Pounding drumbeats and shouts of "Throw them all out!" echoed throughout Buenos Aires today as thousands of Argentineans took to the streets one year after the country was plunged into a deep economic crisis.
Large groups of people threw up road blockades, shattered windows and set tires afire in a show of anger over the financial turmoil that toppled former President Fernando De la Rua on December 20th last year.The anniversary revived the anger and despair many Argentineans still feel over their rapid descent from one of the region's most prosperous nations.
"I'm losing hope that things will change," said Norma Grodam, a 50-year-old cook who has been out of work for two years.
After a year of economic turmoil, Argentina remains mired in the worst fiscal crisis in its history.The country has defaulted on foreign debt and endured a painful devaluation that slashed the peso's value against the dollar by 70 percent. One in five Argentineans in the work force is unemployed.
The protests, which began yesterday, also triggered renewed attacks against banks and privatized companies that for many here represent a root cause of the problems in South America's second-largest economy.
Homemade bombs exploded outside a bank and an office of the Spanish-owned telephone company Telefonica early today, shattering windows but causing no injuries.
Throughout the city, many supermarkets covered their storefronts with sheets of wood as police in riot gear took up positions in an effort to prevent a repeat of the looting and violence that wracked Argentina last year.
President Eduardo Duhalde pleaded with Argentines to put the tumultuous year behind them, insisting the faltering economy was finally showing new signs of life.
"Argentina is still struggling with a very difficult situation, but we will soon put this all behind us," he said.