* Demonstrators say government restricting freedoms
* Critics see Fernandez as arrogant, inflexible
* President vows to stick to current policies
By Helen Popper
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of
Argentines flooded the streets of the country’s biggest cities
on Thursday in a broad protest against President Cristina
Fernandez’s interventionist policies and combative style.
The center-left leader won easy re-election a year ago but
her approval ratings have slid since. Her government has
virtually banned dollar purchases and it limited imports this
year, worsening a steep economic slowdown.
High crime, inflation of roughly 25 percent a year, and a
possible bid by government allies to reform the constitution to
allow Fernandez to run for a third term are also stoking unrest,
particularly among middle-class Argentines.
“We’ve taken to the streets because we’re sick of crime and
having our pockets picked. Inflation is killing us, our pensions
can’t keep up,” said Daniel Gonzalez, 70, a retired teacher.
Thursday’s pot-banging protests conjured memories of the
demonstrations staged by angry savers, housewives and students
during Argentina’s 2001-02 economic and political crisis.
Protesters in neighborhoods throughout Buenos Aires waved
signs demanding freedom, transparency and an end to crime and
corruption. A spokesman for the city’s Justice and Security
Ministry estimated 700,000 people were rallying in the capital.
A similar, smaller protest was staged just two months
ago. { ID:nL1E8KDOXB]
Local television showed rallies in other cities, including
Rosario, Cordoba and Salta. The demonstrations were organized
through social media and not by any one political party.
Some Argentines even took to the streets abroad with
hundreds of demonstrators gathering outside the country’s
consulates in Italy, Spain and the United States.
“We’re protesting against Cristina’s government so she
listens to us. She’s not infallible like she wants to seem. With
this arrogance we won’t get anywhere, we’re already quite
isolated (in the world) because of her policies,” said Pedro
Dominguez, a 56-year-old doctor protesting in Buenos Aires.
Fernandez’s government has angered trading partners with
import curbs and it riled Madrid when it seized control of
energy company YPF from Spain’s Repsol
earlier this year. The country still has outstanding debts
dating back to a financial meltdown a decade ago.
Critics say a government drive to break up the media empire
run by Grupo Clarin is an assault on free speech. But
supporters of the anti-monopoly law that is being enforced say
officials are democratizing the airwaves.
DEARTH OF OPTIONS
Fernandez won 54 percent of votes in October 2011, largely
due to an economic boom, job growth and expanded social
programs. Her government spends heavily to stoke high economic
growth and backs big wage hikes that tend to mirror inflation.
Several government officials have been dismissive of the
protests and accused organizers of being on the far right.
Fernandez told supporters on Wednesday that Argentines
enjoyed more freedom of speech than ever before.
“If there’s a sector that is demanding certain things, they
have to stand up and say this clearly. Now, please, don’t anyone
think that I’ll start contradicting my own policies,” she said.
The president’s approval rating edged up to 31.6 percent in
October, up 1 percentage point from a month earlier, while her
rejection rating dipped slightly to 59.3 percent, according to
the latest poll by the Management & Fit consultancy.
Other polls have given her higher approval ratings but they
also show a decline of 10 to 15 percentage points this year.
“The government and Cristina will emerge even weaker than
they were (after the protests) but the opposition will show its
impotence and its inability to channel these demands,” said
Sergio Berensztein, director of the Poliarquia political
consulting firm.
Under the constitution, Fernandez cannot run for a third
consecutive term in 2015. Local media report her congressional
allies may try to reform the country’s charter to change this,
but the government has not confirmed any such plan.
For now, no opposition leader poses a real challenge to her
and the ruling Peronist party still has strong support in the
heavily populated working-class outskirts of Buenos Aires.
“Cristina won with 54 percent of votes and if there were an
election today, she would win again because there are no
opposition candidates,” said Cesar Pacheco, a 62-year-old
shipbuilder protesting outside the presidential palace.
(Additional reporting by Jorge Otaola, Alejandro Lifschitz,
Guido Nejamkis and Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Hilary Burke;
Editing by Eric Walsh)
