The 1989 food riots were a series of riots and related episodes of looting in stores and supermarkets in Argentina, during the last part of the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín, between May and June 1989. The riots were caused by the rampant hyperinflation and food shortage, and were associated with legal protests and demonstrations. This section may stray from the articles topic into the topic of another article: List of notable riots. ... Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lunt, to rob), sacking, or plundering is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war [1], natural disaster [2], rioting [3], or terrorist attack... Current President Néstor Kirchner The President of Argentina (full title: President of the Argentine Nation, Spanish: Presidente de la Nación Argentina) is the head of state of Argentina. ... Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (born 13 March 1927) is an Argentine politician, who was the President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 9 July 1989. ... Certain figures in this article use scientific notation for readability. ... Economic shortage is a term describing a disparity between the amount demanded for a product or service and the amount supplied in a market. ... Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... A man carries a sign at the September 24, 2005 anti-war protest, a demonstration in Washington, D.C. American Civil Rights March on Washington, leaders marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963. ...

The first riots started in Rosario, the third-largest city in the country, when people demanded supermarkets to give away food; they quickly spread to other cities, including Greater Buenos Aires. The national government established a state of emergency. More than 40 people were arrested, and there were 14 dead (20 according to unofficial reports). Eventually President Alfonsín resigned, and president elect Carlos Menem took office six months in advance, in July. ^[1] Rosario is the largest city of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, and the third most populous in the country, after Buenos Aires and Córdoba. ... Gran Buenos Aires or Greater Buenos Aires is the metropolitan area next to the city of Buenos Aires and comprises the following 24 partidos (administrative subdivisions) of the Province of Buenos Aires. ... A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, may work to alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or may order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. ... Carlos Saúl Menem (born July 2, 1930) was President of Argentina from July 8, 1989 to December 10, 1999 for the Justicialist Party (Peronist). ...

Buildup

In August 1988 the Alfonsín government launched a new economic plan, called Plan Primavera, intended to contain inflation. It included price controls, negotiated with 53 leading companies, and exchange rate controls, the freezing of state workers' wages, and negotiations with the labour unions. The plan soon proved a failure. Interest rates rose uncontrollably, and the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves were depleted, as it sold U.S. dollars to preserve the value of the Argentine austral. The economic establishment withdrew deposits from the banks, withheld the dollars brought in by exports, and purposefully delayed the paying of taxes. ^{[2] [3]} The austral was the currency of Argentina between 1985 and 1991. ...

During May 1989, the exchange rate (while fixed in theory) rose from 80 to 200 australes to the dollar. In Rosario, the inflation rate of May reached 96.5%. There was a shortage of basic products in supermarkets and stores, and their price tags were updated several times in the same day.

The results of the general elections held on 14 May 1989 were overwhelmingly favourable to the Justicialist Party. The volatile situation prompted talks about the possibility of anticipating the assumption of the president elect. In Rosario, mayor Horacio Usandizaga resigned, fulfilling a promise that he would leave office if Menem got elected. May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Justicialist Party (Spanish: Partido Justicialista, PJ) is a Peronist political party from Argentina. ... Horacio Daniel Usandizaga, also known informally as El Vasco, is a politician born in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, on 15 June 1940. ...

Wednesday, 24 May was a bank holiday. The first isolated riots erupted in Rosario and Córdoba. On 28 May the president announced an emergency economic plan. That night the riots and episodes of looting became generalized in Rosario, especially in the southern neighbourhoods, where most of the larger supermarkets were concentrated at the time, and the next day they spread to the nearby industrial corridor and to other cities, accompanied in certain cases by road blockades and cacerolazos. ^[4] May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... Córdobas coat of arms Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas mountains on the Suquía River, about 700 km west-northwest from Buenos Aires. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... Cacerolazo is the name of a popular form of protest that consists in a group of people creating noise by banging pots, pans and other utensils in order to call for attention. ...

The riots in Rosario

The rioters broke into supermarkets, food stores and smaller businesses, in groups of varying size (as small as 20 people and as large as 1,000). In most cases they were young, and included a significant proportion of women and children, who doubled as willing human shields against the police. Though most were motivated by hunger and took only food, many also stole cash registers, furniture, refrigerators, etc. Common robbers as well as ostensibly middle-class people could be found among the crowd, as well as people who loaded stolen merchandise on cars and other motor vehicles. The violence was directed at the businesses, not the people, although there were some isolated incidents of owners being hurt or hurting others when trying to defend their shops, and attacks on some police stations. ^[4] Human shield is a military and political term describing the presence of civilians in or around combat targets to deter an enemy from attacking those targets. ...

Police action was rather passive during the first two days, which contributed to the generalization of the riots. Whether they were overwhelmed by its massive dimensions is a matter of discussion; some hypotheses point to orders from a faction of the provincial government. Some neighbours claimed that the police was merely "guarding" the robbers, as the security forces only shot some rounds into the air and few arrests were made.

This changed on 29 May, when the president declared a state of emergency for 30 days. The city was militarized and divided into three operational areas. School classes were suspended, banks were closed, public transportation was shut down, and a curfew was imposed. May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, may work to alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or may order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. ... A curfew can be one of the following: An order by the government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time. ...

By the beginning of June the riots ceased, as the situation was controlled by the security forces and the municipal and national governments began to deliver food assistance. The national government also ordered the creation of hundreds of soup kitchens. ^[5] A soup kitchen is a place where food is offered to the poor for free or at a reasonably low price. ...

Riots in 1990

The beginning of 1990 saw a new, albeit much smaller wave of riots, mainly February and March, in Rosario and Greater Buenos Aires. The economic crisis had not abated, and many businesses had resumed operating with physical barriers. The riots were contained quickly, again with delivery of food assistance to the poorer neighbourhoods.

See also

• December 2001 riots (Argentina)

The December 2001 riots were a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina that took place during December of 2001, with the worst incidents taking place on December 20 and December 21, 2001, in Argentinas capital Buenos Aires. ...

References