MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
March of torches in Argentine cities to protest soaring costs of public services
Tens of thousands of Argentines marched through Buenos Aires on Thursday evening carrying torches, in the first of a series of planned protests against President Mauricio Macri's austerity program and the soaring cost of public services. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesMauricio Macri and his strategic planner Duran Barba's plans included not only the obliteration of Peronism but the forced acceptance of a stark reduction of Argentines' living conditions.
Jan 11th, 2019 - 05:31 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Three years later, all the economic problems that the electoral alliance Cambiemos blamed on the government of Cristina Fernandez have exponentially grown, forcing a number of citizens to the streets to protest.
And once more, the Argentines demonstrate that no one can fool all the Argentines all the time.
Tic toc, Mauricio.
Prior
“And once more, the Argentines demonstrate that no one can fool all the Argentines all the time. Tic toc, Mauricio.”
Jan 11th, 2019 - 07:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And yet Macri remains marginally more popular than CFK:
http://en.mercopress.com/2019/01/10/macri-and-cristina-fernandez-polarize-political-scenario-but-a-moderate-opposition-figure-is-emerging
ZB
Jan 13th, 2019 - 04:46 am - Link - Report abuse -1Not having the nerve to comment on news about the economy, ineffable Zaphod chooses to fight on the hill of the opinion polls:
“And yet Macri remains marginally more popular than CFK,” he rejoices.
For sure, some polls put Macri slightly ahead of Cristina. Others give the advantage to the former president. Yes, the opposition is having a hard time coming together. A sizable amount of Peronist province governors and legislators are still collaborating with the Macri government.
The common citizen does not have such hesitations. They know exactly what they can buy with their monthly wages if they still have a job or if they are retirees. They've been demonstrating this week in Buenos Aires and provinces against steep energy services hikes announced late December. But Zaphod is saying nothing about it. He is looking at opinion polls. Some of them.
EM,
Jan 15th, 2019 - 07:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Not having the nerve to comment on news about the economy, ineffable Zaphod chooses to fight on the hill of the opinion polls”
I agree that the economy is a mess, but an opinion poll is a better indicator of public opinion than a relatively small (“tens of thousands”) protest.
You agree that the polls put Macri and CFK close but then argue “The common citizen does not have such hesitations.”
“They've been demonstrating this week in Buenos Aires and provinces against steep energy services hikes announced late December. But Zaphod is saying nothing about it.”
I am saying nothing about the protests because they are a very poor indicator of the mood of your “common citizen”. If the opinion of the population follows a Normal distribution then those who protest are those who are sufficiently angry or otherwise motivated to get out into the streets and protest. Have you ever seen anyone protest because they were too happy? No, it never happens. So you are extrapolating from people who are in the tail of the bell curve and claiming they represent the common citizen. They don't and they never will (unless the demonstration is VERY large).
Facts beat opinion every time. In the absence of facts, statistics provide a tool to assess reality with an attempt to provide representative data. This is why I prefer (imperfect) opinion polls to statistically meaningless protests.
Do you have the nerve to accept that maybe you are out of touch with the opinion of the “common citizen” and the opinion polls may provide a better indication than a few thousand protesters?
When the economy goes bust in northern Europe or US/Canada, people go to work. When it happens in Argentina, people bang their drums.
Jan 16th, 2019 - 01:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0Which culture do you think will prevail?
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