ARGENTINA: Heads of state from the Americas kick off Summit despite violent clashes in the streets of Mar del Plata and Beunos Aires

Record ID: 449012

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Heads of state from the Americas kick off Summit despite violent clashes in the streets of Mar del Plata and Beunos Aires
  • Date: 5th November 2005
  • Summary: MEDIUM POLICE OFFICERS ARRESTING PEOPLE AND CHECKING THEM FOR WEAPONS; WIDE BURGER KING SHOP WITH BROKEN WINDOWS (4 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 20th November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA6MIFLG1YG7ACCWSEIMEENMIZX
  • Story Text: Anti-U.S. demonstrations at the Americas Summit turned violent on Friday (November 04) as protesters set fire to a bank, looted stores, and battled riot police blocks away from a luxury hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush met with regional leaders.
    The violence came hours after tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets, shouting "Get out Bush!" in a peaceful protest against the U.S. leader, who is unpopular among many Latin Americans for the Iraq war and his push for a regional free trade deal.
    But in a later march, several hundred protesters shattered storefronts and fought pitched street battles with riot police, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
    Masked protesters set fire to an Argentine bank branch and an office for Argentine telecommunications company Telefonica, hurling Molotov cocktails before hauling off computers and office furniture.
    Anti-riot police on motorcycles played cat-and-mouse chases with demonstrators, some of them carrying sticks and slingshots.
    The two-day meeting of Western Hemisphere leaders was expected to be a showdown over differing views of free trade between the American president and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
    Chavez, the leftist leader who opposes Bush's economic model, vowed to bury the stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA during a speech to protesters earlier in the day.
    Marchers urged the region's leaders to pursue alternatives to the U.S.-backed free-market recipes, which dominated in the region in the 1990s but failed to reduce poverty and inequality.
    As Chavez rallied peaceful protesters, Bush told reporters he would be polite if he saw Chavez, but offered implied criticism of Venezuela's democracy. Bush said he judged leaders "based upon their willingness to protect institutions for a viable democratic society."
    Bush also met with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and praised the country's comeback from a 2001-2002 economic collapse. Many Argentines blame the collapse on policies backed by the United States and the International Monetary Fund.
    Radical groups had been expected to challenge the several rings of police security in downtown Mar del Plata. Coast-guard boats and helicopters also patrolled the shore.
    Despite the melee, business continued as usual with the participating heads of state starting the Summit's first working session which was followed by a reception and dinner.
    Outside of the Middle East, South America may be one of the most hostile places to U.S. policies, despite Bush vows upon taking office that it was a top-foreign policy priority. Many in the region feel Washington meddled too much in the past in economics and politics, then ignored the region to focus on the war on terrorism.
    While the emerging markets of Asia roared ahead in the last 20 years, Latin America's economies, rich with minerals, gas and farmland, fell into a cycle of boom and bust.
    Nowhere is that more evident than in summit host country Argentina, a model of free-market policies in the 1990s that fell from grace with $100 billion in unpayable foreign debt and slid quickly into poverty for millions.
    Washington hopes to win a commitment to revive talks for the FTAA in 2006, after opposition from Latin America's big economies over U.S. agriculture subsidies stopped blocked it this year.
    Chavez's opposition is not enough to block a deal, but he may pose a threat to reaching a consensus statement on the trade agreement at the summit.
    Bush arrives at the meeting with his popularity at home was sinking further. For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Americans questioned his integrity as his approval ratings on key issues fell to new lows, in an ABC News/Washington Post poll.
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