Once Again, Argentines Feeling on Edge

The government last week cut the amount of compressed natural gas -- an auto fuel commonly used by taxis -- that could be sold at Buenos Aires service stations. The country cut all gas exports to neighboring Chile. And major industries reported that their energy use was being restricted to ensure adequate supplies for the public.

"There are always shortages here -- shortages of everything except complaining," said Antonio Fernández, 47, who grabbed a quick lunch Thursday with several other taxi drivers at a mini-market in a service station.

Blackouts have been frequent in the past few years during periods of heavy use, both in the winters and summers. And each time the lights go out, there are fresh complaints that the energy industry is scared to invest in Argentina because the government meddles in private enterprise.

"Argentina doesn't have a long-term strategy for anything -- it's the politics of improvisation," said taxi driver Baldini.

That sort of mistrust earned Argentina 124th place on a list of 127 countries in a World Economic Forum survey measuring the confidence of businesspeople in their government's respect for private property.

If that seems pessimistic, it's nothing compared with the prevailing gloom that surrounded the taxi drivers at the mini-market.

"It doesn't matter what government is in office -- they're all mafias," said Javier de la Lama, 31, one of the drivers at the station. "And every seven or eight years there has to be a crisis. It's a regular part of life."

One More Protest

As several hundred protesters marched downtown last week, their drumbeats were drowned out by the groaning sound of motorized shutters being lowered in front of store windows.

The protesters were not affiliated with the government or the farmers. Instead, they were out in the streets to criticize both sides for contributing to the plight of the country's poor.

During the financial crisis of late 2001, these same streets marked the epicenter of violent protests. Angry demonstrators smashed plate-glass windows of banks and large corporations, and some set fires in front of their lobbies. Many of the businesses installed the metal shutters in front of their windows in case it happened again.

But after a few uneventful minutes Thursday, the protesters passed through the avenue without incident. The metal shutters rolled up again. It was just another protest -- like hundreds of others that have been held here during the past few years, even during the best of times.

"No, it's not as bad as five years ago," said Gladys Rivas, 36, another protester. "But we hope it doesn't get worse."