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News > Latin America

Argentines March To Demand A Food Emergency Declaration

  • Demonstrators gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Social Development to demand that a food emergency is declared in Argentina.

    Demonstrators gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Social Development to demand that a food emergency is declared in Argentina. | Photo: Twitter: @fpdsnacional

Published 7 November 2018
Opinion

Argentina has been living a profound economic crisis, mainly aggravated by the austerity policies implemented by the government but imposed by the IMF.

On Wednesday a massive mobilization took the streets of the Argentina capital, Buenos Aires, to protest against the austerity policies imposed by the government of Mauricio Macri and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and to demand a food emergency declaration, from the Ministry of Health and Social Development, in the most vulnerable zones in the country.

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The Barrios De A Pie,  the Corriente Clasista y Combativa (CCC), Frente Popular Darío Santillán (FPDS) were among the most present organizations in the mobilization's structure. 

Argentina has been living a profound economic crisis, mainly aggravated by the austerity policies implemented by the government but imposed by the IMF. The protesters said that the protest is based on a latent claim to stop the increase in hunger in the most humble sectors of the population.

"The whole of the social movements is mobilized today throughout the country to ask for the declaration of the food emergency," said the national coordinator of Barrios De A Pie, Daniel Menendez. 

Soaring inflation and the collapse of Argentina’s currency, the peso, since April have forced many Argentines to abruptly change her diet and their day to day practices. For example, beef is making a rarer appearance at the dinner tables of middle-class families as the country spirals deeper into economic turmoil.  

It’s one of the clearest signs of how far Argentines have seen their purchasing power slashed by inflation, which is expected to surpass 44 percent by year’s end, according to the latest central bank poll.

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The protesters rejected the adjustments measures, based on austerity, that "continue to hit the workers of the popular economy." Meanwhile, the leader of the FPDS, Diana Sánchez, added that it is necessary to declare the food emergency in Argentina in order to alleviate the crisis that essentially hits the most humble of the country.

Protesters explained that it is necessary to increase employment programs and inject resources into food programs, as soup kitchens are overcrowded. 

Protests weren't exclusive to Buenos Aires on this Wednesday, also in the cities of Bahía Blanca, Rosario, Salta, Córdoba and Santiago del Estero, manifestations were organized against the budget cuts promoted by President Mauricio Macri.

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