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It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled September 2012 cacerolazo in Argentina and 8N. (discuss) (November 2012)

A number of cacerolazos, pot-banging protests, took place in several cities of Argentina on September 13 and November 8, 2012 . The first, in September 13, was a national protest against the policies of the president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The protests generated significant repercussions in local politics. The second, on November 8 (known as 8N), was another much more massive protest in several cities in Argentina, including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Olivos, among many others throughout Greater Buenos Aires and other regions. There were also protests in Argentine embassies and consulates in cities such as New York, Miami, Madrid, Sidney, Bogotá, Santiago and Barcelona, among others. Its complaints were almost the same, but the difference in size was very big. The protests are considered not only a call to Kirchnerism, but also to the opposition, because they do not have a strong leader.

Antecedents

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was re-elected in 2011, by 54% of the vote of the general election. After it, the government instituted a period of fiscal austerity which has severely impacted the economy. Inflation increased to more than 25% annually, but the income tax was not adjusted accordingly, which led to a demonstration by unionist Hugo Moyano. The government imposed arbitrary trade barriers and forbade the acquisition of foreign currency, generating a black market of it. As the government denies the inflation through the manipulation of the INDEC statistics, huge amounts of $100 banknotes, the largest denomination in circulation, were printed, instead of creating a banknote of a higher value. This renewed the Boudougate, a political controversy involving the vice president Amado Boudou and the printing house appointed to print the banknotes.

At the political level, president Kirchner is not allowed to run for a new mandate in 2015 and the Front for Victory has no other likely candidates, instead promoting an amendment to the Constitution of Argentina to allow indefinite reelections. This proposal is resisted by all the other political parties. The relation of Kirchnerism with the press worsened, with several attacks to the newspapers not aligned with the government. President Kirchner had also said to her cabinet that "you should be afraid of God, and a bit afraid of me", which was not well received either. The 2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, the crime levels and the lack of respect for republican institutions were also invoked as causes for the protest.

The September 13 events

September 13, 2012 cacerolazo in Argentina

Demonstration at Santa Fe and Callao streets, Buenos Aires
Date	September 13, 2012 (2012-09-13)
Location	Argentina

The demonstration was called for September 13 at 20:00. It was organized in social networks, without the intervention of political parties. Many people were already present at the intersection of the Santa Fe and Callao streets of Buenos Aires at 19:30, and most of them gathered at Plaza de Mayo at 21:00. The main crowd eventually numbered almost 200,000 people. Hundreds of people protested at the Quinta de Olivos, the official residence of the president, even though Kirchner was not present at the time.

Similar protests took place in other cities of Argentina, next to their important places. 20,000 people of Córdoba gathered next to the Patio Olmos, increasing the number of previous demonstrations. In Rosario the people protested next to the National Flag Memorial. The Civic Center of San Carlos de Bariloche and the intersection of San Martín and Sarmiento in Mendoza attracted the local protesters. Posadas, with 2,000 protesters, had the first notable demonstration against the Kirchners. Salta had a demonstration of nearly 1,000 protesters.

Repercussions

Media

Nearly the 80% of the Argentine media is controlled by the government. The official media refused to broadcast the protest at 20:00, some of then began to do it at 22:00. The Televisión Pública (Template:Lang-es) TV channel broadcasted a documentary film, and C5N filmed streets with few people. Todo Noticias, which is not aligned with the government, broadcasted the protest the whole night, with a notable boost in the points of rating.

Politics

The politicians of the government disparaged the protest, minimizing its significance. The president said that she would not get nervous about it. The mayor Mauricio Macri requested her to acknowledge the protest and listen to the people's demands.

The November 8 events

Only in the City of Buenos Aires, there were tens of thousands of protesters. Most of them stayed in the surroundings of the Obelisk. In Olivos, more than 30 thousand protesters gathered outside the official residence of the President. The protest, considered a cacerolazo, gathered up to half a millon people, the biggest and noisiest anti-government demonstration in a decade. Protesters rejected inflation, corruption, media controls, a possible re-election by Fernandez and insecurity; without party identification. People were convened by social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Sites

Autonomous city of Buenos Aires

The main meeting point was the Obelisk. 9 de Julio Avenue had to stop the traffic and led to a huge mass of protesters. The first place where a crowd carrying a huge flag was seen was in Santa Fe and Callao, from there they marched to the Microcentro. A mass of people come and went through Avenida de Mayo, which connects the Obelisk with Plaza de Mayo. Plaza de Mayo was also an epicenter of the protest. The surrounding cities of the Obelisk and 9 de Julio Avenue were also full of protesters. There were also concentrations in Belgrano, Recoleta, Monserrat, Balvanera and Caballito.

Provinces

Buenos Aires

In Greater Buenos Aires, the rally was historic. In La Matanza, around 7 thousand people marched to a corner in Ramos Mejía. The most common concerns were "re-relection" and crime. Other concentration points were San Justo, Lomas del Mirador and Tapiales. Before 8PM, people gathered in the centre of Quilmes banging pots and honks. Other cities include Lomas de Zamora and Avellaneda.

In Olivos, a surprising 30 thousand people gathered around the Presidential Residence, while Cristina Fernández met with Héctor Timerman. Around 7 PM, Villate Street closed to traffic and noisy protesters arrived.

Protests also erupted in Mar del Plata, where people got together around the Central Casino, icon of the city. Bahía Blanca also hosted a cacerolazo.</ref>

In La Plata, thousands of people, mainly families, concentrated in Plaza Moreno, in front of the Cathedral, and 51 Street, in front of the Governorship and the Legislature to claim more safety.

Catamarca

In San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, people attired with Argentine flags demonstrated in Plaza 25 de Mayo in front of the provincial Goverment House.

Chaco

Thousands of people also demonstrated in Chaco. They mobilized in the cities of Resistencia, Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, Charata and Quitilipi In resistencia, the demonstration ocurred in front of mainmast in Plaza 25 de Mayo, where they waved Argentine flags and banners with various claims to President Fernández.

Chubut

In Trelew, about one thousand people concentrated in Plaza Independencia, with banners against re-relection. In Puerto Madryn, 700 protesters marched to the Welch Woman Monument. Protests also erupted in Comodoro Rivadavia.

Córdoba

More than 40 thousand people in Patio Olmos, the corner between San Juan Boulevard and Vélez Sarsfield; and also in Cerro de las Rosas. In the interior of Córdoba there were massive concentrations in Villa Carlos Paz, Jesús María and Villa María, among others. In Río Cuarto, 7 thousand people participated, according to the police.. In Villa Allende around 500 neighbors mobilized, a similar figure that in Cosquín's main square. In La Falda 400 people protested, and in Alta Gracia only 150. In Villa Dolores, they did not reach the hundred.

Corrientes

The cacerolazo that correntinos carried out expressed criticisms to the National Goverment that, in general, agreed to the claim of "stop", "we don't want to be Cuba nor Venezuela" and "no to the re-relection". Those were some of the banners that could be read in the concentration which took place on the waterfront avenue of Corrientes, between San Juan and La Rioja streets.

La Pampa

A torrential storm that fell on Santa Rosa struck in the call to the Plaza San Martin: there were about 200 people.

References

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2. ^ "Las protestas, desde Jujuy a Tierra del Fuego". Clarín (newspaper). November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
3. ^ "Los argentinos que viven en el exterior también se sumaron al 8N". Clarín (newspaper). November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
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5. "Del 13S al 8N, cómo creció la protesta popular". La Nación. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
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7. "Must-Reads from Around the World". TIME. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
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9. "US, EU criticize Argentina's trade restrictions". The China Post. April 1, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
10. Anabella Quiroga (August 5, 2012). "El cepo cambiario seguirá firme" (in Spanish). Clarín. Retrieved August 22, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
11. "Official statistics: Don't lie to me, Argentina". The Economist. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
12. Jorge Oviedo (July 15, 2012). "El boom de los billetes de $ 100" (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 22, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
13. Mariana Verón (August 20, 2012). "Un borrador de Carta Abierta pide la re-reelección de Cristina Kirchner" (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 22, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
14. Rey, Debora (13 September 2012). "Argentina sees largest anti-government protests yet; many disapprove of economic management". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
15. Raszewski, Eliana (14 September 2012). "Argentine Protesters Bang Pots to Protest Fernandez Failures". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
16. "La frase de Cristina generó una reacción en el bloque opositor" (in Spanish). La Nación. September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
17. Fernanda Iglesias (January 5, 2012). "Lanata: "¿A dónde voy a ir si no es al Grupo Clarín?"" (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
18. "Amenaza directa del Gobierno contra los medios del Grupo Clarín" (in Spanish). Clarín. September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
19. Roy Greenslade (October 10, 2012). "Global editors group raises alarm over Argentina press freedom threat". The Guardian. Retrieved November 8, 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
20. "Los medios oficialistas no se enteraron de la marcha" (in Spanish). September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
21. Mariana Verón. "El Gobierno minimizó el impacto político" (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved September 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
22. "Thousands march against Argentine government". Al Jazeera English. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
23. "Yo nerviosa no me voy a poner, tranquilos" (in Spanish). La Nación. September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
24. "Macri le pidió a Cristina que "tome el mensaje" del cacerolazo" (in Spanish). La Nación. September 14, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
25. ^ "Fue multitudinaria la protesta contra el Gobierno". Clarín (newspaper). November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
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27. ^ "Una multitud se movilizó en el 8N y hubo cacerolazos en casi todo el país". La Nación. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
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29. ^ "Con marchas masivas, también el Conurbano hizo oír sus protestas". Clarín (newspaper). November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
30. ^ "Mensaje a Cristina: 30 mil personas marcharon a la Quinta de Olivos". Clarín (newspaper). November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
31. ^ "Cómo fue la convocatoria del 8N en el interior". Perfil. November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
32. ^ "8N: Indignados Córdoba". Clarín (newspaper). November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.

• Articles to be split from November 2012
• Protests in Argentina
• Presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
• 2012 protests
• 2012 in Argentina