Uruguay: The Beast of Hunger & Looting Supermarkets
From "Chris R" <christopher@nodo50.org>
Date Sat, 10 Aug 2002 08:57:34 -0400 (EDT)
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A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
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THE BEAST OF HUNGER AND LOOTING SUPERMARKETS
GAINING EXPERIENCE AND CREATING
By the Federacion Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU)
The policies of the government of Uruguay were no exception. They fully
subscribed to the neoliberal aims that were spreading through a great part
of the world. For more than two decades, the same path was followed: the
indications originating from the international agencies as the IMF, World
Bank, WTO, Interamerican Development Bank. As is known, the general
blueprint of these policies is sketched in the principal centres of power
such as the G7 (or G7+1). They refloated the already emptied Banks. The
State saved them and later on they were cleaned out again by the
transnational capitalists who had bought them out. The same thing happened
years ago, for example, with the [Banco] Comercial. And, more recently,
history has repeated itself. Previously corruption was in the public eye. An
ex-Minister of the Economy was sent to prison: for a short period of time,
of course, and in great comfort. People related to the government were
investigated, even ex-President Lacalle was seriously jeopardises, but he
managed to get off free. Personages linked to the Colorado Party such as
Ganduglia got away with many million dollars under total impunity.
In this framework, the government of Jorge Batlle accelerated the neoliberal
policies, with more frequent and faster privatisations. NAFTA has been
privileged against MERCOSUR. A MERCOSUR trapped in multiple difficulties and
distinct interests and with a very limited degree of independence with
regards to imperialist designs. At the same time, the transnational
companies dominate day by day more economic zones and enjoy greater
political importance.
The financial sector received special privileges, and importations acquired
a diversity and dimension that was almost absurd. Production in general, and
especially medium and small companies, were punished. Only a few large
transnational companies escaped this situation. Things got so bad that on
Sunday 14th the Chamber of Industry itself retired its confidence in the
economic leadership of the country. More and more factories and service
industries were closed; reducing social policies bit by bit; diminishing
budgets for Health and Education.
Unemployment grew even more, even precarious or odd jobs with miserable
salaries, became hard to find. Alarming figures were reached: half of the
Uruguayans were either unemployed or had problems with their jobs; nearly a
third of the country does not have access to a basic diet; half of the
children live in poverty. Speaking clearly, misery decimated the people
"down below." Teachers and families denounced that there were children
surviving on grass and herbs, the leftovers once fed to animals were being
cleaned and represented the food of thousands of families. Hunger, fights,
despair, tiredness of so much cruelly cynical speeches and falsehoods gave
birth to a different type of culture.
AND THEN THE SUPERMARKETS WERE LOOTED
While the misery of those "down below" grew and grew, the bankers received
millions and millions of dollars. Saving the financial system was given
utmost importance. And cash left like a flood of money. The bankers stole
"with four hands," national reserves dropped in a few months from 3.100.000
million to 655 million dollars. It is true that foreign capital (above all
from Argentina) had pulled out before, but after that the Peirano and Ron
[families] carried on removing abundant sums.
The tariffs of essential services [water, electricity, etc.] were raised,
supermarkets increased prices scandalously. An increase that was not even
related to the important rise in the dollar. Basic items doubled their price
in little time. Salaries stayed the same and there were hardly any more
"moonlight odd jobs" available. Quite simply, hunger had taken over the
world of the poor. Many families had nothing to eat, the perspectives of the
following day left little place for hope. Where will we get something
tomorrow??? It was like ground razed from above, by a small group that
handled political and economic power at its whims. And there was repetition
of slogans that said nothing to the oppressed: "we have to save our style of
life," "the main thing is to preserve our democracy," "saving the financial
system is saving the country".
Police forces covered the city: "to prevent possible crimes" according to
the Ministry of the Interior. On Wednesday some fifty persons looted a
supermarket. On the following day the inhabitants of different "carenciado"
or "lacking" neighbourhoods (a euphemism used to describe those who live in
utmost misery) took to the street. Hundreds of people "looted" supermarkets
in different areas. Children, women, the elderly, entire families entered
and took what they could: sugar, rice, noodles, flour, oil, etc. In some
places, however, deodorants were also taken and the mass media protested in
full steam. It is well known that the poor do not have a right to hygiene
and that if they fall into misery they should not wash themselves.
The figures of lootings differ, but show that approximately sixteen were
successful and another fourteen failed. "They are organised!" shouted the
Minister and all the mass media scandalmongers echoing in chorus. "They
acted under coordination and almost simultaneously," they added. "They want
rock and destroy our lifestyle," stressing that this is "anarchy". "We shall
seek the powers lurking in the background, the real guilty ones," different
politicians declared. The majority of the Frente Amplio quickly defined
responsibilities. They manifested their opposition and saw no future in the
events. There was a common element shared by government coalition and the
majority of the electoral left: the people on their own do not have the
capacity to organise their own defence and to take their own initiatives.
Consternation was also a common word to all of them.
GUILTY PARTIES DISCOVERED
The front-page of the rightwing newspaper, "El Observador," Observer" of 3rd
August says: "The instigators of the pillage have been identified," adding
that The Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Stirling, said the instigators
had flustered the Police with false alarms. Intelligence services claim they
have identified the responsible parties, and are investigating several Teja
and Cera [working class] neighbourhood communitarian radios run by radical
left-wing groups, not necessarily integrated in the "Encuentro Progresista"
(or Progressive Encounter).
In inside pages the newspaper "El Observador" insists: "official sources
informed that several communitarian radios in El Cerro and La Teja are being
investigated as presumably responsible for having incited to loot and
plunder. A Intelligence report indicated that one of these radios, located
in El Cerro, incited to plunder a neighbourhood market". They are preparing
the land to force these radios which are the voice of grassroot concerns off
the air. This has been a desire of the government during years and it now
wants to take advantage of the opportunity.
The other day, Sunday 4th, the likewise pro-governmental newspaper, "El
Pais" dove into the task of criminalising those who had a coherent attitude
of supporting and participating in these grassroot struggles. Its headline
declared: "The Minister of the Interior [blames] 'Anarchist' for the looting
... These are people who want to destroy our style of life. They have an
anarchist conception, a dissolving concept of society..."
And immediately surveillance activities were noted and they started breaking
into the Communitarian Radios. "El Quijote" was the first to go, then they
tried the same with another radio in the Colon district, but there was a
great deal of people at the moment that stopped them from carrying it out.
Now they are talking about a list that includes not less than 6 radio
stations, including the ones that are already openly criminalised. The
witch-hunt has begun. The agents of genocide, the hungermakers of our
people, the ones who have actively handed over the country, the ones who
have just signed an "agreement" with IMF that means kneeling down and
surrendering what little we have left, the ones who with this new state of
affairs have assured greater misery for our people, they are the innocent.
Like recently in Argentina, Bolivia or Paraguay (and so many others) our
people have begun to walk. They are in a process of search, they have
discovered that there are things that have nothing to do with their
interests. They do not want to resign themselves to die of hunger, nor to
carry on listening to lies, neither to watch how the banker-thieves rob
millions with the complicity of the powers that be. They are looking for
ways to organise themselves, they will reformulate struggles that are in our
class imagination. They will not believe in illuminated vanguards, they will
create adequate ways to improve conditions of the present, new never-seen
structures will arise and thus they will go putting the angular stone of
future social forms built on justice and solidarity. We will try to be, or
to follow, inside that new reality.
7th August 2002: Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU)
New email: radowisky1@yahoo.com
NEWSBREAK: On 8th August the FAU informs that they are working together with
other social and syndical movements, denouncing abuses, fighting for for
freedom of speech and for the release from prison of those arrested for
wanting to eat. They denounce a clear campaign to close down all
communitarian radio stations (many of which are organised by FAU and other
libertarian organisations). The mass media is continuing to blame the
anarchist movement for "planning" the lootings.
Translation by Red Libertaria Apoyo Mutuo (RLAM)
http://www.red-libertaria.net
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