Argentines Loot Stores; State of Siege Declared

President Raul Alfonsin declared a nationwide state of siege Monday as looters sacked dozens of food stores in Argentina’s second-largest city, at times overwhelming police units despite barrages of rubber bullets and tear gas.

Enraged by soaring prices and shrinking salaries, crowds raided at least 54 stores in Rosario, 150 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, and some reports said as many as 100 businesses were damaged. Police arrested more than 500 people in unrest that began before dawn and continued until nightfall, when a curfew took effect.

Another 200 looters were arrested during similar assaults on three supermarkets in a southern Buenos Aires suburb, and a minor skirmish was reported in the western city of Mendoza.

Fingers Pointed

Both national and provincial political leaders accused agitators of the extreme left of inciting the pillage, although most officials acknowledged that a pervasive public desperation had needed only a spark to ignite.

Engulfed in its worst economic crisis on record, Argentina has fallen into near-bankruptcy and hyperinflation estimated at 70% for the month of May alone. Salary increases, especially for the lowest-paid, lagged far behind the price boosts of recent weeks, prompting warnings that the nation was in danger of a social explosion. Many are mindful of the violence in Venezuela in February, when more than 200 people were killed in rioting over harsh austerity measures.

Alfonsin, the lame-duck president struggling to serve out the rest of his term until December, announced a new austerity program Sunday night, including higher taxes and strict exchange controls to try to halt the collapse of the Argentine currency. He appealed to President-elect Carlos Saul Menem of the opposition Peronist party to support the measures and restore some economic stability and promised stern action against financial speculators.

Despite appeals from both Alfonsin and Menem for calm and solidarity, scattered attacks on food stores began in several cities last week. In some cases, people took items from shelves, tore open the packages and ate the contents in the store aisles, in protest against prices that often go up twice a day or more.

But the turmoil in Rosario erupted Monday on a far larger scale--unprecedented in Argentina, according to political analysts. Crowds numbering several hundred staged lightning strikes on supermarkets and stripped the shelves, rushing into the streets with arms full or shopping carts crammed with goods. Television footage showed aisles littered with rubble and cash registers ripped from checkout counters.

Police units, outnumbered and apparently reluctant to battle crowds that included women and children, at times merely stood by as people surged from the stores with looted goods, film reports showed. Officers with truncheons and riot shields singled out young men and took them into custody, but were often unable to maintain order. In some cases, they fired tear gas grenades and rubber bullets at the looters, but there were few reports of injuries.

Stores closed early in Rosario as shopkeepers rolled down metal gates shutters to protect their windows and removed items from view. Schools were closed and residents were ordered to stay indoors.

The central government deployed units of the border military force and sent several hundred reinforcements from the federal police to help the Rosario city police. Alfonsin convened the National Internal Security Council, made up of key Cabinet members, the armed forces chiefs of staff and the intelligence chief, to devise measures to end the unrest.

Provincial officials in Cordoba province, where the first sackings occurred last week, handed out thousands of rations of milk and other staples in poor areas to help people get by and avoid further sackings.

Alfonsin’s spokesman, Jose Ignacio Lopez, said the state of siege is in effect for 30 days, allowing the restriction of civil liberties such as the right to free assembly and enabling detention without charge. The measure was assured of approval by the Congress today, since it was endorsed by leaders of the ruling Radical Civic Union and the incoming Peronist party.

The turmoil gave fresh life to speculation that Alfonsin might step down early and hand over power to Menem, who was elected in a landslide on May 14. Negotiations for an early transition were nearly complete a week ago but fell through when Menem declined to endorse Alfonsin’s emergency measures, and the outgoing president vowed to see out his term.

Many blame the economic crisis in part on uncertainty over the lengthy seven-month transition, and doubts that a discredited lame-duck government can effectively implement its ambitious austerity package.

Alfonsin’s emergency economic package includes higher taxes and increases in charges for public services. Blocklong lines formed at gasoline stations throughout the day as drivers girded for another big gasoline price hike in the wake of a 40% increase just two weeks ago.

Real salaries have fallen 30% since Alfonsin took office in 1983 on a platform of restoring civil rights after a seven-year dictatorship. A newspaper noted Sunday that the dollar has appreciated 2,500% in the last year, while potatoes have gone up 3,233%, eggs 2,079% and milk 1,300%.

Menem, the flamboyant governor of La Rioja Province, said Monday that Alfonsin’s program “did not live up to the expectations that were created.” But he asked workers for “a little more patience, calm and sacrifice so that we might mitigate aspects of the crisis through effort shared by all.”