Your everyday, run of the mill, protest

I live just around the corner from the Argentinean Congress building - the starting point for all protests Buenos Aires, which then meander down to Plaza de Mayo. There is generally a protest everyday about labour issues, environment, or current policies of the government. So many protests that everyone ignores them, including the representatives, while the riot police idle their time on the street outside our apartment, playing cards and polishing their helmets. They can’t stop the graffiti that appears on the side of building, giving the representatives a more permanent reminder of the people’s dissatisfaction.

There was a large and colorful protest a few days ago against $1 billion paper pulp plant which Uruguay wants to build on the banks of the river separating Uruguay and Argentina. Activists are blockading all three bridges that connect Argentina and Uruguay in protest and apparently Mikhail Gorbachev is in on the act, volunteering to lead negotiations (will the Glasnost never end!). Protesters have constructed a Nativity Scene for Christmas and their base camp and a building with electricity supplied for free by local residents. With no end in sight, Uruguay has sent troops to protect the factories.