Farm Strike, The Very Latest
June 17th, 2008 Posted in business, culture, politicsWritten by Jamie
As I have posted before, there has been an on again/off again farm strike in Argentina. Thankfully, this ongoing dispute has had little impact in Patagonia. In and around Buenos Aires and other parts of the country, however, there have been some food and gas shortages.
There have been no talks between the two sides as of late.
Over the weekend, the Gendarmeria (border police) were instructed to clear one of the highways that was being blocked by protesters. One of the people arrested, and then released, Alfredo de Angeli, is the leader of one of the Farm Unions.
As a result, last night, the cacerolazos, aka pot bangers, took to the streets in large numbers across the country again to demand that the government and the farmers reestablish “dialogue”.
De Angeli, the one who was arrested, spoke and said that they will continue to strike, but will do so in a peaceful way.
Luis D’Elía, the head thug of the piqueteros, aka pro-government group, has accused the president before Nestor, Eduardo Duhalde, of conspiring to overthrow the current government.
Lastly, former President Nestor will speak at 3pm at the Playa de Mayo. In addition, President/Queen Cristina has just announced that she will speak on all Argentine TV stations at 5pm this afternoon.
Wednesday has been declared the “National Day of Protest.” In a country where people are very passionate about everything, and already find any reason not to work, it shouldn’t be a problem for most citizens of Argentina to celebrate this holiday.
Also, the government has announced that there will be a pro-government rally at the Plaza de Mayo tomorrow. Many people, including those in her own party, have asked her to reconsider scheduling a rally for the same day as the protest. The government routinely pays people 50 pesos and buses them in for these pro-government rallies.
It should be noted that to date, there has been no violence, just peaceful protesting.
Lastly, there is a big world cup qualifier match between Argentina and its arch rival, Brazil.
Safe to say tomorrow will be an interesting day in Argentina.
4 Responses to “Farm Strike, The Very Latest”
By jblaha on Jun 18, 2008
ha ha! You aren’t kidding! I have been following what I can in the news. Let us know how it goes.
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