What's going on in Argentina

A.� Civil unrest has broken out after appalling financial problems. The South American country is batting against a four-year recession, 18.3% unemployment and a national debt of �100 billion. The country is in absolute chaos, by all accounts.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

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Q.� It's pretty bad, then

A.� Yes - appalling. It's so bad that first the government's cabinet resigned, then a series of presidents.

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Q.� Series of presidents

A.� Yes - at time of writing, Argentina has been through five presidents in 14 days. On 2 January, the latest president to be appointed was Eduardo Duhalde, 60, a populist. What's more, rioters have taken to the streets and looters shot.

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Q.� Any fatalities

A.� Yes. At least four died in the first outbreak. Violence escalated after a national strike the previous weekend. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse looters in Buenos Aires, the capital, and north-eastern Argentina. In summer heat, hundreds of looters broke into stores, decked out for Christmas, stealing food, clothing, toilet paper and television sets.

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Four people - two men, a woman and a 15-year-old boy - were killed and five police officers were injured. One of the men was stabbed by a shop owner. Two others were shot after store owners opened fire in Rosario, 185 miles from Buenos Aires. In all, 27 people died, forcing Fernando de la Rua to resign as president on 20 December, only halfway through his four-year term.

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Q.� What has caused the problem

A.� Debt. Argentina - one of the richest in the world a century ago - now owes too much money and has been struggling for the past year to avoid a default on what it owes. But in recent weeks, foreign creditors have withheld loans, forcing the government to raid pension funds to keep up with interest payments.

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Q.� And the people have suffered

A.� Very much so. Argentines have swallowed eight rounds of austerity measures over the past two years, including a 13% cut in state salaries and pensions. Many people have not been paid for months or have had to accept government bonds as payment instead of pesos. The last straw came on 3 December, when emergency restrictions were slapped on cash withdrawals from banks - aimed at stopping Argentines pulling their savings out of the country.

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Q.� So what's the solution

A.� Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, who was sworn in as an interim leader to replace President Fernando De la Rua, pledged a tough line to help the people. He vowed: 'Let's take the bull by the horns. We are going to talk about the foreign debt ... the Argentine state will suspend the payment of the foreign debt.'

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He stressed Argentina would not permanently ignore its obligations, but the money saved from the payments would initially be diverted into job creation and social development programs. A new currency - the Argentino - was also created to avoid devaluation of the peso.

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However, he lasted on a week in office and the new president, Eduardo Duhalde, made it clear that he had no intention to continue with the new currency idea. It's going to be a rocky road ahead.

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