ARGENTINA: PROTESTERS CALL ON SUPERMARKETS AND BANKS TO DONATE FOOD AND MONEY TO ARGENTINA'S POOR

Record ID: 645636

  • Title: ARGENTINA: PROTESTERS CALL ON SUPERMARKETS AND BANKS TO DONATE FOOD AND MONEY TO ARGENTINA'S POOR
  • Date: 4th December 2002
  • Summary: (W1) CONCORDIA, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS) SV OF PEOPLE LOOKING FOR FOOD IN THE GARBAGE (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BUENOS AIRES; TUCUMAN; CONCORDIA; AND FORMOSA, ARGENTINA
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: General,Health,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5SZPT5DSCOLNX9C7U8TKMTNAC
  • Story Text: Thousands of protesters have called on supermarkets and banks to donate food and money to Argentina's poor.
    Thousands of unemployed Argentines marched through Buenos Aires on Wednesday (December 4) calling for supermarkets to provide food to Argentina's poor.
    "We, who oppose an ending in looting, appeal to the business owners of this country to show solidarity with the shelters and associations of the poor in Argentina," said protest leader Raul Castels.
    The demonstration began on Wednesday morning when protesters left the popular neighbourhood of Liniers and handed out petitions to different supermarkets along the road, demanding them to donate food.
    Protesters also solicited banks for help, accusing them of becoming wealthier at the expense of bank patrons' frozen deposits.
    The march ended in the city's historic Plaza de Mayo in front of the Government House.
    But despite the thousands who turned out for the demonstration, President of Argentina Eduardo Duhalde tried to soften the dramatic picture painted by the protesters.
    "We are not going to exaggerate this. In Argentina there will be some food left over. What is lacking is organisation," he said.
    The supermarket protest comes on the heels of recent news reports of the deaths of at least ten children due to hunger and malnutrition in the interior of the country.
    Nearly a year ago, the city's supermarkets were ravaged by looters as violent protests against the government forced the resignation of then-president Fernando de la Rua and led the country into economic upheaval.
    The crisis left more than half of Argentina's 36 million citizens below the poverty line and one in five unemployed.
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