-Caveat Lector-

And this is the end of the story. Our president left Casa Rosada (like your White 
House) in an helicopter. Last time a president left Casa Rosada this way was in 1976 
when Videla s dictatorship was begining (and then "the desappeared", "Madres de Plaza 
de Mayo", etc ...). Thanks God this time we are not having a de-facto government and 
we'll return to elections probably in 3 months ...

There are no more riots and peace is returning in a destroyed Buenos Aires. Thanks to 
all of you for writing me. Thank you Saba, It s great to have a hand on your shoulder 
from other countries when you have a problem in your country that really shouldn t 
matter them.

God bless you,
Fer


http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011221/wl/argentina_unrest_41.html

Friday December 21 8:22 AM ET
Argentina's President Resigns

By KEVIN GRAY, Associated Press Writer

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - President Fernando De la Rua resigned and fled the 
government palace in a helicopter, driven from office by a devastating economic crisis 
and days of rioting that left 22 people dead and homes and supermarkets across 
Argentina ransacked.

De la Rua's sudden downfall Thursday came amid Argentina's worst unrest in a decade. 
Screeching tear gas canisters arced across the capital and police fired rubber bullets 
at thousands of anti-government protesters in the runup to his fall. Rioters looted 
houses and stores in other cities, and more than 200 people were injured nationwide.

``I'm delighted he's finally gone. Thank God!'' said Maria Andrejuk, who was among 
those celebrating after tensions eased across much of Buenos Aires. But as night fell 
Thursday, some looting persisted.

Now Argentina's faltering economy awaits the hands of a caretaker government led by 
the party founded by strongman Juan Peron in the 1940s. The Peronists take their turn 
at trying to tame a crisis that has left the country perilously close to defaulting on 
its $132 billion debt burden.

Senate Leader Ramon Puerta was in line to take over Friday as interim president until 
a special legislative assembly decides whether to call new elections within months.

De La Rua was departing as one of the most unpopular leaders in Argentina's history, 
driven out by nationwide protests by thousands of Argentines fed up with his calls for 
more belt-tightening.

In working-class neighborhoods in Buenos Aires province, hordes of teen-agers 
ransacked grocery stores as outnumbered police stood by helplessly, while helmeted 
officers fired tear gas to disperse dozens of looters in a central Buenos Aires 
neighborhood.

Earlier in the day, the capital's streets looked like a battleground. Fires smoldered 
and smoke curled over the Plaza de Mayo outside the ornate pink government palace as 
thousands gathered to vent anger over the economy and call for De la Rua's ouster.

Black-clad officers swung truncheons, fired rubber bullets and aimed water cannons on 
the seething crowds of demonstrators. Many shirtless youths hurled sticks and 
cobblestones back at police lines. Scores of people, weeping from acrid tear gas, fled 
with rubber bullet wounds. Across the nation, 22 people died, police said.

Protesters called for De la Rua to step onto the balcony and face the people, 
shouting, ``Come out! Come out!'' The shutters stayed shut, and the palace was 
surrounded by iron barricades and scores of riot police.

De La Rua declared a state of siege late Wednesday, assuming increased powers to quell 
the two days of unrest. Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo quit earlier Thursday, 
followed by reports that the entire Cabinet offered to resign.

With chaos on the streets, De la Rua made a final bid to hold onto his presidency, 
calling for the opposition to join a national unity government. Rebuffed by opposition 
leaders, he tendered his resignation hours later in a handwritten letter.

As the sun set behind a haze of tear gas, De La Rua's helicopter lifted off from the 
government palace rooftop and took him to his suburban residence. The heliport hadn't 
been used by a departing leader since Isabel Peron was pushed out in a 1976 coup.

The collapse appeared to end a grueling political crisis that began more than a year 
ago with the resignation De la Rua's vice president, Carlos Alvarez.

De La Rua took office in December 1999 with a popularity rating above 70 percent, a 
no-nonsense image and a pledge to improve the economy. But he soon became seen as 
indecisive, and left with ratings in single digits.

``I think he totally lacked direction and he clearly couldn't fix the economy,'' said 
Pablo Mario Alvarez, 50. ``I was excited when he first came to office, but that 
quickly faded.''

Discontent with De La Rua was stoked by four years of bitter recession that exhausted 
the country and left it lurching close to default on its massive public debt.

Though De la Rua technically remained president, media reports said Congress would 
accept De la Rua's resignation and appoint Puerta interim president in a session 
Friday morning.

He faces a tough job. Growth, production and business confidence are plummeting, and 
unemployment has topped 18 percent.

Many analysts now predict the new government will likely end the Argentine peso's 
one-to-one peg with the dollar, in place since 1991. While it helped Argentina 
vanquish hyperinflation more than a decade ago, today it is blamed for making 
Argentine exports uncompetitive abroad.

Any devaluation of the peso could mean instant bankruptcy for thousands of Argentines, 
along with many of the country's largest businesses. More than 80 percent of contracts 
and debts are denominated in the dollar.

Before de la Rua's resignation, a senior White House official said the Bush 
administration would wait for the dust to settle before deciding what, if any, action 
to take to help Argentina recover.

The official said limited direct financial assistance has not been completely ruled 
out, although the Bush administration still wants Argentina to resolve its problems 
through the International Monetary Fund (news - web sites).

Earlier, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said the Bush administration, the IMF and the 
World Bank (news - web sites) would continue working with Argentina to pull it back 
from the brink of economic collapse.

But he said the initiative to put Argentina on solid financial footing ``has to come 
from the leadership of the country. It's not something that can be imposed from 
outside.''




>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 20/12/01 16:02 >>>
-Caveat Lector-

Fernando, I'll keep you and your country in my prayers. Keep yourself
safe & keep us posted.

Tenorlove
Co-Editor, CTRL
--- Fernando Sobral <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> -Caveat Lector-
>
> This news are from my country. The opressive economy policy during
> former president Carlos "hijo de remil puta" Menem (Bush friend) and
> Fernando (imb*cil) de la R*a with the "butcher" FMI brought us to
> this caos.

=====
Make yourself at home. Clean my kitchen.

__________________________________________________
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That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
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