But Armando Rodríguez, a former barber who says he plans to die soon in his solitary tent in the plaza outside city hall, sees no end in sight to the decay. “In my 80 years, I’ve seen all the politicians and changing them has never improved anything,” he spat as he leaned on a cane and pulled at his cardigan in the evening cold. “Argentina is rotting from inside. This country is lost.” 24.06.2002: "Yes, it is lost at the moment, but probably not for years ahead, " the anarchists say!An accord with the IMF that gives Argentina access to billions of dollars in aid is key for the government to develop a strategy to pull the country out of its worst ever economic crisis, Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said yesterday. The economy minister also said that he would favour a 100-peso salary hike in the private sector, something Labour Minister Graciela Camaño has been working on for a few weeks and is set to start discussing with companies and union groups this week. The wage hike would help to restore people’s purchasing power,” said Lavagna. "Peanuts, but it is a step in the right direction," say the anarchists: "For Argentina, a deal with the IMF deal would likely be little more than a roll-over of the country’s debt in coming months"..."But it would be crucial to unlocking fresh help from other ultilateral lenders like the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank," analysts say.
"Why, so?" the anarchists ask: "It sounds more like continued looting!" 25.06.2002.CENTRAL BANK FAILS TO PROP THE PESO: Meanwhile, the peso continued to slide yesterday, ending at 3.85 to the dollars at foreign exchange houses yesterday. The Central Bank injected 52 million dollars into the market, but still failed to prop the weakening peso. Central Bank intervention policy has sparked bitter criticism from IMF officials and local economic analysts, as they witness the erosion of valuable Central Bank hard currency reserves, which have already dropped below a critical 10 billion dollars’ level. In an interview published by a local daily yesterday, Blejer said intervention in the foreign exchange market was necessary despite the resulting drainage of reserves and opposition from the International Monetary Fund, with which Argentina is negotiating for aid. "What people in the IMF don’t see clearly is that here it’s necessary to intervene for a short period — but still long enough so that people change their mind" and stop selling pesos, Blejer said.
"The peso exchange rate will of course fall like a stone if it is not used to hike exports and total demand minus inflation and then production and employment dependent on the productivity," the anarchists say.Police firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters fought pitched battles with anti-government protesters in the Argentine capital on Wednesday, leaving two dead in the worst riots since the elected government was toppled in December. The clashes began when riot police tried to disperse hundreds of unemployed protesters, some wearing ski masks and holding slingshots, blocking roads into the capital to decry economic policies that have deepened poverty and joblessness across Argentina. Officials said at least 17 people were injured and 160 arrested. As evening fell, hundreds more protesters gathered outside Congress and the presidential palace in central Buenos Aires, and the clanging of pots and pans as ordinary Argentines joined in the demonstrations recalled scenes that preceded the fall of President Fernando de la Rua amid food riots. Argentina's caretaker leader, Eduardo Duhalde, languishing in the polls and fighting for his political future, had vowed a get-tough approach on protests as he struggled to convince a skeptical International Monetary Fund to agree to an aid pact vital to stemming a spiraling social crisis and punishing four-year recession. Protesters, who demand government aid for everything from medicine to food and who regularly block main highways around Argentina, accused the baton-wielding police of heavy-handedness. They said more than 90 demonstrators were injured. "We have got to end Duhalde and the IMF's reign. If we don't get change, we will have to fight on," said one picketer brandishing a catapult. Tear gas mingled with smoke from burning tires laid on the road by demonstrators. Television footage showed the corpse of one of the two protesters shot to death on the outskirts of the capital being rushed from the scene in the back of a pickup truck, his lifeless eyes wide open. It was unclear who fired the shots.
Human rights group Amnesty International called for a probe into the killings, while the smallest of Argentina's three major unions, the Center of Argentine Workers, called a general strike for Thursday to protest the deaths. The riots were the latest in a series of violent protests this year against Latin American governments as they grapple with mounting economic problems. Peru has been hit by major riots against privatization plans, Venezuela was rocked by a failed coup, and neighboring Uruguayans have gone on strike against IMF austerity policies. In the Argentine capital, hundreds of protesters scattered through the streets, falling over each other as they ran through a gritty industrial suburb after the clashes. Some threw Molotov cocktails. Others shattered car windows. One protester was caught on television beating a policeman on the head outside a hospital where injured had been taken. A camera panned in on the bloodied faces of protesters. One in four workers is unemployed as Argentina scrambles to pull out of a recession that culminated in a default on part of the $140 billion public debt and the end of a decade-old currency peg to the dollar. The IMF wants clear signs that a government pressured by growing poverty and unemployment will stick to vows to end the runaway spending that put the economy in crisis.
Deepening poverty -- one in two Argentines are no longer able to buy basic food and clothing -- and soaring unemployment have made Argentina a social pressure cooker. Twenty-seven people died in December amid food riots and looting that forced the resignation of De la Rua, ushering in the political chaos that finally saw Duhalde named as interim leader a month later by Congress. The peso has now plunged toward four to the dollar -- shedding 75 percent of its value against the dollar since January's devaluation and prompting sharp price increases on supermarket shelves that analysts fear could herald a return to the hyperinflation of the late 1980s. An advance IMF mission left Argentina over the weekend with no sign of progress toward a package analysts say would be just a rollover of existing obligations to lenders such as the fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank at best -- if a deal could be reached at all. The unrest came as Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna was in the United States to meet senior IMF officials on Thursday in a bid to get negotiations on the pact rolling. Lavagna's spokesman said in New York that Argentina was discussing aid of about $9 billion with the IMF -- the amount of multilateral debt coming due this year. Analysts say Duhalde's future depends on his securing a deal. If he fails, he could be forced to call early elections, which would likely only deepen Argentina's chaos. The protesters' deaths will only compound the pressure. "It's going to cause a tremendous problem for Duhalde," said local political analyst James Neilson. "They're going to accuse Duhalde of being a fascist and being overly committed to the IMF. It's very, very bad news."
"The heat is on in Argentina. A recipe is on http://www.anarchy.no/ija631.html. The problem is there is no one to cook!" the anarchists say 27.06.2002.28.06.2002: Protests crop up everywhere. Protests elsewhere in the country were manned by groups of unemployed people, state workers and neighbourhood organizations. Unlike in Buenos Aires, no incidents were reported. In a day marred by the deaths of two protestors in Buenos Aires, demonstrations swept across the rest of the country as well yesterday, although no other violent incidents were reported. Many of Argentina’s largest cities and provinces were hit by roadblocks and pickets as unemployed workers, neighbourhood organizations and labour unions co-ordinated efforts in a national day of protest. In Córdoba province, home to the nation’s second city, over 100 people from the municipality of Alta Gracia blocked a highway at 11am. The roadblock, which was accompanied by pickets outside the Government House in the provincial capital, will be maintained, protestors say, until the government responds to their demands for increased food support and inclusion in a national subsidy for unemployed heads of households.
Unemployed workers blocked highways in Resistencia, the capital of Chaco, and in the north of Salta province as well, also to demand inclusion in the national government’s subsidy plan and expanded social welfare. In the northern province of Tucumán, meanwhile, some 8,000 demonstrators of the left-wing Class Struggle Movement (CCC) and several union groups took to the streets of the provincial capital with a variety of demands against the government, including the payment of midyear bonuses in cash. A provincial official agreed to meet with representatives of these groups only after protesters began to pelt police with oranges cut from trees in the plaza. Several cities in Catamarca province were also shut down by unemployed workers, who pledged to maintain a roadblock outside the city of Belén until the government agrees to extend benefits and municipal employees, who demanded back pay. Last night, several groups, mostly manned by mothers and children, converged on the plaza in front of Catamarca’s Government House carrying torches and chanting: “We want to eat” and “Get out.” In Mar del Plata, 200 members of the Teresa Rodríguez Movement staged a picket outside City Hall, setting off firecrackers, waving banners and submitting a petition to the government. According to protestors, officials agreed to distribute 150 bags of food after a delegation of mothers and children entered the municipal building. Pickets also blocked traffic and demonstrated in downtown Rosario, the biggest city of Santa Fe province, to demand food and subsidies. La Rioja Governor Angel Maza, meanwhile, yesterday responded sternly to demonstrations by workers’ groups outside his own home on Tuesday, saying he would only guarantee the right of free expression “when it does not harm people or property".
Argentina's President Eduardo Duhalde on Friday condemned the fatal shootings this week of two anti-government protesters, for which two policemen have been arrested. "Once again the people supposed to keep order are the ones who carried out this atrocious hunt," said the unpopular caretaker leader, who faced roadblock demonstrations by the poor and unemployed on Wednesday in which two young men died. They were the most violent protests since deadly December riots against economic mismanagement and misery that forced out two presidents. At least 17 people were injured and 160 arrested when police tried to clear a bridge south of Buenos Aires occupied by out-of-work demonstrators. Thousands of protesters converged downtown a day later to peacefully protest the deaths and demand that Duhalde quit. He has been unable to stabilize a devastating four-year recession or so far secure International Monetary Fund aid, and faces calls to bring forward elections scheduled for late 2003. "Democracy will not allow these crimes to be covered up by impunity," said Duhalde, whose Peronist government first blamed the deaths on extremists among the protesters, some of whom wore hoods and carried sticks, rocks and Molotov cocktails. Duhalde has frequently warned Argentina is on the brink of anarchy, with daily protests by the jobless and middle-class enraged by a seven-month-old freeze on bank deposits to avoid a run on bank savings.
"If Argentina really was on the brink of anarchy it would be fine," the anarchists say 29.06.2002:" Argentina is however not on the brink of anarchy or anytning close to anarchism, but on the brink of the quite opposite, military junta rule of chaos, no real law and order, terror and ochlarchy, even worse than the populist chaotic rule of Duhalde and is peronists. Furthermore the IAT is warning Duhalde about another Brown Card..."Wednesday's riots took place in the dilapidated industrial belt outside Buenos Aires which has the highest crime levels, and some of the worst poverty in Argentina. Police in the area are feared as endemically corrupt and trigger-happy. "Beyond the hunger, unemployment and activism, what underlies Argentine society is latent violence that is exploding once again," said political analyst Rosendo Fraga. The police chief of Buenos Aires province, Ricardo Degastaldi, and his deputy offered their resignations over the killings, the provincial government said. Two police officers, one a senior inspector in charge of security at the protest on the bridge, were taken into custody early on Friday on Duhalde's orders. Dozens more -- as many as 110 according to one paper -- were suspended pending investigations into the deaths from shotgun wounds of the two men, aged 21 and 25. Both were members of left-wing organizations grouping some of the 24 percent of the Argentine workforce who are unemployed. The inspector was pictured on front pages of two papers on Friday pointing a shotgun toward one of two men in a railway station, then dumping his body behind a newspaper stand. Radio stations buzzed with callers worried about repression, which many compared to a guerrilla conflict in the 1970s, after the Clarin and Pagina newspapers published photos of protester Dario Santillan before and after he was shot.
The first pictures show Santillan kneeling beside the other protester who died. Another blurred photo shows the inspector pointing his shotgun in the direction of Santillan. The next displays Santillan lying on the ground with a bullet casing by his left knee. The final photos capture two policemen dragging him out across a bloody floor. The inspector caught on film was seen on television being punched by relatives of the dead men after Wednesday's riot. "Now there won't be any impunity in Argentina," Cabinet Chief Alfredo Atanasof told reporters. "This time we mean it and the proof is visible." But promises to investigate police misconduct carry little weight in Argentina. The police have been accused of hundreds of illegal shootings but rarely go to trial. Four officers allegedly involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in which 86 people died have just now gone to court. Argentine Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said on Saturday he would not change his monetary and exchange rate policy, despite IMF calls for him to develop a monetary anchor to avoid a return to the hyperinflation of the late 1980s. "There will be no changes," Lavagna, in Washington for talks with multilateral lenders, told Argentine radio. "No-one can be sure one monetary program is better than any other. The fund accepted that we will continue with our plan," 30.06.2002Embattled Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde hit out at the United States on Sunday, saying U.S. "ignorance" was his crisis-hit nation's biggest hurdle to securing vital aid. Duhalde, drafted in by Congress after the elected government fell amid deadly food riots in December, said Argentina was being discriminated against by a U.S. government more interested in keeping oil flowing from the Middle East. "I think the biggest difficulty we face is the ignorance and lack of concern toward our region of the government of the United States," Duhalde told local daily Clarin. "The North American's do not consider themselves responsible and are prioritizing conflicts in other parts of the world in which the flow of oil to the West is at stake," the president said. "We suffer serious discrimination from the United States," Duhalde added, criticizing the U.S. among others for what he described as hypocritical protectionist policies in the agricultural sector, Argentina's main earner.
"The food-production in Argentina should mostly go to food for the Argentinian people, the poor included, not to cash-crops for profit to the plutarchs, " the anarchists say 01.07.2002.Already under pressure to call early elections, and with his popularity rating at just 8 percent in the polls, Duhalde think he desperately needs an IMF pact. But this will probably not help much for the poor people of Argentina. It is a race against time. The economical political policy must be changed in less authoritarian direction. With half of the population living in poverty, unable to buy basic food and clothing, and ca 25 percent of the workforce out of a job, Argentina is a social pressure cooker, however there is no one to cook to achieve better economy and freedom for the people. Thousands of unemployed people and civil rights activists took to the streets in protest last week after violent clashes between demonstrators and police on the outskirts of the capital on Wednesday left two protesters dead. However calm returned over the weekend, with the streets deserted on Sunday as Argentines turned their attention to Sunday's World Cup final. The smallest of Argentina's three major unions on Sunday called for a mass protest for July 3 as a follow-up to a strike staged on Thursday to protest police repression blamed for the two picketer deaths. The government is still wrangling with the IMF despite its pleas for the lender to bail it out of its spiraling crisis. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler announced on Friday the lender had entered "an active negotiating relationship" with Argentina, which Duhalde hopes will yield an aid deal to help end a grinding four-year recession. But Koehler also said monetary policy was one of a series of remaining hurdles that must be cleared before it will consider fronting any aid for Argentina. Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said on Saturday he would not change his monetary and exchange rate policy, despite IMF calls for him to develop a monetary anchor to avoid a return to the hyperinflation of the late 1980s.
FEDERACIÓN OBRERA REGIONAL ARGENTINA: CORONEL SALVADORES N°1200-
BUENOS AIRES TEL.FAX:43035963 Compañeros :
El Estado Argentino como es su costumbre volvió a matar el miércoles
ultimo alrededor del mediodía el bloque piquetero (organización
de desocupados)
que concentra partidos de izquierda, corto los accesos a la capital, días
antes el gobierno había decidido evitar los cortes, el canciller Ruckauf
en
un acto de la fuerza aérea insto a las fuerzas armadas a estar preparadas
para actuar en caso de conmoción social, este personaje fue el mismo
que en
1975 firmo el decreto que permitió que el ejercito actuara en forma interna
en la "lucha antisubversiva", antecedente de la dictadura militar
el martes
18 de junio el jefe de gabinete y los jefes de la policía federal, gendarmería
y prefectura tuvieron una reunión en la que se anunció que no
se
permitirían cortes en los accesos a la capital.El miércoles 26
la intervención de las fuerzas policiales y militares (gendarmería
y prefectura) dejo como saldo a dos trabajadores desocupados muertos que al
igual que otros 9 heridos fueron atacados con armas de fuego de la policía
En un primer momento los medios de difusión trataron de justificar la intervención policial diciendo que los muertos y heridos habían sido producto de enfrentamientos entre los mismos piqueteros, pero a medida que se fueron conociendo las imágenes en las cuales se veía el momento en que era asesinado uno de los manifestantes, el discurso mediático fue cambiando ante el viraje de la opinión publica el gobierno paso de felicitar la represión a afirmar que era victima de un complot el propio gobierno, como símbolo de la situación argentina en el mismo momento en que el ministro de economía negociaba un posible acuerdo con el FMI las imágenes de la salvaje represión recorrían el mundo, dos caras de la democracia en la Argentina. S.R.Oficios Varios (Capital)
02.07.2002 Argentina's caretaker president has brought forward next year's election by six months, saying the country needs an elected government to carry out reforms. Eduardo Duhalde was appointed president by parliament in January in a bid to fill the gap left by the resignation of Fernando de la Rua amid social unrest. He had been due to hold the post until September 2003 but has now called the new presidential election for March. It was up to parliament to decide if a general and other elections were also held, he added.Mr Duhalde has been under pressure over his economic policies, which included a devaluation of the peso, decimating people's savings. He has been struggling to obtain credit of $18bn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to meet Argentina's national debt. An official said to be close to the president told the French news agency AFP that he took the decision to bring forward the election because of delays over the IMF credit, which is dependent on signing an agreement with Argentina's regional governors. "He's had enough," said the official, who did not want to be named. Argentine protesters have been demanding the resignation of Mr Duhalde and other officials, accusing them of incompetence and corruption. The president's popularity has dropped to 8% in opinion polls. Argentina, a nation of ca 29 million, has been buffeted by economic woes. Half the population live in poverty with ca 25% of the work force out of a job and even those in employment find it hard to afford staple goods. 03.07.2002:
"Well, the heat is still on, a recipe is given here on this file, but there is still no one to cook..." the anarchists say: "We are all too few in Argentina so far". BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - The race to be Argentina's sixth president in 18 months began on Wednesday after caretaker leader Eduardo Duhalde scheduled elections six months early to avoid being forced out by protests. As angry unemployed workers marched peacefully on Buenos Aires following two deaths in clashes with police last week, discredited political parties searched for candidates to convince voters that they can end a four-year recession and financial chaos. 100-peso wage hike. Businessmen, union leaders and Labour Ministry officials yesterday agreed on a fixed 100-peso salary increase in the private sector which they say will help to improve workers’ purchasing-power, severely affected by escalating inflation over the last few months. Since taking office in May, Camaño has been pushing for an increase in wages. The minister is the wife of Luis Barrionuevo, a Peronist senator who is also a prominent union leader. The minister saw her efforts materialize yesterday, when the leaders of the “official” faction of the General Labour Confederation (CGT) and the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) stamped their signatures on a deal to increase all private-sector wages by 100 pesos. The increase will come into effect with July’s wages and stay at least until December.
04.07.2002. "This will not hike demand very much, but it is probably a step in the right direction, i.e. if the prices are not hiked equally much. BBC reports about a protestmarch agains the present government. 05.07.2002 "The heat is still on... " the anarchists say.06.07.2002: Massive march against police brutality. Heavy rain, cold temperatures and government warnings that roadblocks would not be tolerated did not dissuade thousands of unemployed Argentines and social rights activists from taking to the streets yesterday throughout the country to protest police repression. Exactly a week after a peaceful march turned violent ending with the brutal police killing of two protesters the country’s third largest umbrella union, the Argentine Workers Congress (CTA), together with pickets and other groups — among them human rights activists, students and leftwing parties — led a march on Plaza de Mayo. They also urged a change in the government’s economic policies. Demonstrators met early in the morning in different parts of Buenos Aires City and suburbs to march towards Congress and then to the Plaza de Mayo where they gathered to remember Maximiliano Kosteki and Darío Santillán, 25 and 21 respectively, the two victims of police repression on June 26. First results of the investigation into the deaths indicate that the protesters were killed by live bullets. Four police officers are under arrest in connection with the deaths. Before marching into town, pickets held a ceremony at the train station in the Greater BA neighbourhood of Avellaneda where the two were killed. There were chants and insults against police officers, who this time decided to keep safe distance from demonstrators. Cabinet Chief Alfredo Atanasof and Interior Minister Jorge Matzkin, meanwhile, pointed out that the government had taken “very significant” preventive measures to avoid incidents during yesterday’s protests. Elsewhere in the country, marches were staged in the cities of Córdoba, Mar del Plata, Rosario, Jujuy, Tucumán and Neuquén. No incidents were reported. In the coastal city of Mar del Plata, 400 kilometres south of Buenos Aires, over 3,000 people marched to repudiate violence and to demand jobs, food and justice. In Jujuy, about 90 percent of state workers staged a strike and a demonstration to protest police repression and to demand back wages. They also urged the government to give jobs to the thousands of unemployed people in the province. State workers also symbolically embraced public buildings to demand better education and health policies. Roadblocks were also set up around the city of Córdoba. In Tucumán, Rosario and Neuquén state workers and other social organizations also joined the CTA’s strike call. Schools were meanwhile empty in many provinces, as teachers grouped under the CTERA teachers’ union staged a 24-hour strike adhering to the pickets protest.
"The heat is still on ...." the anarchists say. Despite pressure to stop Argentina's financial system from collapsing, President Eduardo Duhalde crushed on Saturday market hopes he would forcibly transform billions of dollars of frozen bank deposits into bonds. Instead, his economy ministry announced details of some new incentives that encourage Argentines to swap their savings for bonds -- slightly enhancing a scheme that has failed to attract many volunteers. "There will not be mandatory bonds," Duhalde told a news conference. He added that the government would look for other ways to save from collapse banks which lost billions of dollars after a bank freeze and a currency devaluation. This week there was widespread market optimism the government would forcibly switch deposits into public bonds, a move that many analysts say is the only way of stopping banks from going bankrupt.
"Well, well ..." the anarchists say 07.06.2002.08.07. 2002: Bonds may be made mandatory after all? Voluntary swap finds few takers. Less than 1% of savers opt to take bonds. Lavagna says government will “re-analyze” plan. The government said yesterday it was studying changes to its plan to save the financial system amid widespread market speculation and would examine forcing a switch of bank deposits into public bonds. After a voluntary exchange of frozen cash deposits for long-term government bonds failed to garner sufficient public participation, Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said he would “re-analyze” the government’s plan. Yesterday was the deadline for depositors to opt for government bonds in exchange for funds frozen in current and savings accounts. The Central Bank president and private analysts alike have said the switch must be made mandatory despite popular pressure since banks do not have enough cash to meet demand. “I’ve sent the president of the Central Bank an analysis of the situation, suggesting to him that we re-analyze a few things (regarding the plan),” Lavagna told reporters. Asked by reporters if the swap would be made mandatory, Lavagna responded: “Well, this is going to require some changes.” Banking shares on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange have roared higher in the last two sessions as speculation grew among traders that the swap would be obligatory. Less than one percent of total bank deposits entered in the voluntary swap, according to unconfirmed media reports yesterday. Lavagna stated later in the day that the government “in no way is considering an obligatory bond swap.” The minister announced that today he will be announcing further measures to provide “more flexibility” for the swap. Lavagna’s predecessor resigned after Congress essentially scrapped his proposal for a mandatory deposit exchange. President Eduardo Duhalde’s government, its approval rating mired in single digits, has been repeatedly criticized for instituting ineffective solutions to deep problems as it tries to combat pressure from occasionally violent street protests. Banks have particularly borne the brunt of demonstrations after a run late last year forced a previous government to freeze most deposits last December.
"To save the rotten banks, and let the people rotten, will probably not pay in the long run", the anarchists say.New police chief not a hardliner. Alberto Sobrado will be sworn in today as the head of the provincial police force. Police Inspector Alberto Sobrado, who is scheduled to be sworn in today as the new chief of police in the province of Buenos Aires, yesterday said he does not favour hard-line “hard-fist” security policies in fighting crime. “Police have to follow the law,” he said. Sobrado is to replace Ricardo Degastaldi, who resigned after two demonstrators were killed when police cracked down on a pickets protest in Avellaneda on June 26. “Those incidents were barbarian and they should never have happened,” said Sobrado in an interview with state-run news agency Télam hours before taking office. About police action in the clashes, Sobrado said: “The images we have seen are clear, there is not much to comment on that.” Four Buenos Aires province police officers are under arrest in connection with the killing of Darío Santillán, 21, and Maximiliano Kosteki, 25, at the Avellaneda train station, in the worst outburst of social violence since street protests and food riots left a toll of 30 dead in December on the eve of the resignation of then president Fernando de la Rúa. Sobrado, aged 45, yesterday vowed to fight police corruption. Members of the provincial police force — which recruits some 45,000 officers — has been linked to notorious cases of corruption over the last few years, among them the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre in 1994 and the murder of photographer José Luis Cabezas in 1997. “We have to regain people’s confidence in the force,” said Sobrado. “Criminals will go to jail.” 09.07.2002. "That will not be easy, " the anarchists say.
Tens of thousands participated in a large protest demonstration for several aims, but mainly against the present economical policy of Duhalde & Co:
Masiva protesta en Plaza de Mayo: Más de 10 mil personas manifestaron en contra de la represión y en reclamo de un cambio de la política económica. Hubo mucha gente de clase media convocada por asambleas barriales. También fue importante la presencia de los partidos políticos y de las agrupaciones piqueteras.
Agrupaciones de piqueteros, asambleas populares, organismos de derechos humanos, sindicalistas y partidos políticos de izquierda manifiestan en Plaza de Mayo, luego de la primera concentración realizada frente al Congreso. La marcha fue convocada para repudiar la represión policial en la estación de Avellaneda, donde murieron dos piqueteros, reclamar una transformación en la política económica que lleva adelante la administración de Eduardo Duhalde y protestar contra las recetas del Fondo Monetario de Internacional. Según anunciaron los dirigentes de las agrupaciones convocantes, manifestaciones similares se repetirán en las principales plazas del país.Los principales organizadores de la protesta de hoy son el Bloque Piquetero Nacional, encabezado por el Polo Obrero — la rama piquetera del Partido Obrero—, la CTD Aníbal Verón, el Movimiento Independiente de Jubilados y Desocupados (MIJD) de Raúl Castells y la organización Barrios de Pie. Por su parte, la Coordinadora de Trabajadores Desocupados "Aníbal Verón", agrupación a la cual pertenecían los dos piqueteros asesinados en la Estación de Avellaneda, dijo que "nosotros adherimos y acompañamos la medida. Pero no vamos a movilizar a todos los barrios. Vamos a concurrir con comisiones de cada barrio". La marcha de hoy también contará con la presencia de militantes de Izquierda Unida, el ARI de Elisa Carrió, asambleas barriales y diversas organizaciones sociales y estudiantiles. Pero en cambio será mínima la presencia de la CTA, que adhiere pero no convoca. El grupo piquetero de Luis D''Elía hará un corte en La Matanza y la Corriente Clasista y Combativa (CCC) participará de la marcha sólo con sus militantes porteños, ya que pondrá el énfasis en distintos "locros" que harán en el conurbano y en el interior.
"The heat is still on...", the anarchists say 10.07.2002: "Strangely the international newsmedia are mainly silent about this demonstration." Argentina Orders Arrest of Dictatorship-Era Soldiers. - An Argentine judge on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former dictator Leopoldo Galtieri and more than 30 former military intelligence men for human rights abuses during the "Dirty War." Galtieri, de-facto president when Argentina went to war with Britain in 1982 for sovereignty of the Falklands, and the other ex-soldiers are accused of the kidnapping, torture and murder of 20 leftist guerrillas in 1980. "The victims were members of the (left-wing Peronist Montoneros) organization's special forces," a court official said. The Montoneros were an armed guerrilla group which sprung from the left of the Peronist Party which has dominated Argentine politics since the 1940s. Investigating judge Claudio Bonadio ordered the arrests after ruling, along with other judges, that the amnesty laws under which many arrested soldiers have been released, to be unconstitutional. Investigations by human rights groups show that military regimes in South America's southern cone organized a systematic cross-border program dubbed "Plan Condor" to eradicate leftist guerrilla movements by kidnap, torture and murder. They were crushed by the 1976-1983 military rulers who were tried and jailed after democracy returned in the 1980s for the deaths and disappearance of up to 30,000 people.
The widow of Lorenzo Vinas, son of Argentine author David Vinas, said her husband, one of the 20 victims, was arrested at the Brazilian border town of Uruguaiana in 1980 when he tried to enter the neighboring country to see if his family could flee there. "He knew he was sought because his sister disappeared on August 14, 1976," Claudia Allegrini told Reuters newsagency. Her husband was taken to an Argentine concentration camp where he underwent "all kinds of torture" until September of 1980 when he was thrown into the Rio de la Plata, she said. Among the ways the dictatorship made dissidents disappear was to drug them and throw them, still alive, into the sea or rivers from aircraft. Their remains were never recovered. While many soldiers were arrested once democracy was restored in 1983, they were later released under the Full Stop and Due Obedience amnesty laws. De-facto presidents Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Massera, and other convicted Dirty War criminals, have been put under house arrest in a separate investigation into thefts of babies born to detained women. Crimes against children are not covered by any of the previous amnesties. "A report also printed in "Freedom" (London) in the 1990s declared that not only leftists, but also members of F.O.R.A. "disappeared" during the "dirty war"," the anarchists say. 11.07.2002
Former Argentine dictator Leopoldo Galtieri, who led his country into a failed 1982 war with Britain over the Falklands Islands, was arrested on Thursday for human rights abuses allegedly committed two decades ago, the state news agency Telam said. An Argentine investigating judge on Wednesday ordered Galtieri and 30 former military intelligence agents detained over the kidnapping, torture and murder of 20 suspected leftist guerrillas in 1980. Argentina's disastrous attempt to occupy the remote and disputed Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean sparked the rapid downfall of the 1976-1983 military junta. The junta was later found responsible for the "Dirty War" deaths and disappearance of up to 30,000 people. Thousands of dissidents were drugged and thrown alive from aircraft into the sea or rivers. Others were buried in secret graves which have still not been found and babies were stolen from pregnant detainees who were then killed. Galtieri and other junta leaders were imprisoned for human rights crimes shortly after democracy was restored in 1983. But they were given amnesties and freed in the late 1980's and 1990. Unlike previous rulings which have used loopholes in the amnesties to rearrest former de-facto presidents Jorge Rafael Videla lio Massera, Galtieri's detention was ordered on the basis that the amnesty itself was unconstitutional. Described by historians as an alcoholic who sought to divert attention from an economic collapse by grabbing the islands to which Argentina has long laid claim, Galtieri was forced to resign after Britain defeated Argentina in the war and reasserted its sovereignty over the Falklands. Galtieri's departure paved the way for democratic elections in Argentina a year later. He later admitted he thought Britain would not put up a fight for the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.
Full renewal campaign gains ground: Left-leaning political leaders and top Catholic bishops call for all elective posts to be up for renewal in upcoming elections.With the ruling Peronists still struggling to sort out their internal confusion, leading left-leaning politicians and the influential Catholic Church leaders yesterday urged a full renewal of terms on March 30 elections. Deputy Elisa Carrió, Buenos Aires City Mayor Aníbal Ibarra and Santa Cruz Governor Néstor Kirchner gave a press conference together and signed a joint statement calling on “those in power” to “understand the very particular historic times our fatherland is going through” and introduce the means to allow for an exceptional early end of all elective positions. Carrió is, according to polls, the country’s most popular politician for March’s presidential elections. Ibarra is the head of the ailing Frepaso centre-left coalition. Kirchner is a maverick Peronist who might run from outside the ruling party’s machine. 13.07.2002. A "heart problem" saves former dictator from jail. Galtieri gets a "rest" at home. Former dictator Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri is not under arrest but “resting at home,” court sources clarified yesterday. Although it was reported on Thursday that Galtieri — whose arrest was ordered by Federal Judge Claudio Bonadío who is prosecuting human rights abuses during the 1976-83 military dictatorship — was being held at a military jail in the city neighbourhood of Palermo, court sources said yesterday that due to “heart problems” Galtieri never moved from his home in the city neighbourhood of Villa Devoto. Court sources said doctors told the former dictator to rest during 48 hours.
However, once he gets better, he will be taken to the military barracks where he will testify as a suspect of taking part in the abduction, torture and murder of some 20 members of Montoneros, a Peronist extremist organization. Judge Bonadío ordered the arrest on Wednesday of 42 former military and state security officials, including general Carlos Guillermo Suárez Mason and former army chief Cristino Nicolaides. Court sources said that 12 of the 42 officials were still on the run. Police told Bonadío yesterday that the fugitive suspects will be caught “over the next few hours.” Galtieri was de facto ruler in 1982 when Argentina went to war with Britain over the Malvinas islands. About 1,000 Argentine and British servicemen died in the conflict. Until this date, Galtieri had never been arrested on charges of human rights violations. Although he was put behind bars in 1985 for “negligence” in the handling of the Malvinas war, a tribunal that tried junta members acquitted him of human rights violation charges. Former Peronist president Carlos Menem pardoned him in 1989. Since 1997, Galtieri has been prevented from leaving the country as he would be arrested — as could hundreds of other Argentine military officers — on charges of “terrorism and genocide” in a case led by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón. Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, yesterday congratulated Bonadío’s decision saying they were “pleased” with Galtieri’s arrest.
14-15.07.2002: "It's time for more anarchist enonomics..." the anarchists say.Vandals yesterday desecrated dozens of tombs in the Islamic cemetery of General Villegas, a town west of Buenos Aires. Islamic community and cemetery authorities said roughly 150 tombs were attacked. Police said a total of 90 tombs were desecrated at the cemetery, located in the district of La Matanza. Yesterday morning, cemetery employees discovered scores of marble tombstones broken into pieces and graves disturbed (photo). However, they did not find any offensive messages or graffiti. Sheik Abdul Karim Paz, the director of the Al Tauhid mosque, described the incident as “a very large attack, savagery, a tremendous aggression,” something that “we don’t know how to respond to.” 16.07.2002: Argentina has won a year's extension on the repayment of a key loan from the International Monetary Fund. The extra time has allowed the country to avoid defaulting on a separate loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, keeping that source of funding alive. The IMF said in a statement that it agreed to delay the loan repayment because Argentina could not have make it without "undue hardship or risk". The leniency could be a positive sign for the ongoing negotiations over new loans between the IMF and Argentina. Some analysts say new funds are essential if Argentina is to pull itself out of the severe recession that culminated in a currency devaluation, a freeze on saving withdrawals from banks and a default on its debt.
The IMF's managing director Horst Koehler said that current talks on restarting Argentina's loan programme are centered on banking sector reforms and developing a "credible" monetary policy framework. Mr Koehler also praised Argentina for keeping a tighter control on its public spending, another criteria of the IMF releasing fresh funds. The financial crisis has resulted in widespread social unrest, including fatal riots last December, because of rising poverty and unemployment. The protests were recently intensified amidst rising anti-US feelings which reflect widespread criticism of Argentina's efforts to bow to the wishes of the IMF. President Eduardo Duhalde and finance minister Roberto Lavagna face the challenge of finding a balance between satisfying both the IMF and the Argentine people. There have been protests almost every day.
"Perhaps this may save the banks for a while, but it will not do much for the poorest majority of the population, i.e the people," the anarchists say 20.07.2002.Argentina's peso weakened on Friday as demand for dollars gathered momentum on speculation pesos frozen in bank accounts could be partially released soon, while stocks ended down in light volume, traders said. Argentina's peso fell to 3.60/3.62 per dollar in large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange markets, compared with Thursday's close of 3.59/3.61. Currency traders said disagreement between the Economy Ministry and Central Bank, which wants a partial lifting of December's bank curbs, sparked increased demand for dollars on speculation more pesos circulating may pressure the currency. The Central Bank ended the session with $15.1 million less in foreign reserves after selling $57.8 million to wholesale currency traders, $7 million to retail traders and buying $49.7 million from exporters. The peso is about 72 percent weaker since January's devaluation amid a chaotic four-year recession. The currency is flat this week but about 8 percent firmer in July on hopes of an aid deal with the International Monetary Fund. A group of current and former central bankers chosen by the IMF is due in Buenos Aires on Monday to seek to overcome hurdles with Argentina over a vital new loan. "I think the market will rise next week on expectations of good IMF news. The bourse has touched bottom," said Mario Zawadzki of Schweber brokerage.
"The bourse has not reached the bottom if the populist chaos policy continues," the anarchists say 21.07.2002. 22.07.2002: Brazil's state-owned oil firm is taking advantage of the turmoil sweeping through neighbouring Argentina to make a commanding move into the power market there. In a deal worth $1.13bn (£716m), its largest ever foreign adventure, Petrobras is taking a controlling 58.6% stake in Argentina's number one energy firm Perez Companc.
"At least Argentina gets some foreign money," the anarchists say. 24.07.2002 Argentina's fragile banking system has dominated the agenda at meetings between an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation, the Argentine government and financiers. The IMF has appointed a group of four top international bankers to act as middlemen in its talks with the South American country. "They are experienced and will certainly help Argentina find a solution to its financial problems," said the Argentine president's chief of staff, Alfredo Atanasof, ahead of their meeting with his boss.
"The only thing this strongly hierarchical so called expert-organization called "IMF" (it should be called Supranational not International) know is a lot of what Nobel economical prize winner Ragnar Frisch called the unenlightened plutarchy. They probably will not do much good, " the anarchists say 27.07.2002. Wise men" (read: "false prophets") get down to business: President Eduardo Duhalde and top government officials met last week with current and former central bankers picked by the International Monetary Fund to consult on obtaining vitally needed IMF financial aid.The expert committee is comprised of Bank for International Settlements general manager Andrew Crockett; John Crow, a former governor of the Bank of Canada; former Bank of Spain governor Luis Angel Rojo; and Hans Tietmeyer, former president of Germany’s Bundesbank. The 'experts' on unenlightened plutarchy are scheduled to meet with again with government officials and with economists and business leaders during their three-day tour of Argentina. Months of talks have failed to help Argentina and the international lending agency to bridge their differences on how to pull South America’s second largest economy out of the four-year recession which has left a quarter (ca 25%) of its work force unemployed and pushed roughly half its population of ca 37 million into poverty.
"These are 'people' (read: authorities, plutarchists) with a lot of experience who will surely contribute to Argentina finding a solution to our financial problems. The government position, of course, is to listen to ideas, analyze them and adopt the best solutions to such a complex issue," Cabinet Chief Alfredo Atanasof told reporters. Outdated monetary policies were at the centre of debates during the opening day of conversations, featuring Central Bank head Aldo Piganelli, Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, controversial Finance Secretary Guillermo Nielsen and Treasury Secretary Jorge Sarghini. Lavagna described the dialogue as "fluent" and "highly technical." The foreign 'experts' were particularly interested in getting acquainted with government plans to pull out some six billion pesos’ worth of scrip (local money) issued by the provinces during the past 12 months. Discussions with Pignanelli were focused on the reform of the ailing financial system. The four "wise men" (read "false prophets") had meetings with a group of legislators. Meetings with bank representatives were next, and business leaders — among them Aldo Roggio and Perez Companc’s Oscar Vicente — were also meeting the foreign experts. While the IMF does not usually turn to 'experts' for advice, it has done so before with Indonesia where starting talks proved difficult. The urgency of bringing the two sides together is mounting, as Argentina’s financial troubles have rocked the financial systems of neighbouring Uruguay and Paraguay, while Brazil grapples with its own jittery markets ahead of an October presidential vote.
29.07.2002. "Outdated monetarism and market fundamentalistic liberalism, unenlightened plutarchy, will not work much better than the present populist chaos of Duhalde", the anarchists say. 30.07.2002: Argentina's peso closed unchanged on Tuesday despite steep falls in currencies in neighboring Brazil and Uruguay, while stocks meandered slightly higher flat in brisk volume. The peso ended at 3.65/3.67 per dollar in large-scale transactions in the foreign exchange market, unchanged from Monday's close. "People definitely keeping an eye on Brazil and Uruguay but there's a feeling that for now the (Argentine) peso has fallen so much in recent months there's little need for adjustment from current levels," said a trader. A group of experts have ended their tour of Argentina by saying more belt-tightening is necessary to drag the country out of its financial crisis. "Sacrifices will be needed, probably beyond those with which society has already come to terms," the panel concluded.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) appointed the group of four top international bankers to act as middlemen in its talks with the South American country.
31.07.2002 the anarchists say the IMF statements are morbid unenlightened plutarchy. 01-04.08.2002: The populist chaos and ochlarchy in Argentina is spreading to Uruguay, that moves to calm bank panic. New restrictions on savings accounts to stem Uruguay's capital flight are announced as 5,000 police impose an uneasy calm on Montevideo's streets. Mobs loot shops in the Uruguayan capital as the country is paralysed by a strike in protest at continuing economic turmoil. The U.S. Treasury will disburse $1.5 billion in aid to Uruguay on Monday to help the tiny South American nation through the financial crisis. 05.08.2002.
"The anarchist economical advice is mainly also valid for the international regional area, " the anarchists say. 06.08.2002: Uruguay's banks face lengthy queues. Banks open again after being closed almost a week, as the US lends Uruguay $1.5bn to help it weather the crisis.07-13.08.2002: Argentina's continuing political and economic crisis could soon get worse, according to a leading academic who follows the country's fortunes. President Eduardo Duhalde met US treasury secretary Paul O'Neill in the capital Buenos Aires. But while the president was pressing his case for urgent financial support, the public welcome for Mr O'Neill - one of the few people perhaps ikely to be able to help Argentina - could not have been worse. He faced noisy protestors who lit flares and fireworks outside his hotel. They even burnt the American flag along with photos of Mr O'Neill during a night-long vigil. Placards urged the Americans and the International Monetary Fund to leave Argentina alone. Mr O'Neill left Buenos Aires only offering "technical advice" and gave no further details of any aid package. Having no banks operating is worse than having all banks bankrupt or at least the equivalent, so nothing can be worse than the status quo. Certainly there is no quick fix solution for a country famous for its beef steaks and which most of its own population can no longer afford to buy, i.e. within the framework of the unenlightened plutarchy combined with chaotic populism.
"The solution is an approximation to the anarchist economical plan explained above, " the anarchists say. 13-19.08.2002: The BBC reports about ca 30% unemployment and "underemployment" in Argentina. The people are still protesting, Duhalde calls for more loans from the IMF, and things are getting worse in general, day by day... " For how long can this madness, populist chaos and unelightened plutarchy go on?" the anarchists ask?20-28.08.2002 Argentina's 'dirty war' files released: Files could help those seeking to convict Galtieri, the BBC reports 21.08.2002. Thousands of confidential documents on human rights violations committed during the military regimes of the 1970s and 1980s have been released by the US Embassy in Argentina. Human rights groups say up to 30,000 people were killed. The declassified documents sent to Buenos Aires by the US State Department deal with death squads, abductions and disappearances during the so-called dirty war against opponents of the military. Human rights groups welcomed the move, saying the information would clarify issues and help prosecutors in the cases against officers - including the former military leader, General Leopoldo Galtieri. He was arrested last month on kidnapping charges, after judges ruled that an amnesty protecting military personnel from prosecution was unconstitutional. An official investigation concluded that 9,000 people were killed or disappeared during the period of the military governments, although human rights organisations say the figure could be as high as 30,000.
The Washington-based National Security Archive (NSA), an academic organisation which examined the files, said they include an organisational chart of the death squad unit Battalion 601, with an explicit chain of command leading directly to General Galtieri; a specific description of the kidnappings by 601 which are the basis for General Galtieri's arrest warrant; a US Embassy cable reporting the Argentine military's embrace of "extra-judicial" tactics, because "the security forces neither trust nor know how to use legal solutions" and because "under present rules 'nobody' is responsible on the record for the executions". The NSA's Carlos Osorio said the documents also provide clues to the fate of disappeared citizens in Argentina, and "tell the story of a massive and indiscriminate counter-insurgency campaign carried out by the military dictatorship". He added that the files were a "clear contribution to families seeking information about their missing relatives and to judges seeking to make the military accountable for past abuses". The documents, which are being made public for the first time, were handed over to Buenos Aires following a pledge made by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2000. They are said to include more than 4,000 pages of cables, memoranda and reports between the US State Department and the US Embassy in Buenos Aires during the years of military rule. — Leaders of the military dictatorship that took control of Argentina in 1976 believed that the Ford administration supported their crackdown on leftist insurgents and would not penalize them for rights abuses, newly declassified State Department documents show.
The documents indicate that American Embassy officials in Buenos Aires frequently felt frustrated in their efforts to encourage the Argentine government to rein in military and paramilitary units that were systematically killing, torturing and kidnapping suspected leftists — including several American citizens — during the summer and fall of 1976. EUQUÉN, Argentina — For years this tidy city of 250,000 has prided itself on being "the gateway to Patagonia." But these days it is also the center of an increasingly restive movement to detach this southernmost region of South America, rich in oil and minerals, from the economic disaster that is the rest of Argentina. Because of that deepening crisis, public services have been sharply cut for Patagonians even as their region's own bounty continues to generate income for the central government. As a result, longstanding resentment of Buenos Aires has intensified, and political autonomy, regional integration and even secession are now being openly discussed as solutions.29.08.2002: Reluctant to support a new bailout for Argentina, President Bush on Wednesday granted trade benefits to the crisis-hit country giving exporters greater access to the U.S. market for leather, jewelry and other products.The White House said the benefits approved by presidential proclamation, coupled with additional trade measures in the pipeline, could help ease Argentina's worst-ever economic crisis.It could also improve the administration's standing in the region.
Senior officials at Argentina's embassy in Washington said it was a political move to back the country's beleaguered economy. Bush and his top advisers have been wary of pledging American tax dollars to a new multibillion-dollar aid package.The White House said the proclamation provided duty-free access for 57 types of imports, from leather products and dried apples to gold and silver jewelry, under the Generalized System of Preferences program for developing countries. These imports totaled $126 million in 2001."Restoring these benefits will promote growth in Argentina by providing new trade opportunities,'' said White House spokesman Michael Anton. He said Argentina lost the benefits because it exceeded export limits.Pending a review, additional Argentine products could receive similar duty-free treatment, including condensed milk, peanuts, Romano and Parmesan cheeses, pineapple and grape juices, as well as fortified wines, officials said.Sweeping tariff-cuts could face opposition from American producers and their allies in Congress. A major trade package for Pakistan, a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism, was scaled back earlier this year after U.S. textile makers and lawmakers protested.But a senior congressional aide said Bush can extend the trade benefits "unilaterally'' -- without lawmakers' approval.
30.08.2002: Call for solidarity from Argentina: Hello fellows - At present
I am affiliated to the F.O.R.A. - a.i.t. that have several local unions and
offices around Argentina, by INDIVIDUAL necessity and as this INDIVIDUAL, I
write to them and to you the companions of the CNT. I want basically that we
reflect together .........................., at first I will comment some aspects
to them - of the labor reality in the Argentinean region. Unemployment arrives
sometimes at 35%, suboccupation another 20%, the workers in activity gain average
100 dollar per month, a third of the money that is needed to live! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The companions and the towns in general starve, people eat of the sweepings,
work 12 hours per day in some cases, the children are born with great deficiencies
because of the cronical hunger, the forces of repression count 1 500 000 persons!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I ask you who you are, with the data
that I gave you, do we really belong to the same class, while you gain 1500
euros a month, when we work in the region of Argentina 2 years to achieve that
same amount of pay... Understanding these great differences, and even if the
problems of Europe must be solved by an European continental association of
workers, - do not make the A.I.T. only an European thing, act consequently,
be really anti-authoritarian, practice solidarity and mutual support, reflect!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
health and brotherhood - Lisandro Baremberg
Hola compañeros: Me presento, soy un afiliado a la sociedad de recistencia
de oficios varios de capital federal adherida a la F.O.R.A.-a.i.t., por necesidad
INDIVIDUAL Y nada mas que INDIVIDUAL, les escribo a ustedes los compañeros
de la CNT quiero basicamente que reflexionemos juntos.........................,
para eso primero les comentare algunos aspectos de la realidad laboral en la
regional argentina. La desocupacion llega al 35%, la subocupacion 20%,los trabajadores
en actividad ganan promedio 100 dolares al mes, un tercio del dinero que se
necesita para vivir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, los
compañeros y el pueblo en general se muere de hambre, la gente come de
la basura, se trabaja mas de 12hs por dia en algunos casos, los niños
nacen con grandes deficiencias a causa del hambre cronico, las fuerzas de reprecion
cuentan con 1 500 000 de efectivos (personas) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
ahora me pregunto ustedes que son clasistas, con los datos que les di, creen
ahora que pertenecemos a la misma clase?, mientras ustedes ganan 1500 euros
al mes a nosotros los que trabajamos en la regional argentina nos costaria 2
años de trabajo el consegir esa misma cifra por estas grandes diferencias
los problemas de europa debe ser resuelto por una asociacion continental europea
de trabajadores, no europeicen la A.I.T. , actuen consecuentemente, sean realmente
anti-autoritarios, practiquen la solidaridad y el apoyo mutuo, reflexionen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
salud y fraternidad - Lisandro Baremberg
11.09.2002. The anarcha-feminist G. Monsen of AFIN (Anarchist Federation of Norway) i "Ord for dagen 11.09.2002 - Gal - Galere - Galest - Galtung" (Words for today ...printed in Folkebladet) criticized Johan Galtung, also called the 'mad peace professor', and mentioning "galningen i Argentina", i.e. "the mad man i Argentina", meaning Duhalde. 12.09.2002 the fear of madness in the Argentinian government is confirmed in a new law proposal: Argentine politicians will have to undergo mental health tests to prove they are fit for office if a proposed bill is made law. Senator Jorge Capitanich, the sponsor of the measure, also wants candidates to be checked for their physical well-being and to reveal details of tax payments and any criminal records. Mr Capitanich, a former Argentine cabinet chief, wants parliament to agree to the in-depth scrutiny of anyone standing for national, provincial or municipal posts. Correspondents say politicians are increasingly the target of public anger as Argentina faces its worst ever economic crisis. The most common street slogan ahead of next March's presidential elections is now said to be "Get rid of them all!" Public madness: Four presidents have been forced to quit since last December and reports say that few lawmakers can go out in public without being insulted or spat at.
Argentina's politicians have been criticised by the country's church leaders and economists but most particularly, the 36 million people in the country, half of whom are estimated to live in poverty. It is expected that the proposed changes to the election code - which correspondents say prompt the speculation that the country could be seen changing from a circus to a madhouse - will be debated this week. 19.09.2002: Senior political figures in Argentina have criticized the International Monetary Fund's policies for the country. An Argentine cabinet minister has said citizens are "sick and tired" of IMF officials criticising government policies aimed at pulling the nation out of a four-year recession. "There are opinions from the IMF that even the most patient and flexible people are becoming sick and tired of," the usually low-profile interior minister, Jorge Matzkin said. The sentiment was echoed by Brazil's leading presidential candidate Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, who said loans from the IMF would not end the economic crises in Brazil and Argentina. "I don't believe that taking loans from the IMF will offer any economic salvation for Brazil, or for Argentina," the Workers' Party candidate told Argentine cable news channel Todo Noticias. "I believe that Argentina's recovery, and that of Brazil, will come from the productive capacity of industry and agriculture and tourism ... not from borrowed money." IMF deputy managing director Anne Krueger on Tuesday said Argentina lacked economic policies, such as those implemented by Brazil, to foster economic growth. Argentina is negotiating with the IMF for new loans after the lender, in which the US is the largest shareholder, stopped credit lines last December. Ms Krueger said a deal could come soon but did not rule out a debt default on foreign loans in the meantime. Negotiations have been complicated by court rulings over economic policy. The Supreme Court could rule on Thursday on whether the switch of dollar deposits into devalued pesos was unconstitutional.
20.09.2002: "We don't believe that taking loans from the IMF will offer any economic salvation for Argentina either," say the anarchists. 21.09-24.10.2002: "It is status quo in a way in Argentina. There should however be possible to introduce some more mutualism, say agricultural, industrial and consumer co-operatives, perhaps related to the neighbourhood-assemblies." the anarchists say.14.11.2002: Argentina has defaulted on a debt repayment to the World Bank of more than $800m that was due on Thursday. "The World Bank today confirmed that it has received a partial payment of $79.2m from the government of Argentina against a scheduled payment of $805 million," the World Bank said in a statement. The Bank said the move meant it would not consider any new loans for the country, and access to current loans would be removed unless it was paid within the next 30 days. Argentina had been hoping to strike a deal with the International Monetary Fund - another international lender - before the debt payment fell due, and an Argentine delegation headed by Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna had been in talks with the Fund in Washington. Earlier on Thursday, the Argentine government had said it would only be making a payment that covered the interest on the loan. Mr Lavagna said that until Argentina reached a deal with the IMF, it would pay interest but not principal on World Bank loans. "We have told the World Bank that there will be a very speedy regularization (of payments) once we close a program of financing for what remains of 2002 and 2003," said Mr Lavagna. "Negotiations are advancing slowly," he added, but he said he hoped that a deal with the IMF would be reached soon.
Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde said the government would continue aid talks with the IMF. "Argentina continues to negotiate (with the IMF)... Argentina is committed to facing its obligations once a deal is sealed," he said. But he added that the government was set to reduce the sales tax - a policy that has not found favour with the IMF. News that Argentina would not meet the debt payment in full surprised the markets, who had believed that a deal would be struck. The main MerVal share index fell 3.25% to 442.07 points in heavy trade. On the currency markets, the peso slipped 1.1% to trade at 3.58/3.59 pesos to the dollar, against Wednesday's close of 3.54/3.55. The IMF cut off its lending after Buenos Aires defaulted on $140bn of private international loans late last year. But 10 months of talks have so far failed to bridge the gap on economic priorities between Argentina, wary of inflaming its impoverished population, and the IMF. It is feared that defaulting on the World Bank loan could threaten future lending, and humanitarian aid, to Argentina. The country's economy is in crisis and is expected to shrink by more than 10% this year. More than half the population are now living below the poverty line. "If this is the beginning of a default with multilaterals, this is much more worrying in the long term," said Jose Luis Espert, an economist at Espert Y Asociados. But some analysts said things had got so bad in Argentina that a default would not make matters much worse. "Making this payment was probably not going to improve matters for the population," said Carl Ross at Bear Stearns. "I don't think this has a big impact on the real economy." The possible spill-over effects for other South American economies are seen as being limited. "I think it's bad news for Argentina," said Michael Gavin, an economist at UBS Warburg. "For the rest of the region, I think Argentina's differentiated itself so completely that I doubt there will be important consequences."
15.11.2002: "We recommend grassroots direct actions towards more mutualism, and in general more anarchist economics according to the plans mentioned above, " the anarchists say. 15.11.2002-31.03.2003: FORA-AIT: Report about the social situation. One year after the events on the 19 and 20 December 2001, the balance of the Eduardo Duhalde president following the Fernando de la Rua and all the former provisional presidents loud falling, leaves us a calamitous economical situation that falls upon blocked salaries, strong increase in official tariffs with the excuse of the peso/dollar devaluation rate, and price rise -on the same level as in dollars- in all main consumption goods being the most affected the products for family basics. The result of it all is a big increase in undernourishment, chronic diseases, infant mortality (when we all know that this country produces food for 360 million people), an accelerated increase of poverty since, already half a year ago, indicators gave the unbelievable figure of more than half of the population under the line of poverty and reaching up to 8.3 million people under the age of 18 out of a total population of 12.5 million.To this we have to add the unemployment of half of the active population, wage shortage and work casualisation.To counteract unemployment, the government implemented a new sort of subside called “plan for family bosses” whose salary is of 150 $ -face to a family expense of 1000 $ (two children included)- and this does not even reach the income statistically established for an indigent (200 $). Even though the situation is critical, the government has got ways to control and repress the small social struggles since, in addition to the police apparatus with its brutal force, they also have all the media that persuade the discontent underlining all words about insecurity and violence which derives in heavier police presence, policemen in trains, controls in gates, permanent police operation and also the attempt to impulse militarist education projects.SOCIAL MOVEMENTSSocial organisations appear to face the unrest; the most significant example is the picket movement that is growing with the increasingly worsening unemployment.
These organisations have different attributes, some of them are left wing political parties arms, others remain autonomous from parties, some of them claim for employment plans, others for food or houses, all of them request for job and state subsidies.They also differ in their different organisation methods. There are groups that propose horizontal organisation and others that display a hierarchical structure. A clear example of the first are the comrades from Bariloche (city in Rio Negro) who, sick of suffering from hunger, organised and formed M.A.L.O. (Anarchist Movement for Worker Liberation). There are 50 families from two different districts (El Frutillar and 34 Hectareas) participating in this movement. These comrades have developed actions such as the seizure of a storehouse full of stuff (blankets, milk, plates, etc) belonging to the church, road blocks, supermarket claims, expropriation of a baby clothes truck... and they are considering the possibility of expropriating a plot of land in order to make a common garden and orchard and they have the idea of getting anarchist books so that they can make propaganda amongst the people in the area.Another example are the seized factories that, when the economy went down and the bosses withdrew, were maintained by the workers who decided to keep the companies’ production. Some ended up as co-operative companies and others are trying to belong to the state, all count on the support from sectors of the left.After all that happened in December 2001 part of the inhabitants from different districts began to organise in assemblies. At the beginning one of the main characteristics was the ideological heterogenity and that they were out of any party framework. After a time, and given the continuous attrition they suffered from the leftist parties, most of them dissolve or adopted party instructions (even the secretary general to the communist party admitted, in a press report, that if the left hadn’t interfered in the assemblies, these would still exist). The ones that did not suffer such a process began to focus on district issues keeping apart from political programmes.The attitude of the state face to all this movement is of continued prosecution and repression of its members; at the same time, they criminalize every action coming from this movement, punishing protests and blockages, changing laws, etc.
UNIONS AND CHURCH - Meanwhile, the unionist mafia cored in the CGT, supporter of all politics destroying workers conquests, remain unconcerned about the social crisis, defending their privileges by means of a demagogic speech.The fact that they are allied to the state politics brought up a general repulse on the side of the people, and they were added to the “let them all go”. On the other hand, the church called for social peace and urged the politicians to take steps towards the demobilisation of the increasing protest, apart from drawing people’s attention about null vote and abstention.
ELECTIONS - People display an enormous unconcern and apathy with regards voting. This apathy can end up in a president with little representation, which will probably mean a weak government that will need a lot of repression to keep going on, a government stuck between a people that cannot be further squeezed and an IMF that wants its demands fulfilled. This is a pamphlet edited by the FORA Federal Council on the occasion of the first year after the events on the 19 and 20 December 2001.
FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
On the 19th and 20th December 2001, the people, sick with misery, ignoring
the state of siege, mobilised massively and hit the streets. Many of those
who had been lucky with the last ten year system also demonstrated when they
felt by themselves the anger and humiliation that the working class
feels when it is exploited; side by side with the usual deprived, they claimed
for any type of change; they did not think that, instead of getting
any improvement, we would meet an even more calamitous situation (worse working
conditions, more poverty, more unemployment, more misery, more
hunger) that is being imposed by means of military/police repression supported
by the CGT union mafia together with the complicity of the media
and the church.Initiatives appeared, either as seized factories, district assemblies, or unemployed
organisations, etc., although born in an spontaneous way, they
were quickly picked up in their majority by party interests. But then... is
everything as before? We think it hasn’t been useless because, after any
revolt, things never go back to their exact former point given the fact that
people have enjoyed a period of freedom and also experienced their
strength.We learnt that we have to breach with the authoritarian schemes (political
cunning, party structures of any kind) of those who aim at ruling us, who
control and spy our thoughts and our lives, and that we have to develop a constant
and sincere practice of solidarity among people, by means of
horizontal and federalist organisations that struggle in direct action, with
no domineering visionary as a boss and without negotiation with the
state. This is the strategy that we have to adopt as our own, either as employed
or unemployed workers that participate with responsibility and
solidarity in the struggle for dignity and for a true social transformation.
01-24.4.2003: ARGENTINA: Eviction of Workers Creates Tension Ahead of Elections Apr 22, 2003. Marcela Valente, Inter Press Service BUENOS AIRES, Apr 22 (IPS)- Some 20 protesters remained under arrest Tuesday after police and demonstrators clashed outside a factory in the Argentine capital Monday, creating a tense climate ahead of next Sunday's presidential elections. An estimated 28 people were injured Monday when riot police used tear gas, rubber bullets and batons to enforce a court order for the eviction of the Brukman textile factory workers, who formed a cooperative and got the bankrupt company going again after it was abandoned by its owners in late 2001.Last Friday, police forcibly evicted the 57 workers, mainly women, who were running the factory, and a heavy police guard was posted around the building to keep them from reentering. But the members of the cooperative, who are backed by left-wing political forces, associations of unemployed workers, human rights groups and community organizations, decided to re-occupy the factory on Monday. Many of the estimated 5,000 protesters who gathered outside the factory in solidarity with the workers Monday fled into the University of Buenos Aires psychology faculty building and the Garraham children's hospital, which are near the company. Police tossed tear gas cylinders into the buildings and tried to force their way in after the demonstrators. Around 100 people were arrested, although most were released in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Protesters were planning another demonstration for Tuesday evening. Several vehicles, among them a police car, were set alight in the tumult. A number of people were hospitalized as a result of their injuries, including a police officer.Spokespersons for the government of caretaker President Eduardo Duhalde and the city of Buenos Aires expressed shock at the escalation of street violence that broke out in the midst of efforts to negotiate a solution to the legal dispute between the Brukman factory workers and owners.
Employees and directors of the Garraham children's hospital were indignant at the attempt by riot police to chase protesters into the building. "We have children here with pneumonia who now have headaches and are vomiting since the police forced their way into the hospital," said a nurse, adding that the excessive use of force by the police should be denounced before international human rights organizations."The repression was extremely harsh and could have been avoided, but there was clearly an official decision to intimidate the workers with a huge security operation that exceeded what would be the normal enforcement of a court order," said the Brukman workers' lawyer Miriam Breckman. The Brukman factory was occupied by its workers in December 2001, after its owners fled, owing nearly six months in back wages and other debts. The employees formed a cooperative, and got the plant running again. Although they were expelled twice on court orders, they were allowed back in each time by legal action.Brukman is just one example of a movement that began in late 1998, at the start of a hard-hitting recession that culminated in outright economic collapse three years later. More than 150 cooperatives have taken over businesses that were driven under by the economic meltdown, and in many cases literally abandoned by their owners. The businesses involved range from food products companies to metallurgical, chemical and car parts factories, transport companies and printing presses. The general pattern is that the owners of a teetering business stop paying wages for several months before declaring bankruptcy or suddenly leaving the country and fleeing their debts.
The employees, with no money and no hope of obtaining the back wages they are owed, take over the business and seek permission from the courts to set themselves up as a cooperative. The movement really began to grow after the crisis peaked in late December 2001, when rioting, looting and protests toppled two governments in less than two weeks and the country defaulted on its bulky foreign debt.According to official figures, 57 percent of the population of this once-rich Southern Cone country, Latin America's third- largest economy, has fallen into poverty, and unemployment has soared to over 21 percent. Most of the cooperatives forming part of the National Movement of Recuperated Companies have peacefully occupied the businesses where their members had been employed, and have sought and secured legal permission to continue running the factories.
They are now operating normally, paying off the debts incurred by the previous owners, expanding the payroll, and in some cases even increasing wages.The workers and the former owners generally agree to an arrangement for the cooperative to rent the building and gradually pay off the machinery and equipment. In some cases, the owners even form a partnership with their former employees. But at times, the relationship between the cooperative and the owners becomes stormy, legal action is taken, the police are sent in, and it becomes difficult for the company to operate normally again and regain the confidence of its clients. Brukman is a high-profile case of companies that remain the object of legal battles. The owners of the factory simply disappeared in December 2001. But they had failed to pay full wages since 1995. In the second half of 2001, things took a turn for the worse in Brukman, as in the rest of the country, and the weekly paychecks, which had already dropped from 100 to 50 pesos (on par with the dollar at the time), shrunk to just five pesos. On December 14, 2001, the owners paid their employees two pesos, and laid everyone off. A number of the workers decided to occupy the factory, assuming that the three owners would try to remove the equipment the next day.
But none of them showed up.Then began the several days of looting and rioting that forced then-president Fernando de la Rúa to resign on December 20, and the workers decided to stay on in the factory. The owners never showed up or responded to telephone calls by the Labor Ministry. So around half of the workers who occupied the factory over the Christmas holidays and through the month of January 2002 decided to get the company, which manufactures men's clothing, running again. They paid off unpaid utility bills and other debts, purchased materials, and distributed whatever was left over from the clothing sales among themselves. Although they barely scraped by, they were happy to have a job.The first eviction, in 2002, took everyone by surprise because the occupation of the factory had been peaceful, and the owners had not set forth any demands - indeed, had not even showed up when summoned by the Labor Ministry to discuss the situation.
The weekly community assembly held in the Once neighborhood, where the factory is located, has given the workers strong support, including food. One of the cooperative movement's big success stories is the Frigorífico Yaguané meat-packing plant, in the province of Buenos Aires. In 1996, it was abandoned by its owners as bankruptcy loomed. The workers moved into the factory, found clients, paid off the debts and got the company back on its feet again in 1998. Since then, Yaguané has become the leading cold-storage plant in Argentina, which is one of the world's biggest producers of beef. "Rather than vasting time on old, outdated and bankrupt factories as doubtfully legal cooperatives, new cooperatives should be established by the workers" the anarchists say: "In this case there would be no trouble with owners and police. However some expropriatons of occupied factories were declared legal via a new law.
27.04.2003: Polls have opened in Argentina where voters will choose a president.Voting began at 0800 local time (1100 GMT) on Sunday, with 25.5 million people eligible to vote. Following the collapse of the country's economy a year ago, more than half the country is now living in poverty and one in five workers is unemployed. 14.05.2003 Former president Carlos Menem has said he was quitting Argentina's presidential race, leaving provincial governor Nestor Kirchner to win by default.
15.05 - 09.07.2003: About 300 small cooperatives are established by now. 10.07.2003-31.12.2004: When the Argentine economy collapsed in December 2001, doomsday predictions abounded. Unless it adopted orthodox economic policies and quickly cut a deal with its foreign creditors, hyperinflation would surely follow, the peso would become worthless, investment and foreign reserves would vanish and any prospect of growth would be strangled. But three years after Argentina declared a record debt default of more than $100 billion, the largest in history, the apocalypse has not arrived. Instead, the economy has grown by 8 percent for two consecutive years, exports have zoomed, the currency is stable, investors are gradually returning and unemployment has eased from record highs - all without a debt settlement or the standard measures required by the International Monetary Fund for its approval. This is according to anarchist economics/demand management.
Argentina's recovery has been undeniable, and it has been achieved at least in part by ignoring and even defying economic and political orthodoxy. Rather than moving to immediately satisfy bondholders, private banks and the I.M.F., as other developing countries have done in less severe crises, the Peronist-led government chose to stimulate internal consumption first and told creditors to get in line with everyone else."This is a remarkable historical event, one that challenges 25 years of failed policies," said Mark Weisbrot, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal research group in Washington. "While other countries are just limping along, Argentina is experiencing very healthy growth with no sign that it is unsustainable, and they've done it without having to make any concessions to get foreign capital inflows."The consequences of that decision can be seen in government statistics and in stores, where consumers once again were spending robustly before Christmas. More than two million jobs have been created since the depths of the crisis early in 2002, and according to official figures, inflation-adjusted income has also bounced back, returning almost to the level of the late 1990's. That is when the crisis emerged, as Argentina sought to tighten its belt according to I.M.F. prescriptions, only to collapse into the worst depression in its history, which also set off a political crisis.Some of the new jobs are from a low-paying government make-work program, but nearly half are in the private sector.
As a result, unemployment has declined from more than 20 percent to about 13 percent, and the number of Argentines living below the poverty line has fallen by nearly 10 points from the record high of 53.4 percent early in 2002. "Things are by no means back to normal, but we've got the feeling we're back on the right track," said Mario Alberto Ortiz, a refrigeration repairman. "For the first time since things fell apart, I can actually afford to spend a little money."Traditional free-market economists remain skeptical of the government's approach. While acknowledging there has been a recovery, they attribute it mainly to external factors rather than the policies of President Néstor Kirchner, who has been in office since May 2003. Increasingly, they also maintain that the comeback is beginning to lose steam.The I.M.F., which Argentine officials blame for inducing the crisis in the first place, argues that the current government is acting at least in part as the I.M.F. has always recommended. It has limited spending and moved to increase revenues, a classic prescription when an economy is ailing, and has built up a surplus twice the size of what the fund had asked before negotiations were put on hold several months ago.
It is time for even more anarchist economical demand management in 2005 to do away with the unemployment and create wealth, the anarchists say. 16.12.2005: Argentina has said it will pay its $10bn debt to the International Monetary Fund three years early. President Nestor Kirchner said Argentina needed control of the tools to build its independence. His announcement came two days after Brazil, in a similar move, said it would pay off its $15bn debt. Argentine relations with the IMF have been difficult since the country's government defaulted on a debt of over $100bn four years ago. Millions of dollars were taken out of the country and many of Argentina's large middle class found themselves knocking on the ramshackle doors of the country's growing shanty towns. Tens of thousands of others left to start new lives abroad. But, against the odds, Mr Kirchner has turned things around.
Earlier this year his government renegotiated more than $100bn of debt with private creditors and now he has said that the IMF will get the $10bn dollars it is owed by the end of the year - three years early. The money will come from Argentina's foreign reserves and by paying off the debt they will save $1bn in interest. The economy is growing at an impressive rate and, speaking after the president, new Economy Minister Felisa Miceli said exports were at a record high. The head of the IMF, Rodrigo Rato, said he was sure that paying off the debt would bring positive results for Argentina. The economic future certainly looks brighter than it did just a few years ago but it will still be some time before the benefits of this move filter down to the many Argentines living below the poverty line and to those still reeling from the crisis four years ago.
About 2005: As mentioned in response to the economic crisis in Argentina, many Argentinian workers occupied the premises of bankrupt businesses and began to run them as worker-owned cooperatives. As of 2005, there were roughly 200 worker-owned businesses in Argentina, most of which were started in response to this crisis. The documentary film The Take is the best-known document in English about this phenomenon.
04.04.2007: Teacher killed during demonstration.
Police repression continues to dominate certain provinces of Argentina. Teacher Carlos Fuentalba was a fatal victim of police brutality on taking part in a teacher's demonstration in Neuquen on 4 April, 2007. He died from a blow to the head with a teargas bomb, which was shot just two metres away from him.
The teacher demonstration, organised at the beginning of April, was held in support of a claim for a wage rise, which had been approved at national level but has still not been applied in Neuquen. The Anarchist International firmly condemns these brutal police methods. In this e-mail to the Argentinian authorities , the Anarchist International calls on the government to take all the measures necessary to ensure that the Argentinian education system can function as best possible and regain its lost prestige, both in terms of infrastructure and working conditions.
A demonstration in protest at police brutality was held on 9 April. The demonstrators showed their indignation at the attitude of Jorge Sobisch, the Governor of Neuquen, who insists on justifying the police's actions. Argentina does not need new acts of violence, what it needs is social justice and respect for human and labour rights, the linchpins of democracy. The Anarchist International demands that a full and independent investigation be carried out in order to find those responsible for the death of Carlos Fuentalba and to ensure that they are brought to justice.
The Argentinian teachers' labour unions are pursuing their fight, in spite of the attacks being levelled against them. On Wednesday 25 April, for example, unknown assailants attacked the house of the ATEN teachers' union general secretary, Marcelo Guagliardo, whilst the union was negotiating the teachers' salaries.
By early 2007, more than 170 businesses were worker-run.
28.10.2007: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner elected to president. She declares not to be authoritarian. Time will show. Mrs Kirchner emphasises social justice, an ideal she says is rooted in her 1970s student activism. She has called on companies to invest in Argentina to help to solve its inequalities. "We used to want to change the world. Now we are more realistic, we just want to change our country," she often says. Mrs Kirchner has promised to continue her husband's centre-left policies. Just a few years ago Argentina was deep in crisis. It defaulted on its foreign debt, bank customers were prohibited from withdrawing their own savings, businesses went bust and almost half the population found itself below the poverty line. But now, for most, those troubles are a distant memory. President Nestor Kirchner's government paid off Argentina's debt to the International Monetary Fund, construction is booming, exports are up, annual growth averages 8% and the rates of poverty and unemployment are looking much healthier. Many factories in the area were abandoned by owners who left behind unpaid salaries and huge debts. Now they have been taken over by their workers, with support from the government. But there are still a lot of poor people, considerable inflation and high crime rates. Rivals have criticized the Kirchners as being authoritarian and treating the election as the beginning of a political dynasty to tighten their grip on the presidency and Congress.
Argentina is ranked as no 45 of countries according to libertarian degree, with a point estimate of ca 37, 8% libertarian degree, i.e. ca 62,2% authoritarian degree. It is more authoritarian than the USA, with ca 42,5% libertarian degree and ca 57,5% authoritarian degree. It is also more capitalist than the USA, with a ginindex at 52.2, while the USA has a ginindex at 40.8. The degree of capitalism in Argentina is estimated to ca 77%, i.e. very significant (the degree of socialism is only ca 23%). The degree of statism is ca 42,5%, and thus the degree of autonomy is ca 57,5%, i.e. clearly significant. Argentina is located in the conservative sector, a little to the left, and a bit downwards, of USA, in the quadrant of liberalism on the economical-political map. Thus, Argentina has left the populist chaos of Duhalde with more than 67% authoritarian degree. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is ideologically a left populist, but this is not the tendency of the economic-political system of Argentina, seen as a whole. The coordinates of the economic-political system in Argentina are long term average structural estimates.
XL. 27.03-18.07.2008: Argentine farm tax crisis - - it ended with victory for the anarchists and farmers. 20.03.2009: Argentine farmers to halt grain, beef sales. The anarchists support the direct actions of the farmers! 28.06.2009: Parliament election. 04.08.2009: A bomb exploded. The anarchists suspect a marxist leftwing extremist ochlarch. 30.12.2009: There are now more than 250 worker-recovered businesses in Argentina. 10.01.2010: There are pressure and demonstrations for more cooperatives. 29.01.2010: Argentina's Central Bank president resigns. 20.04.2010. Last Argentine dictator jailed for 25 years. 27.04-03.05.2010: Arrest of five ochlarchists in Buenos Aires. 14.05.2010. Argentina: Greek financial rescue doomed to fail. 27.10.2010. Argentines mourn dead former president Nestor Kirchner who steered the country out of crisis via advice of anarchist economics, by the libertarians. F.O.R.A.'s 110th anniversary. 07.11.2011. F.O.R.A. on G20 in France, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and "anarcho"-capitalism. Problems in F.L.A. Anti-corruption protests. 31.07.2014. Argentina has defaulted on its debt. And more...
27.03.2008: Argentine farm tax crisis. A strike by Argentine farmers over rising taxes on major export goods has entered its third week, with little sign of resolution. Blockades by farmers have led to shortages in the shops and have also hit exports, with some companies saying they cannot fulfil their contracts. The government says the tax increases are justified and it will use force if necessary to get food to the markets. Rival demonstrators rallied in Buenos Aires overnight amid some scuffles. The latest crisis was sparked by the government's decision to introduce a new sliding scale of export taxes, raising levies in some cases up to 45%. President Cristina Fernandez has refused to back down, saying the taxes are a means to raise badly-needed revenue, curb inflation and guarantee domestic supplies. "The government is not against the farm sector.
Farmers' profits have never been as high as they are today," her chief of cabinet, Alberto Fernandez, said on Wednesday. Argentina, a leading exporter of beef, corn, soyoil and soybeans, has benefited from the recent global surge in commodity prices. But farmers say the taxes are hitting them and their communities hard. "Our profit margins are getting smaller and smaller. What we pay to the state is not returned to us in the form, for example, of subsidies to buy fertilizers or to promote the social and educational development of our communities," Marcelo Rasseto, a small farmer from Santa Fe province told.
Protesters have been stopping lorries carrying farm produce and either turning them back or dumping their goods on the road. Trade at grain and cattle markets has also been disrupted, while several suppliers of Argentine soy and soy oil to China have been unable to fulfil export contracts, industry officials told. The farmers' action has also led to meat and dairy shortages in the shops. "The government will take the necessary measures to ensure there are no shortages... We have to guarantee people's food supplies," Economy Minister Martin Lousteau said. The farmers' dispute also appears to have merged with more general anger against inflation and rising taxes. "This country is fed up with taxes. Where does the tax money go," retired flight attendant Karin Sagemuner told the Associated Press in the Argentine capital. "What they are doing to the farmers is shameful by confiscating their money." But not everyone agrees.
"Prices for basic commodities like dairy products, meat fruit and vegetables have gone up enormously in the recent months, as it is more profitable to export than to sell them in the country," said Jan Dohnke in Buenos Aires. "The rising export taxes are one way of trying to correct this process. In general, it seems to me that this is a protest of the well-to-do in fear of losing some of their profits." There was a second night of demonstrations in the capital, Buenos Aires, overnight, as hundreds rallied against the government. Pro-government supporters also took to the streets and local media showed brawls between the rival groups.
24.05.2008: Argentine farm crisis ploughs on. Argentina could face more protests after talks to end a tax row broke down on Thursday 22.05.2008. Farm leaders met the government to try to end a three-month dispute over higher taxes on exports. They are angry about new tariffs on soybeans, one of the country's biggest exports, being raised by up to 45%. Producers claim they will be put out of business by the combination of higher taxes, transport costs and the rising cost of land. In March, a three-week farmers strike over the soybean levy caused food shortages across the country. Farmers blocked roads, preventing trucks delivering produce to supermarkets in Buenos Aires and other major cities. The protests also hit global supplies as Argentina is the world's third biggest soybean exporter. Its annual harvest is estimated to be worth $24bn (£12bn), the bulk of which is exported. Last year, it earned $13bn from exports of the grain. US soybean futures rose 1% on Friday because traders are worried the ongoing dispute will threaten supplies from one of the world's most important exporters. Farm groups involved in Thursday's talks said the government refused to discuss their demand to suspend the new tax. "The meeting was bad. The attitude is to put off an answer," said Eduardo Buzzi, head of the Argentine Agrarian Federation. Cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez said: "We will work to find a solution."
The row has dragged on for three months and has been a major test for President Christine Kirchner and her government. The economy minister, Martin Lousteau, lost his job over the crisis. Although Mrs Kirchner has announced rebates for small and medium-sized farmers, she has refused to budge on her policy of a sliding-scale tax on exports. She said it would boost state revenues at a time when world commodity prices are high, secure domestic supplies and redistribute wealth among its citizens. Farmers are planning a rally over agricultural policy in the city of Rosario on 25 May to coincide with the Revolution Day public holiday.
03.06.2008: Argentine farmers extend strike. Argentine farmers have extended their six-day strike by a further week in protest at what they call crippling taxes on their exports. The decision came after a day of angry protests by farmers across the country. The farmers refuse to allow the export of grain but have decided to lift their ban on the export of beef. The Argentine government says the farmers can afford to pay and that it needs the money to fight poverty and control inflation. Argentina's farm leaders are angry at what they say is government intransigence. The government accuses the farmers of being greedy and says it will not back down. It adds that the farmers can afford to pay the export taxes imposed on soya, which fetches high prices on world markets. The farmers say their protest rallies will continue across Argentina. The dispute has been dragging on for more than 80 days. And with each day that passes, ordinary Argentines are becoming increasingly disgruntled at the two sides' failure to find any common ground. Prices in the shops are rising. At the same time, Argentina is one of the world's biggest producers of wheat, beef and soya. Therefore, a prolonged dispute will inevitably have an impact on international food prices which are already causing concern, and hunger, in some countries.
09.06.2008: Argentina, one of the world's biggest breadbaskets, should be rolling in cash, as world food prices soar. Instead, soy, wheat and corn have sat for weeks in silos as farmers protesting new export taxes suspended sales. Farmers officially lifted their strike Sunday night (08.06.2008) in a last-ditch effort at a third round of talks. But their three-month standoff with the government has already paralyzed the rural economy, caused scattered food shortages and tanked the new president's popularity. And continued stalemate could spike global grain prices at a time when food costs are already high. Still, experts say grain prices won't rise forever, and many warn that Argentina may be missing its shot at that record revenue - and headed for economic crisis. Farmers meet Monday with a national ombudsman who has offered to broker the crisis, but the government has not yet agreed to join talks. Argentina is one of the world's top four providers of soy, corn, beef and wheat, and rising farm exports - up 48.2 percent since 2003 - helped the country rebound from economic meltdown in 2002, driving five years of more than 8 percent annual growth. Exports stood to climb even higher this year, as international soybean prices jumped about 26 percent and corn prices about 34 percent between January and June. To tap those gains, President Cristina Fernandez decreed a new sliding-scale tax on March 11, boosting rates on grain exports as prices rise.
Current export taxes on soy, for example, jumped to 46 percent from 35 percent, and would top 50 percent if prices swelled above US$600 a metric ton. The move was meant to tame inflation by trapping exports in Argentina, driving down local prices and encouraging cultivation of stocks like wheat and cattle, which have been abandoned for more lucrative soy. But objecting farmers have suspended grain shipments for 89 days in protest, crippling rural towns with roadblocks and layoffs and causing food shortages in cities including Buenos Aires. Cattle ranchers affected by separate export restrictions also halted sales. Ships at Rosario, one of the country's main ports, now drift idly awaiting cargo at a cost to exporters of as much as $70,000 a day. Last week, thousands of truck drivers idled by the strike blocked highways, demanding that farmers and the government negotiate. About 75 percent of Argentines agree that talks are needed, while 14.5 percent support continued protests, according to a May 25-26 poll by Ricardo Rouvier and Associates. The survey of 550 people in Greater Buenos Aires had a sampling error margin of 4 percentage points. Past negotiations have failed. The country's four biggest farm groups rejected the government's May 29 move to trim only the highest tax rates, which applied only if prices significantly soared.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticized measures similar to Argentina's at a summit last week in Rome, calling on world leaders to end export bans, tariffs and taxes that he said impede trade and inflate food prices. But as the standoff grows increasingly political, solutions become more complicated. Several rural state leaders have rallied behind farmers, along with 300,000 supporters who attended a May 25 demonstration - a show of force that makes farmers less likely to accept government terms. Approval ratings for Fernandez, who took office December 10 2007, have meanwhile slipped to 26 percent from 56 percent in January, according to a May 3-11 poll of 1,000 Argentines by the Buenos Aires consultancy Poliarquia. The survey has an error margin of 3.5 percentage points. Her government remains more concerned about winning this battle than about putting an end to the conflict. It fails to realize that it has already lost, and that the conflict is generating uncertainty that is not only affecting its popularity, but is also affecting the economy. "Talks are needed," the anarchists say.
12.06.2008: Controversial tax to fund Argentina's social programs. Argentine farmers are planning their next move after the country's president announced plans to fund a public works program with revenues from the controversial agrarian export tax. Eduardo Buzzi, president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, said the organization's directory board will meet Friday 13.06.2008 to discuss what steps it plans to take in response to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's announcement. "We call on farmers across the country to stay calm but to stay on the alert," the organization said on its Web site Tuesday. On Monday, farmers suspended roadblocks that had snarled traffic across the country, though reports indicated that groups in some rural areas were still blocking roads Tuesday. Kirchner has argued that the tax, which was implemented March 11, pays for increases in seniors' pensions and financial assistance for the poor. She has rejected the farmers' demands for a repeal of the export tax as "extortion". Monday marked the first time Kirchner revealed details of how the government plans to use profits from the tax, which has generated about U.S. $1.5 billion, to lift people out of poverty.
"It is impossible to attack the problem of the poor without distribution of revenue and without touching extraordinary profits," she said in a televised address. Kirchner said the Social Redistribution Program will include the construction of 30 hospitals and more than 300 health-care centers, as well as investments in the country's rural roads and in housing. In an apparent criticism of the farmers, she lamented "the reaction of some who refuse to contribute in the redistribution" to "those who have least." This could result in Argentine society being less sympathetic to the farmers. It is however surprising that the government didn't come up with the plan until the tax was three months old. Probably a continuation of the tax would provoke farmers into not investing. Externally, the standoff has had a two-pronged effect on Argentina: 1. The conflict has resulted in a loss of market for Argentina as other countries have gone elsewhere for products. 2. Foreign investors may be more reluctant to invest in Argentina now.
15.06.2008: Argentina farm strike turns violent. The three-month standoff between the Argentine government and farmers over export taxes turned violent Saturday. Argentine military police clash with farmers who staged a road blockade to protest the controversial export tax. Local reports said there were several injuries and 18 arrests, including Alfredo De Angeli, a farm union leader who has been one of the most outspoken critics of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's export tax. Military police scuffled with farmers as they tried to remove them from a road that protesters had blocked with their trucks. Protesters responded by throwing rocks at police and burning large truck tires in the road. Thick clouds of black smoke could be seen for miles. Scenes of baton-wielding police in riot gear carrying struggling protesters away in trucks were broadcast live around the country.
The clashes took place in the farming community of Gualeguaychu, a stronghold for the protesters, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of Buenos Aires. "It's embarrassing and shameful what this government is doing to us," one protester said. "They need to sit down again with us so we can have dialogue, not violence." It was the worst day of violence in the 95-day conflict, which started in March over a new 44 percent commodities tax that farmers say unfairly cuts their profits at a time of record gains. Thousands of Argentine farmers protesting the grain export tax increases returned to road blockades nationwide on Sunday 15.08.2008, angry over a police crackdown at a barricade the day before. De Angeli, the farm leader, vowed that the demonstrations will continue as long as necessary. "We're not going to sell grains, and we're not going to plant wheat. We're going to plant less corn, less soy, less of everything," he told Radio America. "If this situation doesn't change, grain production is going to fall next year." Farmers lined up tractors across rural roads nationwide in the latest salvo in the bitter three-month standoff with President Cristina Fernandez, that has at times emptied supermarket shelves and raised the specter of recession.
Farmers have sporadically cut off transportation routes in the country over the past three months in an effort to hit the government's coffers. In those cases, food that normally ships to Europe and Asia has not made it to port, and hundreds of thousands of gallons of spoiled milk have been dumped on rural routes. Despite the occasional chaos, Argentina's middle class has rallied behind the farmers and voiced their displeasure with the government. Thousands took to the streets in Buenos Aires on Saturday to bang pots and pans in support of the striking farmers. They also cut off traffic at busy city intersections, waving Argentine flags, singing the national anthem and asking for dialogue between the government and farmers. Kirchner's popularity has dropped to just 26 percent because of the farming stalemate, which has been the toughest challenge yet to her six-month presidency. In addition to causing internal conflict, the Argentine farm strike has also driven up global prices for commodities like soy beans, wheat and corn. "Stop the violence and start negotiations, the export tax should be lowered quite a bit", the anarchists say.
17.6.2008: The farm crisis is worsening. The president took over the radio and television airwaves to address the nation and try to halt what was fast looking like a problem out of control. Both sides needed to show they have numbers on their side - and both sides claim they're doing what is best for Argentina. But while the newspapers and television programmes are full with every twist and turn of the dispute, most Argentines are tired and angry. Roadblocks mean they cannot visit friends and family in other parts of the country; business is suffering; and there is impatience with a governing elite which appears to be dragging Argentina towards yet another disaster. As economist Martin Krause puts it, "People here almost think it's natural to have a crisis every eight or nine years." The government says it raised the tax on farm exports to help finance its battle against inflation and fight poverty. President Fernandez called a rally on Monday 16.06.2008 to support her government. Despite the growing economy, more than a quarter of Argentines still live below the poverty line. And it is from the poor that the governing Peronist party draws much of its support. The farmers simply say that the increases are crippling, and that very little of what they pay is reinvested in rural areas.
18.06.2008: Arturo Llavallol, the vice-president of the Rural Society - the largest farmers' organisation - dismisses claims that some farmers are trying to destabilise the government. "We want this government to finish its mandate," he says. "But they need to talk to us. We want to sit down and discuss in the short term, the medium term and the long term how we can again make Argentina one of the world's biggest producers in a world that needs food." He adds, however, that President Fernandez probably does not understand agriculture. "She needs advisors," he says. "But I feel she doesn't have great advisers." The clash started as a simple battle between city and countryside - long-standing rivals which have always had difficulty understanding one another's problems. But when middle-class residents of Argentina's cities came out onto the streets bashing pots and pans in what has become a popular form of anti-government demonstration, the dispute started to look very different.
What on earth could those wealthy women in fur coats from the leafy Buenos Aires neighbourhoods have in common with farmers out on the Pampas bringing in the soya harvest? The answer is a simple dislike of Cristina Fernandez and her government, which many say is still controlled from behind the scenes by her husband. Others accuse it of intransigence, or of sending what they call "paid thugs" out to break up pro-farming protests. More and more people are taking to the streets, not necessarily because they support the farmers but because they oppose President Fernandez, who has been in power for just seven months. Splits are even showing amongst her own supporters in the governing Peronist Party.
19.06.2008: The anarchists once again call on negotiations, and say the export tax should be lowered. Later this day the president says she is willing to negotiate with the farmers, but on the condition that they should end the roadblocks. 20.06.2008: No negotiations so far, the standoff drags on, paralyzing Argentina. "Clank! Clank!" Demonstrators banging utensils and chanting to back the farmers fighting the tax increases.
21.06.2008: The anarchists once again call for negotiations. Also in the news: 100 000 Argentinians demand punishment for dictator crimes. Later on Saturday, the Argentinian farmers lift roadblocks. Farmers in Argentina have lifted most of the roadblocks they put in place across the country during a three-month dispute with the government. The cause of the dispute, the very high export taxes, is now to be debated by the Argentine Congress. But farmers are poised to resume their protest if no progress is made. The protests caused widespread food shortages, travel chaos and hit the export of agricultural goods. The protesting farmers set up and manned more than 300 roadblocks across the country. Truck drivers, inconvenienced by the farmers' blockades, erected their own barricades. The protests made it impossible on some days to travel around Argentina, stopping materials from reaching factories and hitting tourism, with hotels reporting big losses. The farmers' decision to end the protest came after President Cristina Fernandez said the contentious export tax increases would be sent to Congress for debate. Most Argentines will now be breathing a deep sigh of relief that the dispute, for now at least, is over. But some farmers fear Congress will merely rubber stamp the tax policy, and are prepared to resume their protest.
23.06.2008: Monday the president has a meeting with delegates from the farmer's organizations. In televised remarks, Alberto Fernandez, the cabinet chief, described the 90-minute meeting as “positive” but said the president had declined to discuss the floating-rate export taxes, saying they were "in the hands of Congress."
25.06.2008: Annual inflation in Argentina is running at between 20 percent and 25 percent, analysts say, far higher than government figures that are widely disbelieved. Months of farm protests against a government tax rise have stoked inflation. Lower economic growth: An economy that grew annually by about 8 percent since 2003 is expected to cool now. Economists are forecasting no more than 6.5 percent growth in 2008 and even less in 2009. Some international banks, among them Barclays and JPMorgan Chase, have also downgraded their growth expectations for the country this year. The Argentinian parliament is debating the export tax.
26-27.06.2008: Criticism in the parliament of the export tax. Ruling party lawmakers in Argentina on Thursday expressed increasing criticism of the grains export taxes that sparked a series of farm strikes, suggesting the government could be forced to make concessions. The anarchists say: "Lower the export tax."
05.07.2008: Argentine MPs approve farm taxes. Argentina's lower house of Congress has approved a controversial package of taxes on agricultural exports. The vote of 129 to 122 came after a heated 17-hour debate in Congress. The Senate is due to consider the measure in coming days. Demonstrators on each side of the debate, some beating drums, held vigils on Friday 04.07.2008 outside Congress in Buenos Aires. For the past two weeks a festive mood has overtaken Plaza de Congreso, which was covered with tents representing farmers, supporters of Mrs. Kirchner and others. Late on Friday, some concessions were made to smaller farmers who would pay less tax. But that is unlikely to be enough and Argentina remains divided - between city and countryside, rich and poor, pro and anti-government. Eduardo Buzzi, president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, said his group would continue to fight the taxes. "We're still playing in the first half. In the second half, we're going to play in the Senate and we'll go to the courts, even to the Supreme Court," he said. Buzzi said farmers would not return to blocking highways "because our institutions are functioning. "But he said the government, after 120 days of conflict, "threw away an opportunity to approve a bill by consensus instead of by hegemony." The chamber of senators is set to discuss the law on July 16.
16.07.2008:
Rallies split Argentina before tax vote. Argentine farmers and government supporters are staging dueling protests ahead of a Senate vote on the controversial farm taxes. Fernandez is now hoping the national legislature will back her decree and settle the issue. Farmers argue the export taxes make investment and growth impossible. Both groups tried Tuesday 15.07.2008 to lobby senators to vote in their favor.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires in support of two rival rallies on the eve of a Wednesday crucial Congressional vote on farm export taxes. The farmers meeting concentrated 237.000 people.
Pro-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner administration demonstrators gathered at the Congress plaza while farmers and those opposed to the taxing system filled streets surrounding a monument to the north of the capital Buenos Aires. Police blocked roads to prevent the rival camps from crossing paths.
According to media estimates in spite of the government's abundant display of resources, farmers and Buenos Aires residents managed a two to one turnout and moved on from their original call for a return to March 11 (when taxes were hiked) and demanded a full review of farm policy and the functioning of federalism, that is a.o.t. a fairer distribution of taxes at national level.
Both demonstrations were shows of strength ahead of Wednesday's Senate vote - for which pressure is mounting on a handful of undecided senators. Now it's the 72 Senators turn and votes are closely and evenly divided.
At their rally farm leaders urged lawmakers to vote against the tax increases, which they say will cripple rural economies. Tax revenue will remain in the central government's coffers and won't go to the provinces where corn, soy and other grains are grown, they complained.
"We are here to give our support to those senators who are willing to help their country" said Mario Llambias, head of the Argentine Rural Confederation. "The government can't keep robbing the provinces".
Mrs. Kirchner husband and former President Nestor Kirchner was the keynote speaker at the pro-government rally."We will accept the Congress' decision whatever it may be because we want social peace," said Kirchner, who finished his speech minutes before the farmers' rally started several kilometers away.
Kirchner called farm leaders "de-stabilizers", undermining her wife's government, comparing their protests to the 1955 and 1976 coups that led to military dictatorships.
Mrs. Kirchner has as mentioned said that the 1.5 billion US dollars additional revenue generated by the increased taxes on grains and oilseeds will help Argentina build hospitals and roads. However Mr. Kirchner in one of his many speeches said the money was needed to balance government spending.
The sliding-scale export tax system, pegged to Chicago exchange prices, is supposed to help with re-distribution and keep food prices affordable to Argentine consumers, argues the administration. Farmers consider them confiscatory, unconstitutional and discouraging for any rural production. Farmers have as indicated above anticipated that if the bill is approved in its original version, they will seek some other solution through the legal system. The anarchists say: "Lower the export tax - we support the demand for federalism".
17.07.2008: Argentina's Senate has narrowly rejected the grain-export tax package. With senators tied 36 to 36 after 18 hours of debate, Vice-President Julio Cobos cast the deciding vote to reject the government's proposals early Thursday. The outcome is as a blow to President Cristina Fernandez. It is unclear what steps the executive will take now. The vote is according to the anarchists' and farmers' demand.
18.07.2008: The president drops disputed farm tax. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has cancelled the controversial tax increases on agricultural exports. Export levies will return to the fixed rates that existed before March, said cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez. The president had little choice but to scrap the tax increases following the dramatic Senate vote on Thursday. It is the first sign of any weakness or backwards step shown by the government, which is often criticised for its intransigence. This is a full victory for the anarchists and Argentina's farmers regarding the tax question. The farmers' leaders also said that any profits needed to be reinvested so that Argentina could help to feed a hungry world. "But what about more federalism?", the anarchists say...
20.03.2009: Argentine farmers to halt grain, beef sales. Argentine farmers say they will halt grain and beef sales for seven days to protest President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's plan to funnel soy export taxes into an emergency fund for the provinces. They are also protesting what they say is the government's weak response to one of the worst droughts in a generation. The international financial crisis has hit the country's agricultural sector hard as demand plummets for soy, beef, corn and wheat exports. Thousands of farmers blockaded major highways Friday in a return of strikes that hurt Argentina's commodity-based economy last year.
Thursday farmers in Argentina also blocked highways and rural routes throughout the country to protest anew the lack in progress in negotiations with the government over export taxes on farm goods. Farmers also staged a "tractorazo" in Esperanza on March 12 in protest against the taxes on exports of soybeans. Argentine television news channel Todo Noticias showed images of trucks and cars stopped along rural routes in the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Rios on Thursday. In the town of Armstrong, 250 miles northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires, protesters stopped traffic on Route 9, and burned car tires. The roadblocks were the latest in a year-long conflict between the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Argentina's large farming sector over export taxes on soybeans. Last year, demonstrations by farmers caused food shortages and blocked farm products from leaving the country. On Thursday farmers once again mounted roadblocks after lawmakers failed to reach quorum in Congress to debate a bill that would reduce the 35 percent soybean export tax.
As farmers gathered Thursday afternoon on the nation's highways, Fernandez was announcing new money-sharing measures. "Soy revenues will go to a fund that will be shared with the provinces and municipalities," Fernandez told lawmakers at the presidential residence in Olivos. "Seventy percent of the fund will be controlled by the federal government and 30 percent by governors and local officials." "It's never been our intention to take anything away from anyone," she said, alluding to complaints from farmers that the export taxes on soybeans were unfair. The president said $1.776 billion from the fund would be used for social infrastructure needs -- "schools, houses, drinking water, sewers." Fernandez cited "the moment of international crisis" as the reason for her decision to create "a federal solidarity fund." But farm leaders criticized the announcement as a political move during an election year. Fernandez has sent a bill to Congress that would move mid-term congressional elections up four months, from October to June. "The government again will lose again with ideas like these; this is an attitude that will only serve to provoke farmers," Eduardo Buzzi of the Argentine Agrarian Federation told Todo Noticias. The anarchists support the direct actions of the farmers, as long as the actions are anarchist, i.e. non-ochlarchical, etc!
26.03.2009: Argentine congressional elections have been moved forward four months in a push by the president to get campaign politics out of the way and focus on Argentina's economic crisis. The Senate on Thursday approved holding the election June 28, instead of in October. The lower house approved the bill last week. Opposition leaders called the rescheduling an attempt by President Cristina Fernandez to lock in votes for political allies before her influence erodes further. Nearly a dozen lawmakers have abandoned Fernandez's Peronist party this year, and the economy is showing signs of stalling. But Fernandez and lawmakers loyal to her Peronist party, which has a majority in both houses of Congress, said economic challenges were paramount in the decision. No one can deny that we're facing an emergency situation, which must be addressed, and the government is doing that by rescheduling the elections, Sen. Nicolas Fernandez said. Come June, Voters will elect half the 256-member chamber of deputies and a third of the 72-member Senate. On Wednesday night, the national statistics institute reported that Argentina's economy grew at the slowest monthly rate since December 2002, as the global downturn curtailed demand for its soy, wheat, beef and corn exports and wary consumers tightened purse strings. Since the crisis hit, Fernandez has announced projects to push millions of dollars into infrastructure projects and credit lines for consumers. Last week she launched a government plan to funnel taxes on soy into an emergency economic aid fund for the country's provinces, heightening tensions with thousands of striking farmers.
27.03.2009: Farmers declared a seven-day strike on March 20, halting grains and livestock sales, in protest against the center-left government's refusal to reduce levies on soy shipments. The strike in a leading global supplier of soy, wheat, corn and beef escalated a battle between the farmers and President Cristina Fernandez. The farmers said they were being squeezed by a drought and a slide in global commodity prices. The anarchists support the direct actions of the farmers! The battle is not over!
27-28.06-2009: Argentina's ruling couple face key test at polls. Argentina's president and her predecessor husband are fighting for their political survival in congressional elections that have become a referendum on their conservative liberalist policies and autocratic leadership style. President Cristina Fernandez - who has nationalized pension funds and waged a four-month battle over taxes with the powerful farm sector in a bid to increase state control over the economy - has seen her approval ratings plummet to 29 percent this year. Her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, is trying to give her a boost with his own campaign for Congress, a run he has used to remind voters of his success in bringing Argentina back from economic catastrophe during his 2003-2007 administration. Kirchner has cast Sunday's vote as a litmus test on his wife's tenure and economic prowess - and also is thought to view the congressional seat as a launching pad for his own return to the presidency in 2011.
"What's at play in this election is Nestor Kirchner's capacity to retain a critical mass of power," said Julio Blanck, editor-in-chief at Clarin, a leading Buenos Aires newspaper. "When Kirchner transformed the midterm election into a referendum, what he did was put his own political destiny up for vote." Kirchner, who was widely popular as president, has remained a key power broker as head of the Peronist party. But recent polls show him in a near dead-heat with dissident Peronist Francisco Narvaez, a charismatic millionaire and sitting congressman who forms part of an anti-Fernandez Peronist block that has been growing in the legislature. The two rivals are battling for a congressional seat in Buenos Aires province, home to more than a third of Argentina's 28 million voters. Voters on Sunday are electing half of the 256-member Chamber of Deputies and a third of the 72-member Senate.
"An anti-Kirchner sentiment and willingness to punish the government is high and driving this election," said Daniel Kerner, a Latin America analyst at the Eurasia Group in New York. "The key will be how much the Peronist machinery will help mobilize the vote in Kirchner's favor, and how much voter support for local leaders ... can help Kirchner's slate." One way Peronists are drawing local support is by running popular athletes, artists and sitting politicians who are allowed to withdraw after winning, freeing the party to bump lesser-known candidates from the bottom of the ballot into office in their place. The Peronist party will likely retain more seats than any other single party in the election, even if it loses 20 seats in the House and five in the Senate, as some analysts have predicted.
If Kirchner comes up short, though, it could do serious damage to his wife's brand. "A Kirchner loss would be a disaster for the government," diluting Fernandez's authority and complicating her ability to govern as power flows to winning Peronists in other provinces who may emerge with a shot at the presidency in 2011, Kerner wrote in a research note. It also could force Fernandez to cede ground on some of her economic policies, such as controversial soy export taxes. Argentina's economy rebounded from negative 11 percent growth to average more than 8 percent a year under Kirchner's 2003-2007 administration. It has since slowed to 2 percent in the first quarter, its worst showing since 2002, and the economy is expected to shrink by 1 percent this year, Goldman Sachs senior Latin America economist Alberto Ramos said. The government says annual inflation slowed to 5.5 percent in May, but that figure is widely thought to top 15 percent, making it a key issue for Argentine voters.
On the other hand, a strong showing by Kirchner in the congressional election could boost the first couple's efforts to bring more business under state control. Last year, the government took over $23 billion in private pension funds as well as Argentina's main airline. "Be clear that if we had no majority in Congress, Argentina would once again fall into the void and crisis of 2001," Kirchner said of his coalition at a May 30 rally, referring to the country's economic meltdown. "We have to stand by this model; it's us or chaos." Even with a Kirchner loss, newly elected lawmakers don't take office until Dec. 10, giving Fernandez five months to prepare to face them. And while they may push hard to change her policies, she "could become even more aggressive" in defending her governing project, Kerner said.
"What (Fernandez and Kirchner) do is born out of conviction, not just political expediency, so even if they're damaged after the election, I don't believe they'll change policy or become more pragmatic or conciliatory," Ramos said. Barclays Capital, meanwhile, warned investors to expect fraud accusations and social unrest once polling results are announced.
29.06.2009: Argentina's first couple suffered a stunning setback in an election seen as a referendum on their political dynasty, losing control of both houses of Congress. The loss weakened President Cristina Fernandez's government two years before she leaves office by diminishing her ability to push legislation through Congress and damaging the reputation of her Peronist party as it seeks direction ahead of 2011's presidential race. Fernandez's husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, lost a bid for a seat from Buenos Aires province. The setbacks could kick off a power struggle within the party, which Kirchner has headed since 2007. Kirchner conceded defeat early Monday after trailing Francisco De Narvaez by 32.2 percent to 34.5 percent with 91 percent of the ballots counted. "We have lost by a small margin, we have fought with all our dignity in Buenos Aires province," Kirchner said. "In the coming days everyone will be evaluating the choices and mistakes that have taken place."
De Narvaez of the Union Pro alliance, a charismatic millionaire and sitting congressman who is part of a growing anti-Fernandez faction in the president's Peronist party, was jubilant. "I said one day we would change history, and that day is today," he said at his campaign headquarters. "The bad politics of old has been defeated. Allies of the first couple also lost key races in Sunday's election in the city of Buenos Aires and Cordoba and Santa Fe provinces. With her approval ratings dropping dramatically this year amid a farmbelt crisis and economic meltdown, Fernandez arranged for congressional elections to be held four months early. She defended it as a way to let lawmakers get a jump-start on dealing with economic difficulties, but her foes blasted it as an attempt to shore up congressional support before her numbers eroded even further.
Kirchner's entry into the race in a desperate attempt to extend the couple's power turned the election into a referendum on his wife's tenure and is thought to have seen the seat as a launching pad for his own return to the presidency. The former president argued that a win for his coalition was necessary to protect the economy, reminding voters of his success in bringing the country back from collapse during his 2003-07 administration. "We have to stand by this model; it's us or chaos," he as mentioned said at a May 30 rally. The party even ran so-called symbolic candidates - popular political figures such as governors and mayors who were listed on the ballot but widely expected to step aside in favor of others on the party ticket if they won. Allies of Fernandez and Kirchner have controlled Congress for six years, but before the vote analysts predicted they could lose two dozen seats in both chambers.
Although supporters once praised Fernandez and her husband for slashing unemployment with public works programs that jump-started Argentina's battered economy, opponents and analysts now cast the couple as authoritarian and unwilling to compromise. "Their overall nature is too much intervention," said Alberto Ramos, senior Latin America economist for the Goldman Sachs investment firm. "It's not going to put Argentina on a crash course, but it is a story about growing inefficiencies and increasingly autocratic management." The Kirchners' problems have also "gone beyond substance to style," Ramos said. "They're very confrontational and stubborn: It's all or nothing, and they'd prefer to break rather than bend. People have gotten disenchanted with that." Fernandez's approval rating tumbled to 29 percent this year after a four-month standoff over export taxes with Argentina's powerful farm sector. She has extended price caps, nationalized $23 billion in pensions and taken over the country's biggest airline in a bid to boost the state's role in the economy.
"I'd like the government to be somewhat weakened by this election," said Alejandro Siniscalco, 41, after casting his ballot in the middle-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Caballito. "Many things aren't being done well, and we need to put a brake on the government in congress." The government moved up Sunday's vote, originally set for October, in a step that critics said was meant to poll voters before the global economic crisis took a bigger toll on Argentina. Growth fell to 2 percent in the first quarter, its slowest since the economy collapsed in 2002, and annual inflation officially dipped to 5.5 percent in May - although most independent economists believe the actual figure tops 15 percent. Despite the implications for the first couple's political future, analysts agreed that the results of Sunday's vote were unlikely to change the president's policies. Fernandez retains decree powers and is unlikely to back off her convictions, Ramos said. Half the country's 256-member Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the 72-member Senate were at stake.
Argentine health minister resigns in frustration. Argentina's health minister has resigned despite the growing swine flu epidemic, reportedly after failing to persuade the government to declare a health emergency. Graciela Ocana also failed to persuade President Cristina Fernandez to declare an emergency over the spread of dengue fever this year, and lost battles with unions for control of social funds. The two diseases have exposed shortcomings in Argentina's public health system. Twenty-six people have died from swine flu, the most in South America. The president's cabinet chief refused to explain why the minister quit Monday. But La Nacion newspaper reports that she was frustrated by a lack of support from Fernandez and waited until after Sunday's elections to quit to avoid disrupting the campaigns.
04.08.2009. A bomb exploded early Tuesday at a Chilean airline office in Buenos Aires, causing moderate damage but no injuries, the airline and government news agencies reported. A door, window and some furniture were damaged at the LAN Airlines ticket office in central Buenos Aires, the Argentinian-run Telam news agency said. The explosion occurred at 2:30 a.m. Police said they had no known motive, but the owner of a pickup parked in front of the airline office was arrested, the state-operated Notimex news agency in Mexico reported. The man was not immediately identified. A security camera recorded a hooded person leaving a package in front of the office, Notimex said. That package contained the bomb, the news agency said. The anarchists suspect a marxist leftwing extremist ochlarch.
12.08.2009. Argentina convicts ex-general in 1976 killing. A retired general and four other members of the military have been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms in the 1976 killing of a communist activist. Retired Gen. Santiago Riveros was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated homicide by a three-judge federal court in Buenos Aires province during televised proceedings Wednesday. Four other retired servicemen received prison sentences of 14 to 25 years in the killing of Floreal Avellaneda. Avellaneda and his mother, Iris Pereyra, were abducted in 1976 by a military squad. Pereyra was later released. Avellaneda's body appeared across the Rio Plata in Uruguay. A crackdown on dissent during Argentina's 1976-83 dictatorship left at least 13,000 people killed or missing.
25.08.2009. Argentine court just says no to prison for pot use. The anarchists say a clear NO to this drug-liberalism and more drug-slavery. Argentina's Supreme Court ruled out prison for pot possession on Tuesday, saying the government should go after major traffickers and provide treatment instead of jail for consumers of marijuana. Ruling in a case involving several young men caught with marijuana cigarettes in their pockets, the judges struck down a law providing for up to two years in prison for possession of small amounts of narcotics. Tuesday's decision doesn't legalize drug possession outright. But Argentina's Cabinet chief favors keeping drug addicts out of the justice system, and was waiting for the ruling before forwarding a proposed law to Congress. The seven judges said they were unanimous in "declaring the unconstitutionality of prison for private consumption." "Each individual adult is responsible for making decisions freely about their desired lifestyle without state interference," their ruling said. "Private conduct is allowed unless it constitutes a real danger or causes damage to property or the rights of others." Cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez declared that the ruling brings an end to "the repressive politics invented by the Nixon administration" in the United States, and later adopted by Argentina's dictators, to imprison drug users as if they were major traffickers.
On the other hand, Argentina will insist that "those who sell trash to poison our children must be punished with all the power of the state," Fernandez said in an interview with Radio Continental. The ruling sets a precedent that goes beyond marijuana by striking down an article in Argentina's drug law that applies to people caught with personal use amounts of any narcotic. The judges urged Argentina's government to "create policies against illegal drug trafficking and adopt preventive health measures, with information and education against drug consumption directed at the most vulnerable groups." President Cristina Fernandez has supported drug law changes, saying in July 2008 that "I don't like that an addict is condemned as if he were a criminal. The ones who need to be punished are those who sell the drug." Her Cabinet chief said before the ruling that the proposed law would be ready by year's end.
Details have not been made public, and it remains unclear, for example, whether addicts will be forced to get treatment or go to jail. Opponents say the ruling could backfire, since Argentine treatment centers already have long waiting lists. "It doesn't seem bad to me that an addict won't be sent to prison, but you also have to acknowledge the reality in Argentina. The level of addiction and social conflict connected to drugs is growing in this country. The consumption of drugs always involves damage to others," said Juan Jose Estevez, president of Remar Argentina, a network of centers that treat more than 1,200 addicts. "This ruling will not only generate more consumption, but also more trafficking, because the traffickers will move smaller quantities of drugs to avoid the law," Estevez predicted. "Also, the public health system has collapsed. It isn't prepared to attend to an avalanche of addicts." A Mexican law decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin took effect on Friday. The government there said it would help police focus more efforts on attacking traffickers. Brazil and Uruguay have already eliminated jail time for people carrying small amounts of drugs for personal use, although possession is still considered a crime in Brazil. The anarchists say a clear NO to this drug-liberalism and more drug-slavery. A society on drugs can never be anarchy. Possession of small amounts of drugs for own use should be fined, it is not necessary to jail people in such cases.
30.12.2009. There are now more than 250 worker-recovered businesses in Argentina, which employ a total of 13,000 workers. Though Argentina's economy has improved since the crash in 2001, the current economic downturn has caused a recent increase in factory take overs, with a significant uptick since February 2009. Nearly 20 factories have been occupied since 2008, and 33 new cooperatives have been officially registered with the government in the past few months. While the government readily grants businesses cooperative status — there are currently some 10,000 cooperatives in Argentina — gaining this recognition is the first step for the few hundred recovered enterprises that wish to be worker-run. However, the government has yet to recognize the legal right of any of these recently recovered businesses to exist. While cooperative enterprises do allow workers a greater role in company decisions, workerrecovered businesses allow employees to reclaim lost jobs, as well as receive the same wages and equally participate in management decisions. While Argentina has provided business owners with the option to run cooperatives since the late 19th century, the country's road to an option such as worker-run enterprises has not been an easy one. The future of the recovered factories, both the new and the old, is still uncertain.
10.01.2010. There are pressure and demonstrations for more cooperatives by jobless people in Argentina, to reduce the unemployment.
29.01.2010. Argentina's Central Bank president resigns. Argentina's Central Bank chief resigned Friday, saying he could do no more to protect the nominally independent institution from the president's efforts to control its dollar reserves. Martin Redrado claimed credit for bringing Argentina monetary stability for the first time in 30 years, but said President Cristina Fernandez had disregarded this achievement while unconstitutionally ordering his removal. "I went through all the institutional steps," he said. "Unfortunately, the government didn't do the same and disregarded the independence of the Central Bank." The president ordered Redrado fired this month after he refused her decree to make the bank's reserves available for paying off $6.6 billion in national debt and also for spending of undefined "excess reserves" for other purposes. The Central Bank has about $48 billion in reserves, and some analysts said the decree's wording would enable the president to unilaterally use more of it for other spending.
A judge blocked Fernandez's decree and a congressional panel had been considering whether to approve or reject it. Fernandez had urged the panel to rule quickly to resolve the crisis. Her Cabinet chief refused to accept Redrado's resignation Friday, in effect saying the bank president can't quit because he has already been fired. "For us, the resignation doesn't exist," Anibal Fernandez told the C5N news channel, adding that the government would wait for the congressional panel's decision. Fernandez wanted the reserves to be used for a "Bicentennial Fund" to resolve court battles over bond payments after Argentina defaulted on its debt in 2001. The bond holdouts have sued in New York, becoming a key obstacle to Argentina's return to international debt markets.
Redrado refused to make the transfer, reasoning that if the central bank isn't seen as an independent institution, the bond holdouts could persuade courts to freeze Argentina's U.S. accounts. Redrado also argued that the president could not fire the Central Bank chief without the approval of Congress. "We've reached this situation because of the constant disregard of the institutions by the national government," Redrado said. He had been blocked by police from entering the Central Bank since Sunday, and the institution was in the hands of its vice president, Miguel Pesce. Argentina has Latin America's third largest economy, after Brazil and Mexico.
20.04.2010. Last Argentine dictator jailed for 25 years.
Reynaldo Bignone found guilty of kidnapping, torture. The last leader of Argentina's 1976-83 dictatorship was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Tuesday for his involvement in the kidnapping, torture and murder of 56 people in a clandestine concentration camp.
Reynaldo Bignone, 82, was convicted along with six other former military and police officers for ordering beatings and electrocutions of dissidents of the military regime.
Dozens of relatives holding pictures of the dictatorship's victims cheered after a judge read out the ruling in a makeshift courtroom set up in a gymnasium.
"Justice was slow in coming but it has finally arrived," said Estela de Carlotto, head of the human rights group Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
More than 11,000 people died or disappeared during Argentina's "Dirty War," a systematic crackdown on leftists and other opponents of the military regime. Human rights groups say the number is closer to 30,000.
The ruling was the latest by courts that have found new impetus for bringing former dictatorship officials to justice after Argentina's Supreme Court -- at the urging of former President Nestor Kirchner -- struck down two amnesty laws in 2005 that shielded them from charges of human rights abuses.
In its ruling, the court ordered Bignone to serve out his sentence in an ordinary jail. But lawyers for the former leader, who is now under house arrest, are likely to appeal that he not be held in jail due to health reasons.
Bignone was the last of four military de facto presidents in Argentina under the dictatorship, which ended in 1983 amid a deep economic crisis and a humiliating defeat in the war against Britain over the Falkland Islands.
Many of the junta's top leaders are under house arrest on charges of kidnapping babies born to mothers held in captivity during military rule.
27.04-03.05.2010: Arrest of five ochlarchists in Buenos Aires. Five ochlarchists falsely posing as "anarchists" and supporting the Greek left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis, get Brown Cards from the International Anarchist Tribunal, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement. In a PS to the report of 16.12.2009 in the anarchist paper The situation in Greece the following is declared:
"PS. Warning! The bank robber, left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis, has sometimes falsely tried to pose as "anarchist", a.o.t. to get support from libertarians on false premises, but he is of course not an anarchist, but as mentioned an ochlarchist, the quite opposite, and should of course not get any support from libertarians. Ochlarchy is mob rule broadly defined. Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis and the rest of his left fascist ochlarchist gang "Robbers in black" have got Brown Cards from the International Anarchist Tribunal, IAT, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement.
Also of course, ochlarchists, falsely posing as "anarchists", and supporting the left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis and/or his gang 'Robbers in Black', will get Brown Cards and be expulsed from the anarchist movement. The IAT issues a general warning to anarchists against support for the left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis, and his ochlarchist supporters and followers. Support of an ochlarchist is the same as being an ochlarchist! Support for mob rule, mafia, is the same as being mafia. Ochlarchists, falsely posing as "anarchists" get Brown Cards from the IAT, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement. The anarchists condemn the left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis and his gang "Robbers in black", and all supporters and followers."
The five ochlarchists, falsely posing as "anarchists", had a support action for the left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis on Tuesday 27.04.2010 at the Greek embassy in Buenos Aires, involving damages, injuries, assault, etc., typical ochlarchist behavior, and were arrested by the Argentinian police. The five ochlarchists have also got Brown Cards from the International Anarchist Tribunal, meaning they are expulsed from the anarchist movement, according to the Oslo Convention. About the mandate of the International Anarchist Tribunal, see IAT's mandate. No anarchist should of course support the mafiotic Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis and his five ochlarchist supporters in Buenos Aires. Criminal ochlarchists deserve a time in jail or fines or similar. They don't deserve support from the Anarchist Black Cross or other anarchists. The anarchists condemn the left fascist and criminal ochlarchist Yannis Dimitrakis, a.k.a. Giannis Dimitrakis and his five Argentinian and other supporters and followers. Ochlarchists and anarchists are opposites! For anarchism - against ochlarchy and ochlarchists!! In Argentina and world wide!!!
04.05.2010. Another member of the left fascist extremist ochlarchy gang 'Robbers in black' was arrested in Greece, after an armed robbery in a cash-and-carry in the Tavros district of Athens on Monday night, see the report of 04.05.2010 in the anarchist paper The situation in Greece. The International Anarchist Tribunal and the Anarchist International warn against ochlarchists, including mafia, falsely posing as "anarchists", to get a false 'libertarian alibi', in Argentina, the rest of Latin America, and world wide. Anarchists and ochlarchists are opposites!
14.05.2010. Associated Press reports: Argentina: Greek financial rescue doomed to fail. Gregorio Lopez has a message for the Greek workers who are protesting deep cuts in salaries and pensions that come with an international, trillion-dollar rescue package: You're on your own. Lopez and his fellow employees at the Lavalan wool-processing factory worked for a year without pay after Argentina's economy imploded in 2001 and the country defaulted on a record $95 billion debt. They endured blows from riot police to keep creditors from carting off the equipment. In the end, they had to take over the factory and form a worker-run cooperative to save their jobs. "It was really ugly," Lopez said. "We didn't have support from anybody - not the government, not even the union. ... Our only way out was to do it ourselves."
Argentina also had to go it alone after failing to make the deep cuts demanded by the International Monetary Fund to secure more loans. The country in 2001 was in many ways where Greece and other southern European nations are today, with its economy sputtering, companies failing and huge debts coming due. But instead of a trillion-dollar rescue to keep Greece from defaulting, Argentina got a cold shoulder from lenders. While Europe's rescue package announced this week has at least postponed the worst - a domino effect of defaults across Europe that could drag down the euro and even break up the European Union - Argentina ran out of options. It defaulted and had to figure out how to rebuild its economy without outside help.
But in its isolation, the country boomed. By boosting government spending to stimulate the economy, Argentina increased its GDP by more than 50 percent since 2003, and now plans to emerge from default by resolving the last of its bad debts. President Cristina Fernandez says Argentina's experience shows that austerity measures are exactly the wrong medicine in a debt crisis, which is why Europe's rescue plan is "condemned to failure." "You don't need to be an economist to know that if you reduce the flow of economic activity, you reduce even more the capacity to pay the debt," Fernandez said in a national address this week. "It's clear that you won't be able to pay what you're being lent."
Even supporters of Europe's rescue package say Greece, Portugal, Spain and other overly indebted European countries now face years of wage cuts, increased taxes and living with less to have a chance of avoiding national bankruptcy.But getting your financial house in order is the best prescription for growth, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in an interview published Friday on the bank's website, expressing an orthodox economic theory that is directly opposed to Argentina's position. "It is a complete fallacy to say that fiscal soundness dampens growth. It is exactly the contrary," Trichet said. "It is the absence of fiscal credibility which dampens growth."
Before its default, Argentina had spent years following Washington's economic doctrine - privatizing public services, dropping trade barriers, taking out huge loans and linking the peso 1-to-1 to the dollar. Then its economy slowed in the late 1990s, and it found it had borrowed more than it could pay back. The IMF, which liberally lent Argentina money in good times, said draconian cuts in government salaries and pensions had to be made before fresh loans could be offered - at 6 percent interest, a rate Argentines thought was obscenely high.
It fell to Argentina's economy minister Ricardo Lopez Murphy to announce the austerity measures in the spring of 2001: $2 billion in budget cuts, including a sharp drop in education spending. Massive street protests forced his resignation in days. But the economy kept souring, and debt payments loomed. With no political consensus for unpopular measures, Argentina drove its economy off a cliff - declaring its world-record default and devaluing its currency. Overnight, Argentines lost most of their wealth. Money stopped circulating. The economy virtually stopped. Fernandez's husband and predecessor, President Nestor Kirchner, put Argentina on a path to recovery beginning in 2003. The Kirchners allied with labor unions to increase wages and contain politically destabilizing protests, and the government now provides direct subsidies to vast sectors of the work force. Booming prices for soy and other commodities provided a huge boost.
But now many worry that Argentina is headed right back where it started, even without access to traditional lenders - and that it is taking the wrong lesson from Europe's crisis. To maintain high government spending, Fernandez has tapped central bank reserves and the pension funds she nationalized, and agreed to pay a whopping 15 percent interest on $7 billion borrowed from the government of her ally Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. "Argentina is burning through its reserves, it doesn't have investments, it doesn't have savings, it doesn't have an economic plan. It's living for the moment," said Marcelo de las Carreras, a Buenos Aires financial consultant. "Sooner or later, it's going to get slammed, because these funds are running out. A country needs to have a plan for creating wealth, not just for spending it."
European markets also remain jittery. While the IMF-European community rescue package has eased concerns of a wave of defaults within the 16-country eurozone, the euro has dropped again amid fears that highly indebted governments won't be able to persuade their citizens to swallow draconian budget cuts. In either scenario, low-wage laborers often suffer the most. In Argentina, some of these people eventually decided to do something about that - seizing their factories to keep their jobs. At Lavalan, the business is now streamlined - and booming: 44 employees, working without bosses, process 2,000 tons of wool a season, taking in more than $1 million from some of Argentina's biggest exporters.
The movement they pioneered has since spread to some 200 factories employing 15,000 people - all working collectively and sharing the profits. Lopez said several laws have swung in their favor - one made it easier to form cooperatives and expropriate abandoned businesses, while another Fernandez signed in March puts workers on more equal footing with creditors in bankruptcies. Lopez, for one, hopes workers in Greece will find it in themselves do so something similar. "A job is the basis of everything," he said. "Hopefully they will get all the help they need and won't have to endure what we went through."
Ad the boom in the Argentinian economy after the debt default, the anarchists' direct actions for anarchist economics, i.e. for a) proper demand management and b) for workers'self-managed cooperatives, should be remembered! This model could also be used for Greece!
Rally in Buenos Aires backs Greek workers' strikes. The Greek newspaper Kathimerini reports: "A woman makes the victory sign as she holds up a banner reading 'Greece is not for sale, long live Greece' during a demonstration outside the Greek Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday in support of Greek trade unions. The unions have called a 24-hour strike for next Thursday to protest the austerity measures and plans for pension reform." The IWW and anarchists in general back the general strike in Greece. More information in the anarchist paper (click on:) The situation in Greece.
27.10.2010. Argentines mourn dead former president Nestor Kirchner who steered the country out of crisis via advice of anarchist economics, by the libertarians. Argentines poured onto the streets Wednesday to pay homage to the late Nestor Kirchner, a popular former president and the most influential figure in the administration of his wife, incumbent President Cristina Kirchner Fernandez. Tens of thousands of Argentines paid tribute on Thursday to Nestor Kirchner, the powerful former leader whose death robbed President Cristina Fernandez of her husband and most trusted ally. Kirchner, 60, was widely seen as the most influential figure in his wife's government, which has maintained the same statist economic measures that supporters say helped lift the country out of the doldrums after a 2001-2002 crisis. Nestor Kirchner steered the country out of crisis via advice of anarchist economics, by the libertarians.
The combative Kirchner was widely expected to run for a second term in a presidential election next October. His death increases the possibility that Fernandez, who has higher approval ratings than her late husband, will seek re-election. Financial markets rallied on news of Kirchner's death from a heart attack on Wednesday. Investors had seen Kirchner as unfriendly to business. But his departure from Argentina's polarized political scene heightens uncertainties before the 2011 vote. Analysts say Fernandez -- who, like her husband is known for antagonizing business leaders and pushing policies that frustrate investors -- could change tack and adopt a more conciliatory approach in a bid to garner broader support. But she will likely maintain the couple's intimate circle of advisers and Kirchner's death could boost her approval ratings as voters recall the boom years of his 2003-2007 presidency when South America's No. 2 economy expanded rapidly.
Long into the night, supporters waving flag and banners carrying messages of support gathered in front of the presidential palace, where regional leaders and political figures were due to attend a wake on Thursday. "We must show solidarity in the coming days so that the opposition doesn't take advantage of this moment," said Roberto Picozze, 25, one of thousands of people who turned out to express support for the powerful couple after staying home all day as a national census was carried out. Although local financial markets were closed for the national census holiday on Wednesday, prices for Argentine bonds and stocks traded overseas firmed on bets Fernandez would take a more moderate line in her dealings with local companies and foreign investors.
Argentina, as mentioned, a leading agricultural exporter, has benefited from a boom in commodities prices since the economic debacle nine years ago, but critics reviled Kirchner's interventionist economic policies and said he failed to put Argentine on a path toward sustainable growth or tackle high inflation. Opponents of the presidential couple bristled at their outspoken attacks on big business, journalists and political rivals. When farmers rebelled over a tax hike on soy exports in 2008, Kirchner accused them of plotting a coup, and he increased state control over the economy, nationalizing several companies. Financial markets never forgave him for the tough 2005 renegotiation of some $100 billion in defaulted bonds, which stuck creditors with a steep discount.
He was also an outspoken critic of the International Monetary Fund. A member of the dominant Peronist party, Kirchner built strong alliances as president that won him solid backing while also steering the party to the left and courting regional national 'socialists' like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez will attend his funeral, along with regional leaders such as Chile's conservative president, Sebastian Pinera, and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. At the presidential palace, the national flag flew at half-staff and supporters tied roses and messages to the railings, some reading: "Thank you Nestor." Graffiti on the wall of a bank read: "Hang in there Cristina." Fernandez's approval ratings hover at about 35 percent, too low to suggest she could win a first-round victory in the next presidential vote. Opposition leaders paid tribute to Kirchner's political savvy but could feel emboldened by the departure of the influential political power broker and likely 2011 presidential candidate.
28.10.2010. Thousands mourn death of former Argentine leader - The AI and AIE express condolences. Latin American leaders and a crowd of thousands are honoring former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner as his body lies in state in the presidential palace. The death of the 60-year-old former leader due to a heart attack leaves his widow, President Cristina Fernandez, alone to face re-election and continue their combative approach to transforming the country into a more egalitarian society. Fernandez wore dark sunglasses and rested her hands on the coffin Thursday as she was consoled by her daughter, Florencia. The presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay arrived to pay their respects. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera called Kirchner's death a loss for the entire region. A 3 days national mourning is declared. The Anarchist International, AI; and the Anarchist International Embassy, AIE, express condolences to the Argentinian people and family and friends of Nestor Kirchner.
30.10.2010. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez will not backtrack from the interventionist economic policies she developed with her late husband and will return to work on Monday, just three days after his burial, government officials said over the weekend. Speculation was rife that Fernandez might soften the policy that has marked her government now that the Kirchner is no longer behind the scenes directing economic policy and acting as her main power broker. But, asked if there will be a change in the government's style, Planning Minister Julio De Vido told Chile's El Murcurio newspaper, "Absolutely not." "She has taken her stance ... and now she will certainly deepen it," said De Vido, a powerful cabinet member. "(Kirchner and Fernandez) were in sync and had the same objectives. Obviously we've lost a soldier, but that doesn't imply that we're going to change our strategy," he said.
Kirchner, 60, had been a leading contender for next year's presidential election. With him gone, Fernandez may run. Argentine bonds rallied after Kirchner's death, based on hope among investors that Fernandez would take a less confrontational approach to the private sector and that alternative candidates might have a better chance in 2011. But, emboldened by the economy's strong growth and sympathy over Kirchner's death, Fernandez could opt to take a more aggressive stance. Argentine newspaper Clarin, which is often critical of Fernandez, said her quick return to work was meant to avoid showing signs of weakness. "In the face of adversity," the newspaper said, "she will try to double the march." As president, Nestor Kirchner oversaw the 2005 renegotiation of the country's unpaid bonds, making him a hero to many at home while earning him the ire of international investors. "It is time for more anarchist economics", the libertarians say.
01.05.2011. The Argentinian writer Ernesto Sábato has died at the age of 99. Sábato, whose "The Tunnel" is hailed as an existentialist classic, was viewed as a hero by many of his compatriots. At the end of Argentina's military rule, he was chosen to preside over the National Commission of the Disappeared, a probe into crimes committed by the Junta. The fate of thousands who went missing during the dictatorship still prompts an annual remembrance ceremony and march. Sábato died from complications from bronchitis.
10.05.2011. F.O.R.A.'s 110th anniversary. F.O.R.A. has sent the secretariate of the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) and the International Workers of the World (IWW) an invitation to its 110th anniversary and libertarian greetings. AI/IFA and IWW congratulate the F.O.R.A. with the anniversary and send warm libertarian, anarchist and anarchosyndicalist greetings to the event and this anarchosyndicalist federation.
Invitación 110 años de la FORA. Invitation to the 110th anniversary of F.O.R.A. Amigos/as: La Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (FORA ) invita al acto de celebración de su 110º aniversario a realizarse el miércoles 25 de mayo desde las 18hs en el Teatro Verd i (Almirante Brown 736, La Boca, Ciudad de Buenos Aires). Asumiendo el principio internacionalista de que la emancipación de los trabajadores sólo será posible a través de la lucha de los propios trabajadores, la FORA protagonizó algunas de las páginas más relevantes de la historia argentina. A lo largo de estos 110 años, ha sido un referente en el desarrollo del movimiento obrero, manteniendo siempre su independencia de los intereses políticos, económicos y sindicales que han tratado de debilitarla. Hoy, más de un siglo después, podemos decir con orgullo que seguimos siendo esa organización de trabajadores que se mantiene fiel a los ideales que la originaron y que, lejos de desaparecer, continúa haciendo historia con paso firme y decidido. Esperando contar con su presencia en una fecha tan especial, reciban un afectuoso saludo libertario. - Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (FORA) - Adherida a la Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores (AIT). Contacto: Secretaría de Prensa, Consejo Federal - foracf[at]fora-ait.com.ar (54 011) 4303-5963 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (54 011) 4303-5963 end_of_the_skype_highlighting - www.fora-ait.com.ar
Friends: La Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (F.O.R.A.) invites to its 110th anniversary to be held on Wednesday 25 May from 18hrs at the Teatro Verdi (Almirante Brown 736 , La Boca , Ciudad de Buenos Aires ). Assuming the international principle that the emancipation of the workers is possible only through the struggle of the workers themselves, the FORA has starred in some of the most relevant pages of the history of Argentina . Throughout these 110 years, it has been a landmark in the development of the labor movement , while maintaining its independence from political, economic and trade unions that have tried to weaken it . Today, more than a century later , we can proudly say that we remain the organization of workers who stays true to the ideals that originated it and that , far from disappearing , continues to make history with firm and determined step. Looking forward to your presence at a date so special , receive a warm greeting libertarian. - Federación Obrera Regional Argentina ( F.O.R.A.) - Adhered to the International Workers Association ( IWA).
26.05.2011. F.O.R.A. turns 110 with a full house. Red and black flags draped from the balconies and 500 people filled the Verdi Theater in the heart of La Boca. The image called to mind another time when workers' congresses were frequent in this Buenos Aires neighborhood. The Argentinian Regional Workers' Federation (FORA in Spanish) turned 110 last May 25 but the celebration never looked back nostalgically on the good old days – it demanded instead the rebirth of revolutionary unionism. For more than four hours the half a thousand workers who had come from all over the country reviewed the organization's history and analyzed the future perspectives of the current struggle. The FORA's practices' applicability and legitimacy can easily be found in the union-dictatorship of the CGT, a faithful servant to the bosses, an organization whose response is further and further removed from what the workers expect.
Past and present actors from FORA presented from different positions the keys that allowed this 100 year old organization to write some of the most brilliant pages in the Argentinian workers movement. There was also an analysis of the possibilities of action coming into view after the important restructuring process the new generations have brought to bear, turning FORA into a steadfast tool for the workers to wield in the struggle for their emancipation. The event, with the presence of Carlos Martín, CNT Spain activist and delegate from the IWA, gathered together members of all the Societies of Resistance of the Federation as well as sympathetic anarchist groups that showed their support for the union organization, proud to be the only one that has stayed true to its ideals and that is determinedly beginning to grow again in Argentina. Press Secretary, Federal Committee FORA. May 26, 2011.
La FORA festejó 110 años a sala llena. En el Teatro Verdi colgaban las banderas rojinegras que engalanaban los palcos y el medio millar de personas que abarrotaba la sala ubicada en el corazón de La Boca. Podía remitir a una imagen sacada de otra época en la que los congresos obreros eran frecuentes en el barrio porteño. Sin embargo, el aniversario de la Federación Obrera Regional Argentina, que el pasado 25 de mayo cumplió 110 años de existencia, lejos de convertirse en un acto de evocación nostálgica de tiempos gloriosos, supuso un acto de reivindicación del resurgir del sindicalismo revolucionario.
Durante más de cuatro horas, los más de 500 trabajadores llegados desde diferentes puntos del país, repasaron la historia de la organización y analizaron la perspectiva de lucha actual. En esta época las prácticas foristas encuentran vigencia y legitimidad a causa de la dictadura sindical de la CGT, corporativista y servil a los intereses de la patronal, que cada vez se alejada más de ser la respuesta que esperan los obreros.
Por el escenario del teatro fueron pasando diferentes actores del pasado y presente de la FORA quienes desgranaron desde diferentes posiciones las claves que llevaron a esta organización centenaria a escribir las páginas más brillantes del movimiento obrero argentino. Además, se realizó un análisis de las perspectivas de acción que se abren tras el importante proceso de reestructuración llevado a cabo por las nuevas generaciones que han logrado situar nuevamente a la FORA como una herramienta firme que tienen los trabajadores para lograr su emancipación.
El acto, que también contó con la presencia de Carlos Martín, militante de CNT (España) y delegado de la Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores (AIT), congregó a miembros de todas las Sociedades de Resistencia de la Federación además de colectivos anarquistas afines que mostraron su respaldo a una organización gremial, que no sólo puede presumir de ser la única que se mantiene fiel a su ideario, sino que con firmeza empieza a renacer en Argentina.
Secretaría de Prensa,
Consejo Federal FORA.
26 de mayo de 2011.
07.11.2011. F.O.R.A. on G20 in France, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and "anarcho"-capitalism. Statements communicated to CFK on anarcho-capitalism. Thank you for spreading [this resolution]. Anarcho-capitalism: the intolerable lie. A new danger threatens humanity and we will not know it. Never the less, it was a good thing that lady Cristina Fernandez warned about the threat in Cannes [G20 meeting] that is upon us: the progression of anarcho-capitalism. This concept, a semantic covert [oxymoron], is not simply the defense of private property at all costs by abolishing the state for the creation of a market for private exclusive marketing. A make-up State the nature of which is based on the exploitation of man by man. It has nothing to do with the anarchist ideal, which was the genesis of the global labor movement.
But fortunately, at the conference of 20 powerful members in the world, the lady was kind enough to announce this catastrophic prediction to those who can save mankind from such a sinister fate. So we can all sleep easy because thanks for your kind gesture, the "superhero" avoid misfortune waging a crusade to restore the "capitalism seriously." We understand, then, that capitalism preaches seriously that, Mrs. That of poverty wages, outsourcing, the abysmal gap between rich and poor, the banishment of the native peoples and the looting of the wealth of the soil, among other attacks on humanity and the earth. Indeed, Mrs. Cristina, you are seriously proposing capitalism: the currently governing.
Cristina Fernandez will be remembered not only for fueling a
outdated economic concept, but also to reaffirm the status
slavery of the workers. A statement of principles
who boasts of leading a project "inclusive and popular." A no unless the people wake up and they - you - run the business.
We're used to the distortion of the term "anarchism"
but Cannes is an intolerable twist.
Anarchism has two centuries been fighting for self-organizing
workers horizontal, egalitarian economic system and a
classless society. And that really is a serious threat.
Anarchy is order without government and without the state, capitalism
whatever form, neoliberal or Keynesian, is slavery.
First, the laws of the market, and second, the omnipotent state
and omnipresent. Proponents of Keynesianism have never stopped
agreeing with neoliberalism. Anarchy is the abolition of all
forms of capitalism. Is the free society of free producers. To
anarchy, property is theft in all its forms.
Regional Labor Federation of Argentina (FORA)
Adhered to the International Workers Association (AIT)
Comunicado ante las declaraciones de CFK sobre el anarcocapitalismo. Se agradece la difusión. Anarcocapitalismo: la mentira intolerable. Un nuevo peligro acecha a la humanidad y nosotros sin saberlo. Menos mal que la señora Cristina Fernández alertó en Cannes sobre la amenaza que se cierne sobre nosotros: el avance del anarcocapitalismo. Este concepto, encubierto de manera semántica, no es otra cosa que la defensa de la propiedad privada a ultranza aboliendo al Estado para la creación de un mercado de comercialización exclusivo de los privados. Se maquilla la propia naturaleza del Estado que se basa en la explotación del hombre por el hombre. Nada tiene que ver con el ideal anarquista, que fue la génesis del movimiento obrero a nivel mundial.
Pero, afortunadamente, en la conferencia de los 20 miembros más poderosos del mundo, la señora tuvo la gentileza de anunciar su catastrófico vaticinio ante quienes pueden salvar a la humanidad de tan siniestro destino. Así que todos podemos dormir tranquilos porque gracias a su bondadoso gesto, los "superhéroes" evitarán la desgracia emprendiendo una cruzada para restaurar el "capitalismo en serio". Entendemos, entonces, que el capitalismo en serio que pregona la señora es el de los sueldos de miseria, la tercerización, la abismal brecha entre ricos y pobres, el destierro de los pueblos originarios y el saqueo de la riqueza del suelo, entre otros atentados contra la humanidad y la tierra. Efectivamente, señora Cristina, usted está proponiendo un capitalismo en serio: el que rige actualmente.
Cristina Fernández pasará a la historia no sólo por avivar un
trasnochado concepto económico, sino también por reafirmar la condición
de esclavitud de los trabajadores. Toda una declaración de principios de
quien se jacta de encabezar un proyecto "integrador y popular". A no
ser que el pueblo despierte y se le acabe el negocio.
Estamos acostumbrados a la desvirtuación del concepto "anarquismo",
pero lo de Cannes es una vuelta de tuerca intolerable.
El anarquismo lleva dos siglos luchando por la libre organización de
trabajadores de forma horizontal, un sistema económico igualitario y una
sociedad sin clases. Y eso sí que es una amenaza en serio.
La anarquía es el orden sin gobierno y sin Estado; el capitalismo,
cualesquiera sean sus formas, neoliberal o keynesiano, es la esclavitud.
El primero, a las leyes del mercado; y el segundo, al Estado omnipotente
y omnipresente. Los que defienden el keynesianismo nunca han dejado de
pactar con el neoliberalismo. La anarquía es la abolición de todas las
formas de capitalismo. Es la sociedad libre de productores libres. Para
la anarquía, la propiedad es un robo en todas sus formas.
Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (FORA)
Adherida a la Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores (AIT)
14.01.2012. Problems in F.L.A.
STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION IN ARGENTINA
The Anarchist International is aware of the crisis in the Argentinian Libertarian Federation, FLA, an organization adhering to the AI/IFA. The Anarchist International wants to ensure the militants and activists of the FLA full support. We will respond to any request for support and mediation.
If the current crisis was the result of dysfunction in the FLA, we believe that this issue should be resolved calmly under the normal rules of operation of our member organizations.
However, we believe that negotiating under duress as the result of a coup does not correspond to what might be expected to settle a dispute between libertarians.
If the intention of those who occupy the House of libertarian Buenos Aires is really to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict, including by addressing the issue of any problems on which we need not take a position, the Anarchist International asserts that the first preliminary, non-negotiable step, is the termination of occupancy and recovery.
The Anarchist International expressed concern about the integrity of the archives held by the FLA, which is one of the most important libertarian document collections in the world.
The Anarchist International wishes to stress that libertarians have no enemies among libertarians, but that submission to force is not in the libertarian tradition.
The Anarchist International expresses strong regret that such a crisis occurs at a point when more than ever the energy of libertarians should focus on the fight against capitalism, increasingly arrogant, and against statism - including against ochlarchy - and for anarchy, i.e. real democracy.
More than ever, the fight should be facing the support and organization of the exploited and oppressed populations.
The Anarchist International
In an e-mail sent to the Anarchist International 13.04.2012, Biblioteca Popular José Ingenieros, a libertarian library in Argentina, calls for a solution to the conflict within the F.L.A.:
La Biblioteca Popular José Ingenieros ve con mucha preocupación la actual situación en la Casa de los Libertarios (local de la Federación Libertaria Argentina), originada el día 23 de diciembre de 2011, cuando un grupo de compañeros decidió arbitraria e inorgánicamente cambiar la cerradura dejando afuera del uso de la Casa a la mayoría de los grupos federados, entre ellos los que realizaban militancia social con los vecinos del barrio de Constitución. Particularmente las tareas desarrolladas por el Bachillerato Popular “Escuela Libre de Constitución”, el Merendero de Plaza Garay y el Apoyo Escolar, que venían funcionando desde hace años. Además han sido expulsados compañeros que organizaron y pusieron a la consulta uno de los archivos más importantes de nuestro movimiento en América latina.
Desde fines del mes de diciembre la consulta de dicho acervo documental es imposible. Además este grupo de compañeros ha perdido el espacio de militancia que los constituyó como colectivo. Expresamos nuestra profunda inquietud por la continuidad de tan valiosa herramienta perteneciente a nuestro movimiento y hacemos llegar nuestro deseo fervoroso de que esta situación se arregle rápidamente por el bien de todos los activistas (así como investigadores) que hacemos uso del mismo. Refrendamos esto último como impulsores del Archivo Alfredo Seoane.
Así mismo se han visto obstaculizadas actividades de difusión ideológica e investigación, como las realizadas por compañeros de Difusión Anarquista y del Ciesol. Nuestra concepción de un anarquismo social y militante, nos plantea la necesidad de que las diferencias al interior de nuestro movimiento no perjudiquen el trabajo social realizado cotidianamente. Por lo tanto deseamos que prime la tolerancia, para que las actividades mencionadas anteriormente se reanuden dentro de la Casa cuanto antes. Esperamos que esta situación conflictiva se resuelva pacífica y orgánicamente.
Salud y RS. Biblioteca Popular José Ingenieros
Archivo Alfredo Seoane
09.11.2012. Anti-corruption protests. Thousands of people have flooded the streets of Argentina’s capital in one of the country’s biggest anti-government protests in more than a decade. Angered by rising inflation, violent crime and high-profile corruption, and afraid Argentine president Cristina Fernandez will try to hold on to power indefinitely, the protesters marched on the obelisk in Buenos Aires, chanting: “We’re not afraid.” Demonstrators reached the presidential residence in scorching summer heat, banging on pots, whistling and holding banners that read “Stop the wave of Argentines killed by crime, enough with corruption and say no to the constitutional reform”.
31.07.2014. Argentina has defaulted on its debt - for the second time in 13 years - after last-minute talks in New York with a group of bond-holders end in failure. Just before the announcement was made there was a small rally in Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo, people handing out leaflets saying that the country wouldn't negotiate. No doubt those people will be happy with the stand that Argentina has taken, but a default will make life harder. The country is already in recession and inflation is high.
01.12.2015. Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri defied expectations by winning the 2015 presidential election run-off, beating Peronist candidate Daniel Scioli to become the country's first unambiguously conservative president to win a free and fair election since 1916.
30.04.2016. Thousands of Argentines have staged a noisy protest against job cuts imposed under President Mauricio Macri's economic reforms. The demonstration was organised by two major labour unions, the CGT and CTA, who united against the president's cuts to spending and public sector jobs. The unions say that 100,000 workers have lost their jobs in the public and private sectors since President Macri came to power. But the president argues that tough reforms are necessary to restore Argentina's damaged economy.
31.12.2020. Pro-choice activists celebrated on the streets on Wednesday 30.12.2020 as Argentina joined a handful of South American nations to legalize abortion, a landmark decision in a country where the Catholic Church has long held sway.
23.04.2022. Thousands of farmers and agricultural producers descended on Buenos Aires on Saturday 23.04.2022 to protest against the tax burden facing the sector. The protesters drove in cars and vans, as well as dozens of tractors, along Avenida del Libertador all the way to the Casa Rosada, the seat of the government, where they read out a proclamation. "We have not come here to ask for a hand, but to get both hands off us ... We are not willing to continue financing the noose with which they are hanging us," the statement read. "Unfortunately, we cannot take advantage of international prices to continue supporting the country," complained Dario Magi, 56, owner of a chicken and pig farm, who warned of the fiscal pressures on the agricultural sector and called for a tax cut.
17.11.2023. Argentina’s economy foundering on eve of general election. Winner between Sérgio Massa and Javier Milei will have to deal with debt mountain, soaring inflation, worsening poverty. See: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/11/17/argentinas-economy-foundering-on-eve-of-general-election. Source: Al Jazeera. The Anarchist International supports Massa. Milei is a so called «anarcho-capitalist», i.e. anarchy-plutarchy, an oxymoron...That has nothing to do with real anarchism. Green policy NOW!
19.11.2023. BROWN CARD TO JAVIER MILEI FOR MIXING UP ANARCHIST WITH AUTHORITARIAN TENDENCIES. Ad Argentina’s election. The choice is between Sérgio Massa and Javier Milei. The AI supports Massa. Milei is a so called «anarcho-capitalist», i.e. anarchy-plutarchy, an oxymoron...That has nothing to do with real anarchism. Significant mixtures of anarchist and authoritarian tendencies should be denounced, i.e. as a general anarchist opinion, now and in the future. The International Anarchist Tribunal hands out a Brown Card to Javier Milei, for this Orwellian «1984» Newspeak type mix of anarchism with authoritarian tendencies, according to the Oslo Convention.
Concepts as anarcho-archy = anarchy-x-archy in any form, meaning system, coordination and management "both with and without ruling and rulers" at the same time and place, are not allowed for, because such concepts are contradictive, and thus are nonsens and not logical and scientifical, because this is in reality not possible, and anarchism and anarchy are about realities. Thus anarcho-marxism, anarcho-capitalism = anarchy-plutarchy, anarcho-ochlarchy, anarcho-chaos, anarchy = chaos, anarchism = anarchy = minimal state or libertarian state, state in general, anarcho-statism, anarcho-authority, etc, are nonsense and not valid concepts, but confused Orwellian "1984" "newspeak" that is not anarchist, but authoritarian, i.e. chaotic, and should be avoided.
Massa concedes to far-right Milei in Argentina’s presidential run-off vote, see: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/19/world/argentina-vote-milei-massa-nov-19/index.html. Source: CNN.
10.12.2023. To the international newsmedia: Javier Milei is an authoritarian, anti-climate, far right liberalist, and not LIBERTARIAN (= libertaire), the opposite of authoritarian. LIBERTARIAN i.e. anarchist = liberal social-democracy, real democracy included green. Report the truth!
24.01.2024. A Nationwide Shutdown Tests Milei’s Tough Medicine for Argentina. Argentine unions are striking to protest President Javier Milei’s economic policies, which have accelerated inflation. He says they are needed to fix the country. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/world/americas/argentina-union-strike-javier-milei.html. Source: NY-Times.
02.02.2024. Protests continue as lawmakers debate reforms. Police fired rubber bullets and water cannons at protesters outside Argentina's Congress as lawmakers debated President Javier Milei's massive reform bill. Economic reforms proposed by Argentina's President Javier Milei has sparked a massive backlash, see: https://www.dw.com/en/argentina-protests-continue-as-lawmakers-debate-reforms/a-68149197. Source: DW-News.
Resolution, decided with general consent, by ACLA and its Argentinian section and:
The International Anarchist Congress
The 11th Anarchist Biennial 27-28.11.2010
International Congress-Seminar on Anarchism
The AI/IFA network represents more than 50 000 anarchist world wide
To see the Website of the Congress - Click here!
Updated
Sources: We have used the probably best and edited from a lot of sources, a.o. anarchists and syndicalists, BBC, CNN, Reuters, AP, NY-Times, and Argentinian newspapers.
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