Argentine Tax Plan Lands a Tough Ally

[Judi Lynn]

Argentine Tax Plan Lands a Tough Ally
By MATT MOFFETT
July 15, 2008; Page A8



Picketer leader Luis D'Elia
backing the government in
Buenos Aires last month.

BUENOS AIRES -- When pro-government activist Luis D'Elia crossed paths with one of Argentina's rural antigovernment protesters at a demonstration in March, they spent only a few seconds discussing agrarian policy. Then, while the farm backer was glancing away, the stout, jowly Mr. D'Elia socked him with a right to the head.

Picketer leader Luis D'Elia backing the government in Buenos Aires last month.
That sucker punch -- caught by TV cameras and replayed thousands of times on YouTube -- sent a clear message: President Cristina Kirchner had Argentina's most famous street-fighting political activist in her corner.

Mr. D'Elia is the leader of one of the country's most prominent organizations of piqueteros, or picketers, groups of unemployed barrio residents who are available to join rallies on short notice. The piqueteros have served as Mrs. Kirchner's shock troops in a four-month fight over the government's move to impose a politically unpopular soybean-export tax.

Mr. D'Elia will again be on center stage Tuesday, as Buenos Aires becomes the scene of large dueling demonstrations by farmers and their middle-class allies on one side and Kirchner supporters on the other over the tax, which the Senate is expected to sanction Wednesday. Mr. D'Elia's group claims to represent 120,000 people nationwide.

The Kirchner government maintains cash stipends to low-income families, and many piqueteros are beneficiaries. Some piqueteros have also benefited from government programs such as financial support for low-income housing.

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