September 2012 cacerolazo in Argentina

September 13, 2012 cacerolazo in Argentina

Demonstration at Santa Fe and Callao streets, Buenos Aires
Date	September 13, 2012
Location	Argentina

A number of cacerolazos, pot-banging protests, took place in several cities of Argentina on September 13 and November 8, 2012. The first, in September 13, was a national protest against the policies of the president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.^[1] The protests generated significant repercussions in local politics. The second, on November 8 (known as 8N), was another much more massive protest in several cities in Argentina, including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Olivos, among many others throughout Greater Buenos Aires and other regions.^[2] There were also protests in Argentine embassies and consulates in cities such as New York, Miami, Madrid, Sydney, Bogotá, Santiago and Barcelona, among others.^[3][4] Its complaints were almost the same, but the difference in size was very big.^[5] The protests are considered not only a call to Kirchnerism, but also to the opposition, because they do not have a strong leader.^[6]

Antecedents

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was re-elected in 2011, by 54% of the vote in a general election. After it, the government instituted a period of fiscal austerity which has severely impacted the economy. Inflation increased to more than 25% annually,^[7] but the income tax was not adjusted accordingly, which led to a demonstration by unionist Hugo Moyano.^[8] The government imposed arbitrary trade barriers^[9] and forbade the acquisition of foreign currency, generating a black market in it.^[10] As the government denies the inflation through the manipulation of the INDEC statistics,^[11] huge amounts of $100 banknotes, the largest denomination in circulation, were printed, instead of creating a banknote of a higher value.^[12] This renewed the Boudougate, a political controversy involving the vice president Amado Boudou and the printing house appointed to print the banknotes.

At the political level, President Kirchner is not allowed to run for a new mandate in 2015 and the Front for Victory has no other likely candidates, instead promoting an amendment to the Constitution of Argentina to allow indefinite reelections.^[13][14][15] This proposal is resisted by all the other political parties. Relations between Kirchnerism and the press worsened, with several attacks to the newspapers not aligned with the government. President Kirchner had also said to her cabinet that "you should be afraid of God, and a bit afraid of me", which was not well received either.^[16] The 2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, the crime levels and the lack of respect for republican institutions were also invoked as causes for the protest.^[1]

The event

The demonstration was called for September 13 at 20:00. It was organized through social networks, without the intervention of political parties. Many people were already present at the intersection of Santa Fe and Callao Streets in Buenos Aires at 19:30, and most of them gathered at Plaza de Mayo at 21:00. The main crowd eventually numbered almost 200,000 people.^[1] Hundreds of people protested at the Quinta de Olivos, the official residence of the president, even though Kirchner was not present at the time.^[1]

Similar protests took place in other cities of Argentina, next to their important places. Twenty thousand people in Córdoba gathered next to the Patio Olmos, increasing the number of previous demonstrations. In Rosario the people protested next to the National Flag Memorial. The Civic Center of San Carlos de Bariloche and the intersection of San Martín and Sarmiento in Mendoza attracted the local protesters. Posadas, with 2,000 protesters, had the first notable demonstration against the Kirchners. Salta had a demonstration of nearly 1,000 protesters.^[1]

Repercussions

Media

Nearly 80% of the Argentine media are controlled by the government (directly in the cases of state-owned media, or indirectly in the cases of media which publish advertising paid by the government).^{[17][18][19][20][21]} The official media refused to broadcast the protest at 20:00, some of then began to do it at 22:00. The Televisión Pública (Spanish: Public television) TV channel broadcast a documentary film, and C5N filmed streets with few people. Todo Noticias, which is not aligned with the government, broadcast the protest the whole night, with a notable boost in the points of rating.^[22]

Politics

Government politicians disparaged the protest, minimizing its significance,^[23] and the president said that she would not get nervous about it.^[24][25] Mayor Mauricio Macri requested her to acknowledge the protest and listen to the people's demands.^[26]

See also

• 8N

References

1. "Multitudinario cacerolazo en la Capital y ciudades del Interior del país" [Multitudinous pot-banging protest in Capital and other cities of the country] (in Spanish). La Nación. September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
2. "Las protestas, desde Jujuy a Tierra del Fuego". Clarín (Argentine newspaper). November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
3. "Los argentinos que viven en el exterior también se sumaron al 8N". Clarín (Argentine newspaper). November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
4. "Los mapas del cacerolazo post 8N". La Nación. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
5. "Del 13S al 8N, cómo creció la protesta popular". La Nación. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
6. "El 8N también es un mensaje para la oposición". Radio Provincia. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
7. "Must-Reads from Around the World". TIME. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
8. "Moyano llenó la Plaza contra la "soberbia abrumadora" de CFK" [Moyano filled the plaza against the "overwhelming arrogance" of CFK] (in Spanish). Perfil. June 27, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
9. "US, EU criticize Argentina's trade restrictions". The China Post. April 1, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
10. Anabella Quiroga (August 5, 2012). "El cepo cambiario seguirá firme" [The financial exchange lock will be firmly kept] (in Spanish). Clarín. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
11. "Official statistics: Don't lie to me, Argentina". The Economist. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
12. Jorge Oviedo (July 15, 2012). "El boom de los billetes de $ 100" [The boom of $100 banknotes] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
13. Mariana Verón (August 20, 2012). "Un borrador de Carta Abierta pide la re-reelección de Cristina Kirchner" [A draft of Carta Abierta requests the re-reelection of Cristina Kirchner] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
14. Rey, Debora (13 September 2012). "Argentina sees largest anti-government protests yet; many disapprove of economic management". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
15. Raszewski, Eliana (14 September 2012). "Argentine Protesters Bang Pots to Protest Fernandez Failures". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
16. "La frase de Cristina generó una reacción en el bloque opositor" [The quote of Cristina prompted a reaction amid the opposing parties] (in Spanish). La Nación. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
17. Fernanda Iglesias (January 5, 2012). "Lanata: "¿A dónde voy a ir si no es al Grupo Clarín?"" [Lanata: "Where would I go if not to the Clarín group?"] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
18. "Amenaza directa del Gobierno contra los medios del Grupo Clarín" [Direct threat of the government to the Grupo Clarín media] (in Spanish). Clarín. September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
19. Roy Greenslade (October 10, 2012). "Global editors group raises alarm over Argentina press freedom threat". The Guardian. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
20. "Global editors warn on ongoing campaign in Argentina against independent media". MercoPress. October 12, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
21. Argentina: Editors Call For A Global Protest As Government Attacks Independent Press
22. "Los medios oficialistas no se enteraron de la marcha" [The official media did not notice the march] (in Spanish). September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
23. Mariana Verón. "El Gobierno minimizó el impacto político" [The government minimized the political impact] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
24. "Thousands march against Argentine government". Al Jazeera English. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
25. "Yo nerviosa no me voy a poner, tranquilos" [I won't get nervous, take it easy] (in Spanish). La Nación. September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
26. "Macri le pidió a Cristina que "tome el mensaje" del cacerolazo" [Macri requested Cristina to "take the message" of the pot-banging protest] (in Spanish). La Nación. September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.