Monday, 31 December, 2001, 04:40 GMT
Argentine interim leader quits
The resignation followed talks with regional allies
Argentine interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa has resigned, just seven days after taking office.
In a dramatic late-night televised address, he told the nation he had failed to win the backing of his Peronist party for a way out of the economic crisis.
His departure came after renewed protests over the collapsing economy and corruption prompted a mass resignation offer by his cabinet.
Power should have passed automatically to Senate Chairman Ramos Puerta, but he too resigned minutes later on grounds of ill-health.
Mr Rodriguez Saa spent Sunday trying to hold emergency talks with Peronist provincial governors in the resort town of Chapadmalal, but most of them failed to turn up.
He then flew back to his home province of San Luis to make his shock announcement.
He said his resignation took effect immediately - he had been due to hold office until elections in March.
The protesters span Argentina's classes
"I did not have any other choice," he told stunned viewers.
Mr Rodriguez Saa listed his achievements during his short time in office as suspending payments on the country's foreign debt and announcing new austerity measures.
The BBC's Daniel Schweimler in Buenos Aires says there are no obvious candidates to replace Mr Rodriguez Saa from his own party.
Technically, however, the next-in-line after Mr Puerta is believed to be another Peronist, Eduardo Camano, who heads the lower house of deputies.
Mr Camano would hold the post for two days to allow parliament to choose a new interim president, who has three months to call fresh elections.
Loss of support
Mr Rodriguez Saa's departure capped a troubled day during which he tried to shore up support for his crumbling government.
Of 14 governors summoned to his residence in the Atlantic resort of Chapadmalal, only five turned up, and the meeting was postponed.
Outside, angry demonstrators banged pots and pans in a scaled-down version of protests which brought down the last government and resurfaced in the capital on Friday night.
The official reason advanced for the governors' failure to attend was bad weather, but Carlos Ruckauf, Peronist governor of Buenos Aires province, said Argentina could ill afford "politicians only worried about their personal goals while the country goes up in flames".
Earlier in the day Mr Rodriguez Saa did manage a breakthrough in talks with the country's banks.
They agreed to remain open for extended hours on Monday, to enable customers to withdraw salaries and pensions.
The agreement was "a contribution to civil peace", he said, after weeks of turbulence which saw 27 people killed in riots and the resignation of Mr Rodriguez Saa's predecessor, Fernando de la Rua.
But a controversial 1,000-peso ($1,000) monthly limit on cash withdrawals remains in place.
Anger in the streets
The streets of the Argentine capital were largely calm on Sunday after riots on Saturday left 12 policemen injured and led to 33 arrests.
The demonstrators have railed against the curb on cash withdrawals as well as alleged corruption within Mr Rodriguez Saa's cabinet.
Protesters forced their way into the Congress building on Saturday
Many account-holders fear they will lose their savings if the currency is devalued or the government seizes money held in banks.
During his brief tenure, Mr Rodriguez Saa suspended repayments on the country's $132bn debt, announced plans to create one million jobs and promised to introduce a new currency, the Argentino, in the hope of boosting consumer spending.
The protesters' accusations of corruption had already forced the resignation of his chief adviser, Carlos Grosso - a former mayor of Buenos Aires.
Observers say there is a feeling in the country that it is ruled by an unsinkable political class and this at last has found a voice on the streets. news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk
Argentina's economic woes:
--Public foreign debts of $132bn
--Unemployment at 18%
--Economy in recession for four years
--Savers only allowed to withdraw $1,000 a month in cash
--2,000 people drop below poverty line each day
--Pensions to 1.4m retirees delayed |
