Its not as if some looting surprises anyone in Argentina anymore. Its pretty much a fact of life for Argentines. But it has been three days now of widespread looting across the country, from Buenos Aires and its suburbs, to smaller provinces as far as Bariloche where incidents first started.
As always supermarkets, gas stations and smaller stores are favorite targets by looters and there’s also been reports of assaults and robberies as well. Two people have been killed in Rosario during the lootings and the government is deploying military personal across the country so as to protect supermarkets and avoid the “contagion” effect. This could be described as the perception that the authorities have lost control of the streets and everyone feels it’s a “free for all” time when looting can go unpunished. Unfortunately that observation isn’t far from the truth.
I don’t know what it is. Maybe its a combination of heat, blackouts, disruptions in the water supply and the yearly 25% inflation that hits people the most during holyday times, but these widespread lootings usually take place during summer.
What to do when something like this happens, you may ask? Stay put, leave lights on so that its clear your house isn’t unoccupied ready for easy picking. Hopefully, have a firearm in case anyone is feeling particularly courageous and needs some flying lead to be remembered of his own mortality. “Ferfal, should I bug out, make a run for it, as seen on this or that reality tv show?” Leaving a defendable position is pretty stupid to begin with. Then there’s the problem of traffic jams due to the rioting and probably some roadblocks. Being stuck in traffic is bad. Being stuck in traffic during a lawless riot is even worse. I’ve seen how they start robbing and carjacking everyone stuck in traffic, going car by car robbing everyone’s wallets, purses, jewelry and cell phones. You also risk getting pulled out of your vehicle, getting beaten, even killed. So no, stay put.
Hat tip: FerFAL
source: Sun Herald
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