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22 May, 2002Thousands of striking workers Wednesday marched the streets of Buenos Aires, criticising the government's handling of the country's economic crisis.
ARGENTINA: On Wednesday, May 22, some 4,000 people staged a protest against President Eduardo Duhalde, decrying his attempt to win billions of dollars in bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund.
The demonstration in Buenos Aires was the first large union protest against President Duhalde since he assumed office in January, after street riots forced his predecessor from power.
The protest outside the Government House was organised by Argentina's second-largest labour confederation, the so-called CGT "dissident".
In a speech, CGT leader Moyano called on the government to ignore the International Monetary Fund's demands for further job cuts in the public sector. He blamed the country's crisis situation on the Fund, adding it was pointless to keep seeking additional money.
The protests came as the unemployment rate hit 20 per cent and the Argentine peso continued to decline against the dollar.
The IMF has 4 affiliates in Argentina: the Smata and UOM are members of the confederation CGT "dissident", which organised Wednesday's protest, and Asimra and Aoma are members of the confederation called CGT "official".