Argentine leader's fiercest opposition: fellow leftists

[La_Serpiente]

Argentine leader's fiercest opposition: fellow leftists

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – January afternoons in Buenos Aires are usually best endured in the shade. But despite being one of the hottest days yet this summer, Monday afternoon saw 20,000 people take to the streets in protest against the government of left-wing Peronist Nestor Kirchner.

The march was organized by groups from Argentina's piquetero, or picketer, movement to demand the release of fellow activists and the repeal of a pro-business labor law. At the forefront of the antiglobalization movement, piqueteros are unemployed people who demand jobs, social assistance, and an end to neoliberal economic policies.

Formed almost a decade ago, the piqueteros are increasingly taking to the streets to protest pro-market policies. In recent years, the piqueteros and similar movements elsewhere in South America have played a part in bringing down governments in Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

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Argentine leader's fiercest opposition: fellow leftists