Everybody Out!

After decades of massive loans from the IMF and the World Bank, and widescale corruption, the Argentinean economy began to collapse. The IMF continued the loans, and the government passed the debt on to citizens through massive austerity measures. Privatization only provided a brief influx of investment before quickly reversing the flow of funds. Argentina fell into a massive depression with huge lay offs and runs on the banks. People took to the streets to protest, led by the sounds of the cacerolazos, banging pots and pans. They began destroying business property, and police attacked on December 21st and 22nd, 2001, killing several demonstrators. Hundreds of thousands more hit the streets with the slogan "Everybody Out" directed at the government, and the President Fernando de la Rua resigned, and in quick succession two successors each resigned. Eduardo Duhalde eventually took the reins, but the streets were out of control of the state. Hundreds of factories and other workplaces, closing or nearly closed, were occupied (most famously Brukman, Zanon and Hotel Bauen) by workers in what were known as 'recuperations'. Many of these businesses remain under worker control to this day.