- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Emilio1

Argentine music star Sandro dies

Emilio — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:41:48 +0000

The Argentine musician Sandro, an early Latin American rocker who matured into a ballad singer, has died aged 64. He died from complications from heart and lung transplant surgery, doctors at a hospital in the western Argentine city of Mendoza...

Latin America's first gay marriage halted

Emilio — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:35:21 +0000

Latin America’s first same-sex marriage, set to be held in Argentina on Tuesday, appeared derailed after a judge filed an injunction to stop the union until the issue can be reviewed further.

Judge Marta Gomez Alsina’s ruling blocks an earlier holding by another judge that found city laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the court said in a statement.

Argentina: Since economic crisis, unemployed make picketing a way of life

Emilio — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:41:01 +0000

In Argentina, a street demonstration is more than a political act – it’s a profession.

Ever since the country’s economic crisis of the late 1990s, unemployed workers have taken advantage of their free time to form organizations to demand the return of their jobs – usually in the form of street blockades. The well-organized and often hierarchal groups can act as pseudo-employers, sometimes even tapping the laid-off workers’ welfare payments to fund their protest activities and logistics.

Besides serving as a common excuse for tardiness to work, the piqueteros (picketers) have grown to become a well-known and potent force in Argentine politics, sometimes used or co-opted by parties or other political movements.

But any publicity gained by piquetero roadblocks is often outweighed by public backlash from frustrated motorists. Violence can erupt on either side, as in the case of an enraged trucker arrested two years ago for trying to run over a demonstrator.

Argentina launches new debt deal

Emilio — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:06:25 +0000

Argentina plans to launch a new debt swap, which it hopes will end a long-running saga that started from a massive default eight years ago. Latin America’s third-largest economy is trying to rebuild its reputation with international...