ARGENTINA: Spectre of Looting Once Again Hovers Over Supermarkets

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 8 1999 (IPS) - The spectre of looting is once again hovering over supermarkets in Argentina, like the wave of desperate violence that put a dramatic end to the government of Raul Alfonsin in the late 1980s.

But this time around, the economy is growing, and inflation stands at a tame 0.7 percent, a far cry from the four-digit figures seen back then.

In the past two weeks, groups of mainly women, children and the elderly have been visiting supermarkets in different parts of the country to “negotiate” peaceful contributions of food with employees. They are generally sent home with enough food to last for two days.

There has been no looting, although the fear is once again lurking in the background. “They ask for merchandise, and we can’t refuse. The situation is very critical,” an employee of a Buenos Aires supermarket told IPS.

By contrast with the looting that broke out during the government of Alfonsin (1983-89), which led to 29 deaths, inflation is under control today. Nor is there any recession. On the contrary, both the economy and investment flows are growing.

But unemployment, the most pressing concern of Argentinians, currently stands at 12.4 percent, and is seriously hurting the living standards of a significant portion of this Southern Cone country’s population of 35 million. Under-employment stands at a similar level.

President Carlos Menem and government officials attempted to downplay the significance of the phenomenon on Friday, and dismissed any comparison with what occurred toward the end of the government of Alfonsin, who was forced to step down.

“It is absurd to compare this with that violent movement, when merchandise was stolen and windows were broken,” said Menem, who concludes his second presidential term this year.

The president accused Ruben Castels, the leader of a pensioners movement, of organising group visits to supermarkets for his personal benefit.

Castels did organise two incursions recently. One of them, just before the Christmas holiday in Buenos Aires, gave fruit. The retirees entered Wal Mart as normal shoppers. Once they had filled their shopping carts, they successfully demanded to be allowed to leave without paying.

But a similar operation staged in another store prior to the New Year’s holiday was thwarted, and the protesters, after some pushing and shoving with security staff, ate inside the store.

Incursions into supermarkets have also begun to crop up elsewhere in Argentina. According to the heads of the Chamber of Supermarkets, they have arisen spontaneously and with increasing frequency.

Last month, authorities at the Disco, Norte and Carrefour supermarket chains provided food to people from nearby neighbourhoods who peacefully requested food assistance.

One woman said a majority of those living in the slums of Bajo Flores in Buenos Aires were facing a critical situation. “I have 12 children, and my husband doesn’t have a job. Only my oldest son is working, and sometimes he earns 10 pesos (equivalent to 10 dollars) a day,” she said.

Her children eat once a day in a nearby church soup kitchen. “We are not trying to eat twice a day, but we would at least like something for over the weekend,” said the woman, who explained that the soup kitchen closed on Saturdays and Sundays.