Tens of Thousands Protest State of Emergency in Buenos Aires

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 20, 2001

Tens of Thousands Protest State of Emergency in Buenos Aires

Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Buenos Aires early on Thursday to protest President Fernando de la Rua's declaration of a state of emergency, moving toward the presidential palace.

Tens of thousands of people filled the streets of Buenos Aires early on Thursday to protest President Fernando de la Rua's declaration of a state of emergency, moving toward the presidential palace.

The protests came just minutes after the decree went into effect at midnight.

Residents in several middle-class areas of the city blew car horns and banged on pans in protest, then heading for the Plaza de Mayo, site of the presidential palace and the seat of both houses of Congress.

Another 200 residents marched toward de la Rua's Olivos residence, in the northern outskirts of the capital.

De la Rua signed a decree ordering a state of emergency earlier on Wednesday, in response to mounting popular discontent over the country's crumbling economy, stuck in a recession for the past three and a half years.

Five people were killed and more than 100 injured on Wednesday in protests and lootings of supermarkets across the country.

In the central city of Cordoba, three major labor unions agreed to ignore the decree, calling for a widespread strike on Thursday.

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