A ''piquetero'' is a member of a group that has blocked a street with the purpose of demonstrating and calling attention over a particular issue or demand. The word is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

in the Spanish language, Spanish of Argentina, coming from ''piquete'' (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, " picket"), that is, its specific meaning as a standing or walking demonstration of

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

in a significant spot. The trend was initiated in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the mid-1990s, during the Administration of President

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

, soon becoming a frequent form of protest that still prevails on the South American socio-political scene. Seventy percent of the ''piqueteros'' are women, and some of their leaders are women too, like

Milagro Sala Milagro Amalia Ángela Sala (born January 27, 1964) is a leader of the Tupac Amaru neighborhood association,''We M ...

from

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

. The piqueteros organizations have also been fiercely criticized at times by multiple sectors of society Argentina, accusing them of being associated with organized crime and demanding taking legal action against its manifestations acts contrary to the dictates of the Constitution Argentina which Article 14 states that must be guaranteed to every citizen the right to: :"... enter, remain in, travel in and out of Argentine territory." And, in turn, according to art. 194 of the Penal Code, provides that: :"Whoever, without creating a situation endangering the community, prevent, hinder or delay the normal operation of transport by land, water or air or utilities communications, water supply, electricity or energy substances shall be punished with imprisonment three months to two years"

Origins

The piqueteros appeared first in June 1996 in the

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

n town of Cutral Có,

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers w ...

, when workers laid off by then state-owned

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

company YPF blocked National Route 22."Pickets Unfenced." The Economist 13 Dec 2003: Like many other small towns throughout Argentina, Cutral-Có depended almost exclusively on the jobs provided by a single local company.

Piqueteros as a national phenomenon

During the latter half of the 1990s, as the

Argentine economy The economy of Argentina is the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil. Argentina is a developing country with a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Ar ...

lost competitiveness and exports markets due to the over-valued

fixed exchange rate A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another m ...

, and many former state companies were sold to private corporations, many Argentines lost their jobs. The piquetero form of protest soon spread to the

impoverished Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

neighbourhoods and de-industrialized towns of Greater

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, starting in Florencio Varela and

La Matanza ''La Matanza'' (Spanish for "The Massacre") refers to a communist- indigenous rebellion in El Salvador that took place between 22 and 25 January 1932. It was succeeded by large-scale government killings in western El Salvador, which resulted ...

, as well as other provinces. In 1997 there were 23 roadblocks in

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

, and a total of 77 in the whole country. Eventually, piqueteros began assembling in a more organized fashion, forming "Unemployed Workers Movements" (''Movimientos de Trabajadores Desempleados'', abbreviated as ''MTDs''). Protests expanded from major road-blocking pickets, to blockades of important streets in, or just outside, cities, as well as

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s and accesses to economically critical spots (for example, directly in front of major stores and

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

s). In some instances, government buildings were blocked and occupied by force. The MTDs also began involving themselves in

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

s for a myriad of purposes, such as

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...

markets for goods and services, small-scale food production,

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...

workshops, food-ration distributing facilities, etc. A number of piqueteros now participate, support, or otherwise have ties with the

recovered factory Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-management is a def ...

movement (for example in the former ceramic tile factory Zanon, now

FaSinPat FaSinPat ( es, Fábrica Sin Patrones, lit=Factory Without Bosses), formerly known as Zanon, is a worker-controlled ceramic tile factory in the southern Argentine province of Neuquén, and one of the most prominent in the recovered factory move ...

Piqueteros during the crisis

In 2002, two piqueteros, Darío Santillán and Maximiliano Kosteki, were killed during protests at the Avellaneda train station, few blocks from the

New Pueyrredón Bridge The New Pueyrredón Bridge, officially New Prilidiano Pueyrredón Bridge, is a bridge in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that connects President Arturo Frondizi Highway (AU9, formerly 9 de Julio Sur Highway) in Barracas neighborhood with Bartolomé Mit ...

of Buenos Aires. Judicial investigations and the Argentine press blame the

Secretariat of Intelligence Secretariat of Intelligence ( es, Secretaría de Inteligencia, SIDE) was the premier intelligence agency of the Argentina, Argentine Republic and head of its Sistema de Inteligencia Nacional, National Intelligence System. Chaired by the ''Secre ...

(SIDE) for participation in the organization of these events. On the second anniversary of the killings, a defacement of one of SIDE's bases was done in protest. Involvement of SIDE has not been proven so far. In early 2006, Alfredo Fanchiotti and Alejandro Acosta, two policemen who participated in the repression, were convicted of murder. Relatives and comrades of the piqueteros killed that day, claim that the prosecutor and the judge intentionally avoided looking for the politician that ordered and directed the repression.

Political involvement in the MTDs

The success of the MTDs soon attracted the attention of political actors, from two main fronts: old, traditionally fragmented

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

parties and movements, and the

Peronist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

. During the late 1990s, piqueteros in Greater Buenos Aires came to overlap with the manzaneras, agents of the anti-Menem Peronist machine of provincial governor

Eduardo Duhalde Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (; born 5 October 1941) is an Argentine Peronist politician who served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. He also served as Vice President and Governor of Buenos Aires in the 1990s. Bor ...

. By 2005, many large MTDs in Buenos Aires were co-opted, either by radical, intransigent left-wing ideological factions, or by the local Peronist

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

administrations, linked to former Buenos Aires governor and then interim president

, and others to supporters of former president

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...

. The Peronist Party connection is particularly important given that piquetero groups have acquired a

hierarchical A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

structure, where benefits are shared from the top down, and in many cases the heads of the movements serve as intermediaries for the distribution of government

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

subsidies, from which each member of the piquetero organization must discount a small sum to support the

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

of the protests, the hiring and maintenance of assembly facilities, etc. Welfare subsidies come for example under the forms of ''Planes Trabajar'', which consist in 20 hours per week "contracts" used by public institutions and paid 150

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

(less than 50 USD) a month.

Criticism and fragmentation

Criticism towards piqueteros and MTDs comes from three sides:

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...

Argentinians,

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

political actors, and piqueteros themselves. Among the decimated, but still numerous, Argentine middle class, the common criticism is that piqueteros, while morally and legally entitled to protest and demonstrate, should not do so by blocking important roads and streets, since this violates other people's

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

to circulate freely and often results in delays (from the relatively trivial problem of arriving home later after work, to the very serious of ambulances with critical patients being stopped by a picket). The so-called "violent" attitude of some piqueteros, who cover their faces with

scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of diff ...

s or

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wi ...

s, as a claimed form of protection against police retaliation, and who wield sticks, can be interpreted as a visible threat towards passers-by and police; this is usually pointed out as proof. On occasion, critics can become violent as well, when faced with a picket. So, people who criticize the piqueteros may agree with the need to provide relief for the poor and unemployed, but disagree on the form of the demands. The political right, speaking mainly through politicians and journalists, but resonating with many other Argentinians, overtly or covertly equates piqueteros with criminals. Violent incidents with piqueteros have ended up with people wounded, cars and houses damaged, etc. Even non-violent blockades are formally illegal, if they cause serious disruption. Occupation of state and private buildings, including

s and

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s, followed by demands of money and food supplies, has also occurred in the recent past. People advocating the application of the law against blockades request that the government outlaw the protests and suppress them, using violent means if necessary. However, most pickets end without violence. Piqueteros themselves have become fragmented, as explained above. The movements supported by

parties, as well as the independent ones, criticize piquetero leaders, who have chosen to support the national Kirchner administration (which is viewed by them as a relatively progressive government). In turn, the left-wing piqueteros are portrayed by the others as representatives of an unproductive, non-constructive radical opposition, sometimes encouraging violent action.

References

{{Reflist Protest tactics Social movements in Argentina Activism by type