No centralized leadership. It was preceded by a popular revolt against the Argentine government, rallying behind the motto "All of them must go! This period of instability occurred during the larger period of crisis known as the Argentine great depression , an economic, political, and social crisis that lasted from until The December crisis was a direct response to the government's imposition of "Corral" policies Spanish : Corralito at the behest of economic minister Domingo Cavallo , which restricted people's ability to withdraw cash from banks.
Rioting and protests became widespread on 19 December , immediately following the president's declaration of a state of emergency and his resignation on the following day. While the degree of instability subsided, the events of December would become a blow against the legitimacy of the Argentine government that would persist for the following years.
The majority of the participants in the protests were unaffiliated with any political party or organization. Over the course of the protests, 39 people were killed by police and security forces, [ 1 ] most of them during sackings in provinces governed by the Peronists opposition. Of the 39 killed, nine were minors. While political reforms under the previous president Carlos Menem had succeeded in reducing inflation , the downsides of his economic policies became more and more apparent starting in At first, this supply was maintained by the privatization of nearly all of the Argentine state 's industries and pension funds.
As the privatization process was completed, Argentina's agriculture export -based economy was unable to maintain a sufficient flow of dollars to the state, and the system began to require more and more sovereign debt. One of the key factors leading to the victory of the Alliance in the elections was its promise to uphold the convertibility plan.
Despite a changing international economic situation including economic downturns in Brazil , one of Argentina's key economic partners , and mounting demands for increased monetary sovereignty from the left and some Peronists, the Alliance committed itself to maintain the status quo at all costs.
