L-I: More from Argentina

["Johannes Schneider" <Johannes.Schneider@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

These reports are on the CNN website. Reports from Reuters and AP. The 
imperialists
angle of course, but it shows how serious any working class protest is taken by 
them


http://cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/04/19/argentina.protest.reut/index.html
Dozens arrested in bloody Argentine protest
April 19, 2000
Web posted at: 9:41 AM EDT (1341 GMT)


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -- Truncheon-wielding police arrested dozens 
of
demonstrators in front of Argentina's Congress early on Wednesday after a union
protest against a new labor bill turned violent.

Television images showed five police officers clubbing one protester who lay 
sprawled
on the sidewalk with blood pouring from his head. Radio reports said 43 people 
were
arrested.

Another television station showed a police officer pulling a knife from one 
protester
who had been wrestled to the ground and then slashing him across the back with 
it.

A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the incidents.

"This was a savage act of repression. They were beating young people who had 
nothing
to do with the demonstration," said Juan Manuel Palacios, a spokesman of 
Argentina's
main labor body, the General Worker's Confederation (CGT), which organized the 
early
morning protest.

The center-left Alliance government of South America's second-largest nation 
sent
proposals to Congress in February to reduce the cost of hiring and firing, ditch
outdated contracts and reduce unions' influence on wage negotiations to wrestle
decade-old double-digit unemployment.

Unemployment peaked at 18.4 percent in the mid-1990s and now stands at 13.8 
percent.
Employers are often reluctant to take on full-time staff because of high 
severance
packages required by law.

Economists have labeled the relatively higher cost of dismissing workers the
"Argentine cost" which puts the nation at a competitive disadvantage to its top 
trade
partner Brazil.

The reforms have been bogged down in the opposition dominated Senate where union
pressure to block the changes has mounted.

Opposition and government party senators reportedly negotiated some of the final
amendments to the labor code reform Tuesday night. If passed Wednesday or in the
coming weeks, the bill would return to the lower house where it originated for 
final
approval before being signed into law by President Fernando de la Rua.

CGT leader Rodolfo Daer opted to negotiate labor reforms with the 
three-month-old
government while the head of a dissident wing, truckers' union leader Hugo 
Moyano, has
organized big rallies against the legislation.

"If they insist on pushing this bill through, they'll have to do it by beating 
us with
nightsticks," Moyano told reporters.


http://cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/04/19/argentina.labor.ap/index.html
Dozens injured as Argentine workers clash with police
April 19, 2000
Web posted at: 6:02 PM EDT (2202 GMT)


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas 
Wednesday at
protesters opposed to a labor reform bill, wounding at least 30 people and 
prompting
thousands to pour into the streets in a show of support for demonstrators.

In the initial confrontation, involving about 500 people, protesters blocked 
traffic
and waved signs denouncing the proposed legislation. Some smashed windows, 
burned
tires, and prevented firefighters from approaching.

Police arrested 49 people, Interior Minister Federico Storani said. At least 
four
policemen were injured as protesters threw rocks and bottles, he said.

Local news reports said 30 people were wounded and that 14 of them -- including 
four
hit by rubber bullets -- were hospitalized.

The violence prompted demonstrations by thousands more labor activists and their
supporters. The later protests were mostly peaceful.

The demonstrations came ahead of a Senate vote on the labor bill, which was 
approved
by the lower house of Congress in February. President Fernando De la Rua says 
labor
reform is a key to revitalizing Argentina's economy. No date for the Senate 
vote has
been scheduled.

The government says the legislation will spur job growth and increase 
competition in
the labor market. Opponents say it will make it easier for companies to fire
employees, lead to greater unemployment and cause other problems for workers.

"This is going to lower our salaries," said one demonstrator, Mario Casteno.

In a televised news conference, Storani criticized what he called the "savage" 
methods
used by security forces to repel demonstrators, and said a dozen police 
officers had
been removed from duty.

"They deserve the maximum punishment," he said.

Nonetheless, Storani was quoted by news agency Noticias Argentinas as saying
protesters made a "deliberate attempt" to block Congress and prevent lawmakers 
from
working.

Critics accused the interior minister of using the police as a scapegoat.

"Excess force was used by the police, but it was the interior minister who gave 
the
order," charged Humberto Roggero, an opposition Peronist lawmaker.

The labor bill would decentralize collective bargaining, extend the probation 
period
of new hires, and lower employer-paid payroll contributions for new workers, 
among
other changes.

Such changes are backed by the International Monetary Fund, which considers 
labor
market flexibility crucial for Argentina. De la Rua's administration recently 
obtained
a $7.4 billion standby loan from the IMF.






     --- from list leninist-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---