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Reuters (with additional material by AP and BBC). 29 December 2001. Argentines Loot Congress in Protest Over Recession. BUENOS AIRES -- Argentine demonstrators clashed with police outside the presidential palace and broke down the doors of Congress on Saturday in anger at the new government's handling of a deep recession barely a week after protests forced out a previous president. At least two police were injured as they used tear gas to break up what had been a peaceful demonstration in which thousands of people took to the streets to protest interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa's decision to keep unpopular banking curbs and his appointment of some officials widely seen as corrupt. Some protesters pounded on the doors of the presidential palace, while others forced their way into Congress, dragged out furniture and set small fires that were quickly put out as general frustration over a four-year recession boiled over. "Get out! Get out!" they shouted toward the Government House. Carlos Grosso, chief advisor to the Cabinet but suspected of corruption during a stint last decade as mayor of Buenos Aires, resigned after Argentina's decaying middle class flooded the streets of the city to demand his departure. "We want to send a message to the politicians that we won't tolerate any more corruption," said Juan Carlos Alonso, 73, before the melee broke out. "And these banking restrictions are completely unacceptable!" About a dozen protesters hung from the metal bars shielding the presidential palace doors, while others sprayed graffiti on its walls before police in riot gear broke up the crowd, some of which then broke windows at downtown banks and shops before apparently returning home. "These gangsters have got to go!" yelled one woman on television as she and thousands of others jumped up and down and beat pots and pans, a symbolic way to express anger in Argentina as the recession impoverishes thousands. Television images showed a crowd of protesters push one police officer to the ground and repeatedly kick him, but the unrest appeared to be much less violent than the riots and looting that killed 27 people last week and led Fernando de la Rua to resign as president on Dec. 20. State news agency Telam said two policemen had been injured during the protests. Teenagers continued to throw stones at police once the crowd dispersed. A very short honeymoon appeared to be over for Rodriguez Saa, who suspended payments on part of Argentina's $132 billion debt after being appointed by Congress on Sunday to serve until new elections in March. Argentina's third president this year has drawn fire for his proposal for a new floating currency he hopes will kick-start consumer spending but that some fear could quickly become worthless. Some protesters also voiced anger over the Supreme Court's decision on Friday to uphold curbs on cash withdrawals from banks, which De la Rua's government implemented earlier this month to stop a run on the beleaguered financial system. The unpopular restrictions limiting Argentines to $1,000 in cash per month from their bank accounts have further suffocated consumer spending and led some to fear their life savings may be seized outright by the cash-strapped government. "I put my money in the bank for them to look after it, not to be stolen," read one protester's sign. A bank and a McDonalds restaurant were also ransacked, and one of the main railway stations was attacked. Fire fighters arriving at the scene were pelted with stones and rubbish bins. At least 10 police officers were injured, local television said, including one officer who was beaten bloody by a mob before he could be led away from the pitched street battles outside the Government House. Police declined to provide details on the number of injured, but they said 33 people were arrested during the unrest. The BBC's Daniel Schweimler, in Buenos Aires, says the patience of many Argentines with their political leaders has now worn very thin. "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." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
