helmetiblog

Argentine city hunkers down for anti-Bush violence

I spent much of my 2001 - 2003 in Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata and throughout Argentina and South America. My very first day there, September 11, 2001, I arrived with a black eye and was set loose for the evening by my host dad in downtown B.A. I didn't yet understand the local speech, between accent, speed and slang, so when an Argentine man asked me in rough English if I were American I gave him a wary nod. He sat down next to me and for the next twenty minutes went on to share his opinions of the world bank, the IMF, Bush, the US, the first Iraq war, how we had that very day's terrorist attack coming and the Falklands. (The last was not really related, but it's obligatory to most rant sessions). It reinforced my already-held belief against political and economic discussions with foreign strangers, but it also painted what was confirmed repeatedly as an accurate picture of the prevailing mindset.

I was there for the currency crisis, rapid inflation and rioting a few months later. I saw the Citibanks and BankBostons, defaced, burned and with windows broken. I walked the streets as protesters fought and looted, blocks (and sometimes less) away. Tanks rolled through the city as I sat in class and went about my life there.

It appears that some things haven't changed. The violence died down as time went on. McDonalds took the boards from the doors and windows. The peso arrested its slide after several months. Life stabilized, though more difficult, for a majority of folks. But many still carry bitterness and distain and have only grown more resentful for another war in Iraq and other, new injustices, perceived or actual.

Mar del Plata is a beautiful city with many great people. I even have several friends who call it home. It's a shame that it has to be a center for trouble in current events. I love Argentina, and I understand that much of it doesn't love me, my president or my country in return. And I'd still go back in a heartbeat.