Chaos,
riots, looting as police go on strike in Argentine city
RT,
4
December, 2013
At
least 130 people were injured and one killed following mass looting
and vandalism by gangs of youths, who took over several parts of
Cordoba City in Argentina. The lawlessness was a result of the police
going on strike over low pay.
A
young man around 20 years old has died from a gunshot wound to his
chest, imneuquen.com.ar reports. More than 50 people who took part in
the looting have been detained. Twelve of the 130 who were wounded
sustained their injuries from firearms.
After
the news of the strike broke Tuesday, looters quickly appeared in the
streets, going primarily for the supermarkets and small stores, which
rapidly shut their doors. Targets included clothing stores, sporting
goods, toy stores, bike shops, and branches of cell phone companies.
Local media termed the city 'virtually paralyzed
Sticks
and stones were used as windows were smashed and goods were looted.
Armed gangs of youths on bikes, including women, incapacitated
traffic.
On
Wednesday bus services and other public transport stopped operating,
citing fear of crime and passengers being mugged. Bank also closed
for security reasons. "Until there are cops on the street, do
not go," instructed Alfredo Penaloza of local tram union, Unión
Tranviarios Automotor (UTA).
In
the ensuing confusion, there were “rumors of a riot at the Bower
San Martin prison, but nothing has been confirmed yet,” Alerta 24,
a Twitter user, reported.
Benjamin
Blanch, vice-president of the Chamber of Supermarkets in Cordoba,
spoke to local media, telling them that there was “immeasurable
theft” going on. The authorities have “lost count of the number
of people affected,” he said.
The
governor of Cordoba Province, Jose Manuel de la Sota, put the blame
on law enforcement, whose members gave an ultimatum to make
authorities accept their wage proposal. De la Sota was traveling in
Panama , bound for Colombia, and interrupted his vacation in order to
settle a new wage.
Authorities
have negotiated a 52 percent rise in salary with law enforcement,
which numbers about 6,000 officers in the area.
The
police chiefs held an emergency meeting around midnight to try and
find a solution to the conflict, but negotiations failed again. A
raise was reached later on Wednesday.
De la Sota told
String3 radio he may be "forced"
to apply "warnings and
suspensions to exemptions or layoffs."
De la Sota was on a trip to Colombia when the unrest started,
and returned to Argentina to take charge and pull the region out of
the crisis. “We repeat –
send the Gendarmerie into Cordoba at once. What is happening in the
city requires urgent attention,”
he said earlier on his Twitter account, appealing to Buenos Aires to
send reinforcements.
Later in the day, Argentine authorities
sent two thousand gendarmes in the province, according to an
announcement made by Security Secretary, Sergio Berni. He stated that
the riot police were being dispatched to cope with the "moment
of helplessness, the product of political uncertainties."
The President’s Cabinet Chief, Jorge Capitanich, previously
said that the province must resolve the situation on its own, though
the federal government is monitoring the situation.
URGENTE:
Ciudadanos de #Córdoba
defendiendo su ciudad durante la protesta policial
pic.twitter.com/a1C6AXFQaR
http://
es.rt.com/trb
7:49 PM - 4 Dec 2013
http://
es.rt.com/trb
7:49 PM - 4 Dec 2013
“We
can’t interfere in a matter of provincial jurisdiction related to a
salary protest,” Capitanich
told reporters in Buenos Aires. “It’s
very easy to govern transferring responsibilities to
others.”
Cordoba
City is one of the oldest in Argentina, its population numbering 1.5
million. The province heavily depends on manufacturing and
agriculture for its subsistence and has become rich from it.
However, the province has faced repeated delays and cutbacks in
financing from the federal government. As a result, it has been
plagued by continuous social and political strife, as well as
financial troubles.
Looters
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