Buenos Aires (AFP)
Several thousand protesters began camping Wednesday in downtown Buenos Aires to demand the establishment of a state of "food emergency" in Argentina, facing a serious economic crisis just weeks before the presidential election.
These protesters, including many families with young children, intend to camp for 48 hours on the avenue of 9 July, in the center of the capital, at the call of several associations and trade unions. Another demonstration in the form of a popular meal took place on Wednesday in the Place de Mai, opposite the presidential palace.
"Argentina is devastated by idleness, hunger, and poverty, and we demand answers that live up to the situation," said organizer Eduardo Belliboni. "We want social programs, we want to increase allocations for existing programs and increase food rations in schools," he added.
Some clashes with the police against some demonstrators trying to block the public transport network.
These protests take place as Argentine deputies consider Thursday a bill on "food emergency", presented by the opposition, intended to increase aid to people who can no longer feed themselves properly because of inflation rampant.
Opposed to this proposal, the government of Liberal Mauricio Macri has already taken other emergency measures, such as the elimination of taxes on commodities.
Argentina, in recession since 2018, has one of the highest inflations in the world (25.1% between January and July, 54.4% over the last 12 months), a drop in consumption, closures of businesses and an increase in poverty (32% in 2018) and unemployment (10.1% this year). Seeing families with children begging on the street has become usual in Buenos Aires.
The economic crisis intensified after the primary elections in August, during which Macri suffered a crushing defeat that bodes ill for his reelection in October. The government then demanded a rescheduling of its debt and introduced an exchange control.
© 2019 AFP