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Taking Back Argentina

The long journey from the Dirty War to democracy

By Naomi Klein

Buenos Aires, Argentina—How do you celebrate the anniversary of something that is impossible to define? That question faced tens of thousands of Argentineans on December 20, as they marched from all corners of Buenos Aires to the historic Plaza de Mayo. It was a year ago to the day since the first Argentinazo, a word that is completely untranslatable into… return to article

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    I am keen to know more about the crisis and how the people have responded.,..in particular the education sector and teacher unions in particular. 

    Germany Posted by rob durbridge on Feb 3, 2003 at 7:01 PM

    I was in Argentina beween October 2001 and September 2002. I found this text excellent. Congratulations to the author.
    Back from Argentina, I decided to re-orient my professional career and aspire nowto be more directly involved in politics (i.e. the European construction). I am a product of the Argentinazo. We all can be if we want it. And maybe we should because when I watch TV these days ...

    Belgium Posted by Denis Safrany on Feb 11, 2003 at 7:10 AM

    Dear Mrs. Klein,

    I am an Argentine, and I lived there all of my life, until I moved to Texas in 2000 when I married an American.
    Few times I came across an article about my country written with such a good eye, understanding perfectly what’s going on, away from the yellow journalism, and so close to the heart of the matter.
    It is also encouraging for me to see that last month the Argentine people showed the world that the Argentinazo was the turning point, not the end of the journey. When in the recent presidential elections the Argentineans were confronted with a new opportunity to choose the politicians that would lead the country for the next four years, contrary to what everybody had thought, there was a record in the polls. People got out and voted in great numbers, and sent a clear message out: the “everybody has to go” was replaced by “all corrupts have to go”. People made their voice heard, and chose not to go back to the misery Menem created with his ìfree marketî, IMF-led doctrine. Instead they deposited their hopes into a more human alternative, now on Nestor Kirchner’s hands. Too bad that Mr. Kirchner couldnít become president with the 70% of the popular vote like the polls were forecasting he would have gotten in the second round. Instead he had to take over with only the 22% he got in the first place, since Menemís last deed was to abandon the presidential race, thus prevented Kirchner from stepping up with the overwhelming power, and saving his face from a catastrophic defeat. We knew Menem was a liar and a corrupt. Now we know he is a coward also.
    Hopefully, this time the Argentina of a few will give right of way to the Argentina of everybody. Hopefully this time, we learned the lesson. It took years of horror and indignity. But finally, we might be in the right direction.
    I found your article extremely objective and also touchy. But understanding what happened to us and what is the real cause of it is the only hope we the Argentineans have not to make the same mistakes again as a country, and become a more dignifying place to live.

    Thank you.

    United States Posted by Carlos Mariosa on Jun 2, 2003 at 5:04 PM

    test

    United States Posted by seamus on Aug 11, 2004 at 11:05 AM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

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