CNN is reporting the government of Argentina will tonight declare a "State of Siege." Riots are reported to have broken out in areas of the capital city.

Watching Argentines in a poor section of Buenas Aires loot stores was pretty graphic and emotional. Multiple Argentines have already been killed. A woman screamed: "Look at what the government has done to us - forcing us to the point of starvation..."

I know this is Spanish/American board, but Spains "physical" empire built most of the Americas. And economically speaking, if Argentina defaults it will probably all affect us in some way...

I have a close friend whose mother lives in Buenas Aires, and he has confirmed that most in Argentina have finally realized their economy is heading for "free-fall." Possible total collapse.

Let's hope this doesn't happen, and let's express our solidarity for those living in Argentina.

... ... ...
* From the BBC's online news-site:
""The opposition governor of Cordoba province, Jose Manuel de la Sota, said the situation was descending into "anarchy", and put the blame on the central government. The poor are helpless, and the rich are worried. No sector of society is satisfied with what they are experiencing," he told a local radio station.""



BBC NEWS ONLINE

[ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: JJP ]

It is really a shame. I really hope Argentina comes out of this okay, but they have been struggling economically for some time. I spent some wonderful week ends there. Argentis is so beautiful and B.A. an amazing city. It is painful to picture people destroying it.

[ 12-21-2001: Message edited by: Nicole ]

Unfortunately its not just Argentina. Venezuela is on the border of anarchy. The President Hugo Chavez(a sympathizer of Castro and Saddam) had declared all homes and businesses within a short distance of any body of water... Caribbean sea, river, lake, pond etc...are oligarchial regions and he has nationalized everything. My husband's uncle and other extended family have lost their homes and pharmacy. His best friend's parent's home in the plains (inland) are losing their family home because they are close to a river. None of these people are above middle class! I am thinking that there is going to be a large population of Venezuelans in Milwaukee within the next year.

Jaime,

Very interesting information. It's all part of the plan for "blanket nationalization," which is intent on turning Venezuela into a Socialist State. Even the President's approval rating has dropped from nearly 56% down to less than 36% in less than six months. It's obvious why he has shown his support for Castro, and Saddam. He's leaning towards a dictatorial regime.

At last note, over 80% of the banks in Venezuela hadn't even paid taxes over the past year. In the process, they too are being scrutinized as potentially a future target for the government's take over.

Making matters worse, the President is threatening to imprison any political leaders who oppose his decisions, or speak out against the nationalization of people's property.

As for the Venezuelan government's relationship with the US government, and significant funding from America's financial markets, it's not only slipping, it's disappearing as fast as the property owned by middle class Venezuelans.

It's a ticklish situation, and you may be right about a large influx of Venezuelans into the US. This is a tragedy, and it promises to get worse.

Wolf

I was reading up on the Argentina situation and the whole thing is really a catch 22, not just for Argentina but for Latin America in general. The current presidents of these countries are not saints but they are dealt a difficult hand because the legacy of debt left from the BA Regimes in the 80's has put them in the position where they have to satisfy certain criteria for the IMF and World Bank to receive debt restructuring assistance and aid. Part of the IMF remedy are severe cuts in public spending. Of course the people are going to hate the Econ Minister and President. The reality is what can they do if the IMF says they must do it? The situation doesn't let anyone come out ahead.

The mess Argentina is well beyond my ability to truly analyze. From a simplistic standpoint, they are like a family that continued to borrow with an increasing inabilty to repay. Finally the family reaches a point where the only option is "bankruptcy."

What a true mess. The government is damned if they do (pay debt), and damned if they don't (default). If they choose to default they instantly earn the lable of "bankrupt" and "instability." In this scenario they will at least have some "wiggle-room" for their people - social services. On the other hand, if they had tried to continue to pay their debt the possibility of complete anarchy could fall over the country...

While I was in Spain this last week the Socialist Party was calling on the IMF to be "fair" and "rational." Although it's interesting to point out the Spanish Foriegn Minister on a very recent trip to BA was strongly-encouraging the Argentines to "play fair" in their economic dealings.

I think this depressing and unfortunate situation should be a VERY LOUD reminder to all of us (if your Spanish, "American," British, etc) that we should never take our STABLE economies for granted. We should be thankful we are citizens of nations able to manage our debt and economies.

Let's continue to hope for the best...the best for the people of Argentina!