dagblog - Comments for "700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)"

Argentina voting age lowered

artappraiser — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 07:07:54 +0000

In reply to 700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)

Argentina voting age lowered from 18 to 16
BBC News, 1 November 2012

Argentina's Congress has approved a law to lower the voting age to 16, in a move that will take effect for key mid-term elections next year.

President Cristina Fernandez has courted the youth vote and critics say the change is designed to boost her party's chances in the 2013 polls.

Supporters of the move say it will widen political participation.

Voting is obligatory in Argentina for people aged 18 to 70, but will be optional for those aged 16 and 17.

The long and bitter session saw deputies trade accusations and most of the opposition walk out before the measure was put to the vote.[....]

Brazil: weighed down by

artappraiser — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 04:40:24 +0000

In reply to 700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)

Brazil: weighed down by Argentina
By Jude Webber, Financial Times, November 9, 2012

Brazilian industrialists might desperately want to be bullish on the economic recovery hopes of neighbouring Argentina, given close trade ties between the two neighbours. But should they be?

If Morgan Stanley is right, Argentina’s hard landing this year may have cut almost a fifth off Brazil’s industrial production so far this year as exports to its neighbour plummeted.

And while many analysts expect a rebound in 2013, if – as Morgan Stanley believes – that fails to materialise, those hopes of Brazilian GDP growth of at least 4 per cent next year may be at risk [....]

Al Jazeera on-site 2.3 minute

artappraiser — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 04:30:47 +0000

In reply to 700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)

Al Jazeera on-site 2.3 minute video report, at protest, interviews some on the street, and a pollster, stresses that it's a leaderless protest movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FakxAEJFacw

For background from James K.

artappraiser — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:58:54 +0000

In reply to 700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)

For background from James K. Glassman, served as U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in President George W. Bush's administration:

Argentina's Deadbeat Mom
By James K.Glassman, ForeignPolicy.com Op-Ed, October 4, 2012

The fun may soon be over for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the president of Argentina with a reputation for reckless populism. Among other antics, she flamboyantly fired the head of the country's Central Bank and expropriated a majority interest in YPF, Argentina's largest oil company. Since 2003, Argentina has dropped from 68th to 158th (behind Burundi and Belarus) in the Index of Economic Freedom, compiled annually by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. Worst of all, Kirchner has spent five years flouting international financial norms -- and getting away with it.

But perhaps not for long. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said on Sept. 24 in Washington that if Argentina does not start providing acceptable and accurate economic data, it will face a "red card" -- the signal from a referee that a soccer player is expelled.

A week earlier, the IMF had issued an official warning to Argentina [....]

Yup, NOT anti-austerity

artappraiser — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 01:33:02 +0000

In reply to 700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)

Yup, NOT anti-austerity protestors here, but just the opposite; there is significant component of middle-class protest against government spending fueling inflation (& the main complaint of corruption suggests many might not like where that government spending is ending up):

Argentina protests: up to half a million rally against Fernández de Kirchner
Rowdy demonstrations against corruption mark escalation of opposition to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
By Uki Goni in Buenos Aires and Jonathan Watts, Latin America correspondent
guardian.co.uk, 9 November 2012

The broad avenues of Buenos Aires were crowded on Thursday night by Argentina's biggest and noisiest anti-government demonstration in a decade, as hundreds of thousands of protesters marched or banged pots to express frustration at President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

After a smaller rally in September, the noisy but peaceful protest – estimated at between 250,000 to 500,000 people – marks an escalation of opposition to the Argentinian leader, particularly among a middle class that is upset at inflation, corruption, media controls and suggestions Fernández may want to amend the constitution so she can serve a third term.

Congregating around the landmark obelisk in the centre of the capital, protesters carried handmade signs demanding "Stop corruption" and "No Re-election" while they chanted: "This is for Cristina who is watching us on TV." Tens of thousands of others joined a cacerolazo (casserole) demonstration outside the presidential palace, beating kitchen utensils so loudly their clamour cannot have been ignored inside.

Word of the demonstration spread through social networks. Many organisers remain anonymous, but Mariana Torres, administrator of the Facebook page El Anti-K, one of the most active in calling for the rally, said she was delighted: "It was a true feast for democracy."

There was no single cause of discontent. Many in the middle class are angry at the highest inflation in a decade, estimated at a yearly 25% by private economists, currency controls that have created a black market in dollars, and one of the slowest economic growth rates in Latin America [....]

Should have quoted this part

artappraiser — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:50:55 +0000

In reply to 700K Argentines flood the streets to protest against President Cristina Fernandez (with video)

Should have quoted this part as well on the class war component:

Fernandez's government spends heavily to stoke high economic growth and backs big wage hikes that tend to mirror inflation.

Supporters claim protesters merely represent middle and upper class frustrations with the left-leaning government and not the population at large.