MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine politicians flee the spotlight

Unbelievable, but true. Politicians running from the spotlight, avoiding television cameras and displaying a minimum profile is the current Argentine scenario where protesters don't dare to unleash all their anger and exasperation, sometimes violently, against elected members of Congress and leaders.

The last of a known list of incidents involved Carlos Menem's brother Senator Eduardo Menem, who was insulted by passengers when taking an airplane to his home province in La Rioja. Apparently the Senator did not recoil and a brief scrimmage broke out between aggressors and victim.

A few days before, former president Raúl Alfonsín, and a strong supporter of the current Duhalde administration had to undergo a chorus of banging pots and pans, just when he was arriving home after a long day. Septuagenarian Alfonsín didn't react until they began calling him "thief" and "give us our money back". He attacked the group with his fists and was hit several times in the head until his bodyguards rescued him. However before he was finally taken to his flat he managed to escape a couple of times to continue battling the offenders. Although Mr. Alfonsín has not been very effective while in office, it's recognized in Argentina that he's honest and lives modestly compared to many of his fellow politicians.

Another incident at Buenos Aires airport occurred when Foreign Secretary Carlos Ruckauf was identified by boarding passengers. They started calling him names, and police had to intervene, not before Mr. Ruckauf in perfect English bluntly replied "f? you" and his wife made some obscene signs.

Members of Congress surprised by frustrated citizens in restaurants, cafes and shops, have had to be rescued by owners or the police, after having been attacked, shouted out of the premises or their food spat on.

Maybe the most serious incident so far has been the looting and burning of the house of a Congresswoman in the province of Buenos Aires. People were marching and chanting outside her house, when apparently her son fired a gun and wounded one of the protestors. The house was stormed, looted, set on fire as well as a couple of cars.

Riot police has to intervene to rescue the Congresswoman's son.

But politicians and analysts are concerned because this violent attitude that began several weeks ago, far from cooling seems to be in crescendo, and legislators are no longer a symbol of respect and even minor privileges. On the contrary they are singled as responsible for the current critical situation of the country an