Da: "grok" A: "lbl" ; "llo" Oggetto: Argentina Is A Nation Destroyed Data: domenica 9 giugno 2002 9.16 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=11929326&method=full&siteid=50143 The Mirror (Britain) June 6, 2002 ARGENTINA IS A NATION DESTROYED No money, no jobs, more disease, more crime, 1,000s desperate to leave..welcome to the disaster zone of once-proud Argentina >From Andy Lines In Buenos Aires IN sweltering heat, people feverishly barter their services for food. A woman offered to cut a man's hair in return for some oranges and apples. Across the room, a nurse took the blood pressure of an elderly woman in exchange for a bag of carrots and potatoes. A dentist arranged to extract a youngster's tooth after negotiating for some clothes. Another man sat quietly offering 25 toilet rolls in return for bread. For these poverty stricken unemployed men and women, it was a chance to survive another week without any money. Most of them have young children to feed and clothe and this was the only way they could do it. It could have been a scene from one of the poorest areas of Africa. But these incredible, primitive scenes were taking place yesterday in one of the most exclusive suburbs of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Many of the people at the "truque" - bartering centre - were once wealthy businessmen. But now they live in a country in crisis. In 1998, 12,000 fans flew to support their team in the World Cup Finals in France. For this World Cup, just 694 flew to Japan. Tens of thousands of people are trying to leave the country and start their lives again in Spain, Italy or the US. Poverty levels are so serious that children are dying again from tuberculosis, a disease not seen for more than 20 years. Shanty towns are springing up across the country, including one just half a mile from Buenos Aires city centre. These "truques" are taking place all over Argentina as survival becomes more and more difficult. At this one, the people queuing to take part are not illiterate or uneducated. Many have university degrees and a couple were millionaires before the country's economy went into meltdown. Ulises Oriani, who with his wife Gladys runs the bartering centre, the largest in Buenos Aires, looked around the hall and estimated that 90 per cent of them had lost their jobs in the crisis. He used to be a wealthy businessman, importing and exporting vegetables. But he took out a loan in dollars and when the exchange rate changed he went bankrupt. "I lost my house, everything," he said. "Now our sons want to leave the country - there's no future for them here. "This bartering system is the only way for many people to survive. You wouldn't believe some of the people who come here. We have a wealthy businessman whose factory used to make 1,500 pairs of shoes a day. Now, he brings some shoes to exchange for food. "We have all different types of people offering their services to swap for food - builders, dentists, nurses, teachers. "There is one principle rule - no money changes hands. The system works well and has become very popular." People either barter directly or are given credit notes to exchange with participants. As she cut the hair of several men, Sixta Solis explained: "This makes a big difference to me. I can get food in return for cutting hair. It would be very difficult without it. I can get spaghetti, sugar and fruit." Lilian Pizarro used to own a leather factory. It went bust and now she makes home-made liquor to try to get food. The well-educated, elegant lady said: "I never thought I would be in a place like this but the problems in this country are very bad. This system is like something that happened 500 years ago, but it seems to work now." Nurse Susana Ayala took blood pressure and tested the blood of a diabetic pensioner in exchange for some home-made cakes. The man, sitting sadly with 25 toilet rolls, was desperate for bread in return. Despite the temperature of 95F, people started queuing three hours before the doors opened. Security guards stemmed waves of men and women trying to get in. Official unemployment figures touch 20 per cent, but in reality they are much higher. There are violent protests every day. Banks and shops are attacked and looted. One elderly investor was told by his bank manager that he could not withdraw his life savings. He went back with a hand grenade and threatened to blow up the building. A Korean immigrant couple committed suicide after their shop was ransacked. More than 30 people have been shot dead in riots across the country. The house of a member of Congress was burned down. The windows of the parliament building have been smashed by stone-throwing demonstrators. Outside the presidential palace, there are daily demos. Seven people were shot dead as they tried to storm the building. The middle classes organise daily protests, banging pots and pans, often outside the homes of senior Cabinet Ministers. As I walked around this city, once so beautiful it was called the Paris of the South, it was tragic to see what was happening. A giant Harrods store lies empty. Further down the road, a Lloyds Bank branch has huge aluminium sheets welded over the windows. At 7am, queues start forming outside the banks as people wait to withdraw money. A smartly dressed middle-aged man asks if I could spare a few pesos. Another harasses me to change dollars on the black market. The black market in foreign currency has gone crazy. Three weeks ago one peso was equal to one dollar. Now it is officially one peso to 1.4 dollars and on the streets it is two pesos for one dollar. It has been a cataclysmic fall. President Eduardo Duhalde said the country was just a step away from anarchy: "Argentina is on the edge of a bloodbath. This time-bomb will explode if we don't carefully dismantle it." And he warned: "Class war may not be far off." Politicians know they are deep in trouble if football, the nation's favourite sport, is hit. The clubs are £280million in debt and selling all their players - and the players are striking because they have not been paid. Last week, Duhalde called in all the chairmen of the top clubs to try to resolve the problems. The "Barras bravas" football hooligans have been on the rampage. Duhalde is being asked to pay the £5million it costs each season to police the games. In November, Jorge Solis, manager of the Dada bar in downtown Buenos Aires, was not paid - the bar did not take enough money, so the owner simply could not afford to. He shrugged and said: "What am I supposed to do? There are no other jobs, so I have to stay." Most people are angry and bitter. Writer Marcos Aguinis said: "Argentines feel great disappointment and sadness. Expectations have always been great. We couldn't accept we could fail. Success seemed assured." Jorge Ochoa de Eguileor, a sociology professor at Buenos Aires University, said: "Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. It created a false pride, that we were superior to the rest of Latin America." Businessman Oskar Gonzalez, 32, is planning to move to Spain and join the "brain drain" of young talent to Europe or the US. "Everyone is trying to leave the country and I do not blame them," he said. "It is very bad now, but trust me, it's going to get worse. I cannot see how it will end. "How did this happen? We should be one of the most successful countries in the world and now we are bankrupt. People here have worked all their lives and now many have been left with nothing." He summed up the feeling across the nation: "So many are going, it reminds me of the saying, 'Will the last person leaving the country please turn off the light'."