June 2002 - 30 minutes

Montage of protests

19-20 December: Over a million people take to the streets as the economy finally collapses

Under the weight of $150 billion debt to the IMF.

38 people murdered

President De La Rua is forced to flee

As the crisis deepens, demonstrations and direct actions continue throughout the country.

18th January: protest against the repression in December.

The government’s changed. The misery continues

Elias Barrios (sacked docker)

What do you think of the general situation in Argentina now? What’s going to happen?

We know what’s happening with the workers but not what the bosses are up to. They’ve practically blown up the middle classes. The really rich are safe because they’ve stashed their money away in Chile, Paraguay … The people who really lost out were from the middle class down. This is why people are so angry, and it continues because people know that Duhalde was responsible for privatisation and now he’s in government. Things will get worse, but we’ll keep fighting.

Eve Petrini (Secretary, Madres de la Plaza de Mayo)

How many people were disappeared during the 70’s?

about 30,000 …

So a whole generation of militants and activists disappeared?

3 generations, because some were teens, some in their 20’s, and those over 30 and their babies.

3 generations of young people, men and women from different political parties trade unions, workers, students, kids that worked in the church and youth workers All these kinds of people had different ideas so they thought they were dangerous and decided to exterminate them.

What’s happening in Argentina is the result of a corrupt political system Justice doesn’t exist. It always depends on political power which depends on capitalism. so there isn’t really a government or political party in charge. It’s really the USA and the International Monetary Fund that run Argentina, however they want with a massive debt that the people didn’t create. The debt doesn’t belong to the people, it’s between the military and foreign bankers.

I’m a city councilor for Buenos Aires from the United Left political party. My organisation is the socialist workers movement (MST) in the United Left I think this is a revolution. There was one Argentina before and another one after this process.

The process started spontaneously but now it’s organised in the neighbourhoods through neighbourhood assemblies which then met together. They’ve voted for a programme that’s very similar to the position of the left and now people are thinking that they need to govern. this is the process that we’re living through because Duhalde has very quickly lost the trust of the people.

Bibiana Galli (teacher and activist in Malavia y Corrientes assembly)

The assemblies are bringing together a lot of people that have never been politically active before, but are angry at this robbery by the banks and multinationals – lorries full of money have been seen leaving the country on television this is what it’s like, it’s like armed robbery. So the assemblies are bringing together a wide variety of people – militants, ex-militants of different parties, there are parties of the left involved too, and there are ordinary people who are fed up with politics.

20th January: Interbarrial Assembly, Buenos Aires

Get rid of them all!

Justice and jail for the murderers.

No to paying the external debt.

Nationalise the banks and the private companies. and the pension schemes!

Return our savings.

Get rid of the courts.

There’s a mountain of points like these!

This week let’s have a big united cacerolazo and block the roads, either Thursday or Friday, let’s get back out onto the streets and declare what we’re planning here.

Get rid of the lot of them don’t leave a single one!

25th January: National Cacerolazo

Shots of protests

27th January: Interbarrial Assembly, Buenos Aires

Concerning the repression on the 25th, we’re demanding explanations from the government. We demand a full enquiry and prison for those responsible. In particular the chief of police who said on television that they were just cleaning the square!

SONS OF BITCHES!

I’m a representative from the youth assembly with lots of members. We say it’s very important now to call on everyone to fight back against the pigs, the police that killed our friends and family in the last repression in December.

It’s very important that we try to get organised because we have no future. we leave school to come unemployed or slaves. Our grandfathers came from Italy and Spain empty-handed and worked hard they made this country and now they’re suffering in their old age, without medicines, and on very low salaries or pensions when they stop working

They are killing people and we need to keep organised. We don’t just suffer repression in the cacerolazos or on the demonstrations. We suffer everyday just hanging out on the streets where we live. It’s really important now that we co-ordinate and take the fight all the way, through the assemblies, through piquetes, factory occupations and strikes …The future is ours, but it depends on what we do now.

Luis Fernadez (Brukman Factory Rep)

We’ve united peacefully occupied our factory, our struggle continues. We also have comrades who are living in the factories with their families. So our struggle is the struggle of the whole working class who, at the moment, are suffering at the hands of the bosses and their allies in the trade unions.

Sebastian Hacher

Hi, we’re a very particular type of assembly. I’ve come with my camera because our assembly met for the second time yesterday. There were 120 photographers, videomakers, journalists and artists who want to work together to combat all the media lies.

For example, there was a strike of 3,000 workers in Salta. No journalists were there. In my neighbourhood, where the Burkman factory is, not one journalist. In Nuqam there was a Zanon factory where the journalists call the workers terrorists for defending their jobs.

We’re from the CTD Anibal Vrnon made up of 11 piqueteros groups with a united strategy. We are all autonomous – totally independent from any trade union or political party. Our organization neither supports nor proposes any form of negotiation because we don’t do negotiation. All decisions should be taken collectively, by the people.

Unemployed Workers Union

The piquetes started in the interior of the country with the main aim of obstructing the circulation of goods. Many of us used to work in factories. In the 70s, occupying the factories was the main form of struggle. Now we’re outside in our neighbourhoods, we see that the method of capitalism is to circulate commodities like Mercosur in Brazil and Argentina and blocking the roads is a way of hurthing them economically. We know about the struggle in Seattle and many other places where the IMF and World Bank are trying to hold their meetings. We stand in solidarity with this struggle and feel part of the global resistance. We have our own specific demands that we want to include in this. With actions like this one here, we feel part of this global movement.

We’re blocking one of the main routes into the capital, Buenos Aires, and we’ll stay here until the government responds to our demands, the unemployed, community groups and the picqueteros, blocking access to roads and bridges into Buenos Aires.

How long have you been fighting back by blocking roads?

This all came from a long time ago, since there started to be a lot of unemployment. From when they started privitisation, sold off utilities and cut benefits. Since then, a big army of the unemployed has started to rise up. We started to organise from there to take to the streets. It’s been a process of years. Today, there are different organizations blocking other roads and bridges. Here we are at Anibal Veron. There are others at La Planta, Verela and other sectors.

The rich get together to exploit people, so it’s up to us, the unemployed, to organise to get a plan for the future and get rid of them. The people can govern and not the same crooks that always have.

“Who’s going to be in control?” – The people in the struggle or the bastards in the government?

Member of the Teresa Rodrigues Movement

When the YPF ran the oil industry for the state, there were 51,000 people working for them. Now it’s privatised, run by the YPR and Repsol, there’s 5,000. That’s not all. When it was state run, the YPF used to build roads, schools and loads of other things that benefited the neighbourhood and when there’s more work, the local businesses and people have more funds. We’re also fighting over the fact that this area is very polluted, the local people are furious and have been protesting for a long time. There have been deaths over the question of oil. All this is why we’ve come to block the oil refinery.

We’re also fighting for materials because we’re trying to start communal canteens. Neither the government nor the council will give us anything, so we’re demanding the supermarkets and train companies who make millions give something back. Repsol makes $2,400 per minute, so in a month, three days of production pays the salaries of all their workers and 27 days is pure profit. Repsol’s profits can create secure jobs and prosperity for this neighbourhood

28 January: Piqueteros March to Plaza de Mayo

I’m Eduardo Monzon from the unemployed workers group from La Matanza. We’re in the capital demanding employment for 200 pesos a month. One million people are unemployed in La Martanza. We need education and health because at least 100 children die every month in La Matenza. We want decent medical services and food for everybody. La Matanza has suffered a long time. We’ve suffered flooding and a lot of people can’t attain their hopes of a better life. We’re just looking for equality. We’re supporting the cacerolazos which were started by the middle class. The piqueteros are the pioneers of this kind of social movement. It’s not political, we don’t do politics, it’s just a social movement. We want equality for all. I think people all over the world want this. We want political, social and economic equality. And decent health services.

Local assemblies join the march

Picquetes, cacerolazo united in one struggle!

March 24. Anniversary of the 1976 military coup. 120.00 demonstrate

May 29: National strike called against Duhalde government

Jose Barela (

One of the union federations, the CTA, has called this strike today. We’re saying it should be an active strike so we’re blocking all the routes and cities in the whole country to demonstrate against the hunger and misery that workers are suffering in this country because of capitalism.

It seems like the situation now is much worse than it was four months ago. Is this true?

It’s not just the last four months. The situation has been getting worse for us for ages. Many workers are lying idle since they sold of the companies 10 years ago. Today, 20 million Argentinians are living below the poverty line. As more people become conscious of this, we are getting to the streets more and more not just for our demands, but to bring about a fundamental change in this society. I think the conditions exist for employed as well as unemployed workers like teachers and doctors taking strike action to build a distinct alternative – an alternative to everything – not just the trade unions, but the whole society in Argentina.

Member of Neighbourhood on the March

Comrades, today I feel really proud that our movement, together with the Centre of Argentian Workers and the popular assemblies is producing this plan of struggle which today has shown this government that they have to see what is happening here. Because if they don’t the same thing will happen to them as happened to De la Rua and Menem. They’re continuing to implement the policies of hunger and misery and the people are telling them that we’re not asleep! We’re on the move! And we can build picquetes and strikes and we can build a solution for this country too!

26 June. Police open fire on a peaceful protest, murdering 2 activists and wounding 90- people

27 June. Mass protests throughout the country