“This was not a strike today. Not even a little march,” the
president said at an event in nearby San Pedro. “Let’s say a bit of a
squeeze – or a threat.”
“Every worker has the right to do what he wants,” she said. “But
I will put up with whatever I have to put up with. Nobody is going to scare
me off with threats and tantrums.”
Chilean airline LAN announced it scrapped flights within Argentina starting in
the afternoon, as well as seven regional flights headed to and originating
from Sao Paulo, Lima and the Chilean capital Santiago.
The November 8 demonstration reflected the loss of faith among the middle
class in Mrs Kirchner, who last year won re-election with 54 percent of the
vote.
Argentina’s growth rate fell from nine percent in 2011 to just 2.2 percent
this year, according to the World Bank.
Mrs Kirchner’s popularity has also dropped, from 60 percent the week of her
re-election to 34 percent now, according to the Giacobbe and Associates
polling institute.
Argentina’s first elected female president, Mrs Kirchner was initially voted
into office in 2007.
The Argentine constitution currently bars her from running for a third
consecutive term in 2015, but her supporters in Congress have been lobbying
for an amendment to change that.
Mrs Kirchner succeeded her husband Nestor, who then died of a heart attack in
2010.
Source: AFP
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