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What happens when cops go on
strike? Well, take a look at what’s happening in Cordoba, the second largest
city in Argentina.
Cops refused to hit the
streets until they got paid 10,000 pesos a month (about USD1,000) As the word
got around anarchy became widespread across the province. Supermarkets and
stores got looted, widespread violence and crime.
The neighbors built
barricades for protection against the looters. Some store owners armed
themselves and guarded their businesses from the rooftops.
People organizing to defend their neighborhood
Some looting occurred in
Buenos Aires too, with a Chinese store owner shooting the looters but eventually
being killed when they burned down his store.
Like prianhas, as soon as a
store got broken into, the same neighbors that probably knew the owners of the
commerce personally would pick them clean. Violent incidents became widespread
and people spent last night in fear as the rumor spread of looters not only
breaking into commercial stores, but residences as well.
According to the information
I’m getting right now from people there, even car dealerships have been attacked.
No store big or small is safe, and many didn’t just get looted, but destroyed
or burned as well in some cases. The people doing the looting weren’t just
poor. Expensive trucks have been seen driving around loaded up with all sorts
of electric appliances from big screen TVs to washing machines and air conditioners.
There’s no banks operating,
no schools, no public transportation. The city is locked down.
So, far there’s two dead and
hundreds of wounded, with hospitals being overwhelmed in Cordoba.
FerFAL
9 comments:
1) I saw where Cristina has imposed a 35 percent tax on peso-dollar purchases for "tourism" to stem the outpouring of money (and people?) from Argentina:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304355104579236123954714110
During the 2001 crisis the exchange rate went from 1 peso per dollar to 4 pesos per dollar -- it is now almost 10 pesos per dollar. Note that the dollar itself has lost value relative to gold during that time ( $300 -> $1200 per oz).
2) Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno, who has run Argentina's
economy for 8 years, has just resigned:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-20/argentine-trade-secretary-moreno-ousted-as-kicillof-power-rises.html
2) Taking the long-term view, Cristana forcing Moreno out is part of a long tradition.
Scientists have discovered the world's oldest public toilet in Argentina -- dating from 240 million years ago and containing dinosaur droppings 1 foot in diameter.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/prehistoric-toilet-unearthed-argentina-megaherbivore_n_4368873.html
Sadly, many reading this will think, "Yeah, but that's just some little town in Argentina. It's not like that would happen *here*. [Fill in their country/city/neighborhood] isn't like that." :\
1) Yep -- here in the USA the politicans are smart enough to screw the old people, not the guys with guns who maintain order.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/us/detroit-bankruptcy-ruling.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0
2) I think that paradigm will last up to the point that some elderly suicide bomber shows that the elderly also don't have a lot to lose with violence.
3) Lots of immigrants from the Middle East have moved into Detroit. Sooner or later, Al Qaeda is going to send someone in to whisper "You don't have to take this lying down, you know."
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2028057,00.html
Especially when there's no money to pay for police. And those lavish pension promises to potential police recruits have kinda lost their credibility.
4) Read Tacitus to see how Senators in the old corrupt Roman Empire used to laugh at those Christian and Jewish subversives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/world/middleeast/us-aims-to-blunt-terrorist-recruiting-of-english-speakers.html?hpw&rref=world
Should have seen the riots in LA 94. Trying to burn down the whole city. The smoke was so bad that the sunlight could not get through and it was twilight. Here we seem to be better at fighting back.
From all accounts I can find the police are currently making 6000 pesos a month and Cordoba Governor Jose Manuel De la Sota offered a 52% increase(9120) while they are demanding 13000 a month.At current exchange rate of 6.24 pesos/dollar, 10000(your number) would equal $1602 not $1000. Why are your numbers different from everyone else?
Because the "official" exchagne rate of 6.24 isnt real. The real exchange rate is the one you find on the streets, which is 1 to 10. At one point they asked for 10.000 then for 13.000. Waht I care the most was what happened and not so much exactly how much money cops were asking for.
Dear Ferfal:
I think the pistols shown with the man with his finger on the trigger is a Beretta Model 70, The Bersa trigger is less pronounced.
Anarchy does not mean lawlessness.
The word simply means "no ruler".
Obviously there exists in Argentina rulers, and a ruling class.
If police refuse to do their job of protecting persons and property while holding a city ransom, they themselves are lawless.
When the population is disarmed, this is what can be expected absent police. It is of course by design.
Mr Obvious
Is this guy in the photo covering his face for fear of being identified by looters or for fear of later being punished by the police for disobeying gun laws?
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