Cacerolazo
Encyclopedia
A cacerolazo or cacerolada is a form of popular protest
practised in certain Spanish-speaking countries – in particular Argentina
and Chile
– which consists in a group of people creating noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils in order to call for attention. What is peculiar about this type of demonstration is that the people protest from their own homes, thus achieving a high level of support and participation.
The word comes from Spanish cacerola, which means "stew pot". The derivative
suffix
-azo denotes a hitting (punching or striking) action, and has been extended metaphor
ically to any sort of shock demonstration. This type of manifestation started in 1971 in Chile, against the shortages of industrial products during the administration of Salvador Allende.
seized power in 1973 cacerolazos disappeared for a time until the economic crisis of 1982-83 set in. Thereafter cacerolazos continued up until the Pinochet regime lost a plebiscite in 1988 that put him out of office two years later.
dam project. Then in August there were two cacerolazos across the country in support of student protests, the first in August 4 and a second one in August 8.
by middle-class
people who had seen their savings trapped in the so-called corralito
(a set of restrictive economic measures that effectively froze all bank account
s, initially as a short-term fix for the massive draining of bank deposits). The corralito meant that many people who needed a large amount of cash immediately, or who simply lived off the interests from their deposits, suddenly found their savings unavailable. As court appeals were slow and ineffective, people resorted to protest in the streets.
As the Argentine peso quickly devalued
and foreign currency fled the country, the government decreed a forced conversion of dollar
-denominated accounts into pesos at an arbitrary exchange rate
of 1.4 pesos per dollar. At this point the unavailability of cash for people trapped in the corralito compounded with the continuous loss of value of their savings, and the unresponsiveness of the appeal authorities (minor courts and the Supreme Court
itself) further angered the protesters.
The first cacerolazos were spontaneous and non-partisan. While in Argentina most demonstrations against government measures are customarily organized by labour union activists and low-level political recruiters among the lower classes, and often featuring an assortment of large banners, drums and pyrotechnic devices, cacerolazos were composed mostly of spontaneously gathered middle-class workers, housewives and professionals, who used not to be involved in grassroots
political action of any kind.
After a time, however, the cacerolazo became an organized phenomenon, often of a violent nature, directed against the banks. Many of these were attacked, their facades spray-painted, their windows broken, their entrances blocked by tire fires, or even their facilities occupied by force at times.
In order to avoid further violence, especially with the deadly December 2001 riots
still fresh in the memories of Argentines, the government decided not to use active police force against the cacerolazos unless absolutely necessary, and to restrict most police presence to barricades in critical spots, a policy that was followed also with piquetero
marches of unemployed people asking for state welfare and jobs.
Isolated cacerolazos also featured during the apagón
("blackout") of September 24, 2002, to protest against increases in public service fees requested by the providers.
As the financial and macroeconomic conditions became more stable, the government loosened the restrictions on the withdrawal of deposits, and the cacerolazos died out.
and klaxons and hitting stew pots. In Huesca lamp posts
of 16 streets were turned off in protest during 15 minutes.
, because people took to the streets banging on pots and pans and other household utensils.
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
practised in certain Spanish-speaking countries – in particular Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
– which consists in a group of people creating noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils in order to call for attention. What is peculiar about this type of demonstration is that the people protest from their own homes, thus achieving a high level of support and participation.
The word comes from Spanish cacerola, which means "stew pot". The derivative
Derivation (linguistics)
In linguistics, derivation is the process of forming a new word on the basis of an existing word, e.g. happi-ness and un-happy from happy, or determination from determine...
suffix
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
-azo denotes a hitting (punching or striking) action, and has been extended metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ically to any sort of shock demonstration. This type of manifestation started in 1971 in Chile, against the shortages of industrial products during the administration of Salvador Allende.
1971-1989
Cacerolazos began in Chile in 1971 in protest at shortages during the Salvador Allende administration. By 1973 they had become commonplace as protests against the administration intensified amid increasing shortages. After Augusto PinochetAugusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
seized power in 1973 cacerolazos disappeared for a time until the economic crisis of 1982-83 set in. Thereafter cacerolazos continued up until the Pinochet regime lost a plebiscite in 1988 that put him out of office two years later.
2011
Cacerolazos were organized in 2011 for two different reasons. On 15 May there was pot-banging in several cities in protest of the HidroAysénHidroAysén
HidroAysén is a controversial megaproject that aims to build five hydroelectric power plants in Chile's Aysen Region. Two on the Baker River and three on the Pascua River....
dam project. Then in August there were two cacerolazos across the country in support of student protests, the first in August 4 and a second one in August 8.
2001-2002
One of the largest and most recent cacerolazos occurred in Argentina during 2001, consisting largely of protests and demonstrationsDemonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
by middle-class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
people who had seen their savings trapped in the so-called corralito
Corralito
Corralito was the informal name for the economic measures taken in Argentina at the end of 2001 by Minister of Economy Domingo Cavallo in order to stop a bank run, and which were fully in force for one year. The corralito almost completely froze bank accounts and forbade withdrawals from U.S...
(a set of restrictive economic measures that effectively froze all bank account
Bank account
A Bank account is a financial account recording the financial transactions between the customer and the bank and the resulting financial position of the customer with the bank .-Account types:...
s, initially as a short-term fix for the massive draining of bank deposits). The corralito meant that many people who needed a large amount of cash immediately, or who simply lived off the interests from their deposits, suddenly found their savings unavailable. As court appeals were slow and ineffective, people resorted to protest in the streets.
As the Argentine peso quickly devalued
Devaluation
Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a currency with respect to those goods, services or other monetary units with which that currency can be exchanged....
and foreign currency fled the country, the government decreed a forced conversion of dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
-denominated accounts into pesos at an arbitrary exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
of 1.4 pesos per dollar. At this point the unavailability of cash for people trapped in the corralito compounded with the continuous loss of value of their savings, and the unresponsiveness of the appeal authorities (minor courts and the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Argentina
The Supreme Court of Argentina is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. However, during much of the 20th century, the Court and, in general, the Argentine judicial system, has lacked autonomy from the executive power...
itself) further angered the protesters.
The first cacerolazos were spontaneous and non-partisan. While in Argentina most demonstrations against government measures are customarily organized by labour union activists and low-level political recruiters among the lower classes, and often featuring an assortment of large banners, drums and pyrotechnic devices, cacerolazos were composed mostly of spontaneously gathered middle-class workers, housewives and professionals, who used not to be involved in grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
political action of any kind.
After a time, however, the cacerolazo became an organized phenomenon, often of a violent nature, directed against the banks. Many of these were attacked, their facades spray-painted, their windows broken, their entrances blocked by tire fires, or even their facilities occupied by force at times.
In order to avoid further violence, especially with the deadly December 2001 riots
December 2001 riots (Argentina)
The December 2001 uprising was a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina, which took place during December 2001, with the most violent incidents taking place on December 19 and December 20 in the capital, Buenos Aires, Rosario and other large cities around the country.- Background :The...
still fresh in the memories of Argentines, the government decided not to use active police force against the cacerolazos unless absolutely necessary, and to restrict most police presence to barricades in critical spots, a policy that was followed also with piquetero
Piquetero
A piquetero is a member of a political faction whose primary modus operandi is based in the piquete. The piquete is an action by which a group of people blocks a road or street with the purpose of demonstrating and calling attention over a particular issue or demand...
marches of unemployed people asking for state welfare and jobs.
Isolated cacerolazos also featured during the apagón
Apagón
Apagón is a form of protest that was employed several times in some large cities of Argentina, during the economic crisis at the beginning of the 2000s...
("blackout") of September 24, 2002, to protest against increases in public service fees requested by the providers.
As the financial and macroeconomic conditions became more stable, the government loosened the restrictions on the withdrawal of deposits, and the cacerolazos died out.
2008
On March 25, a group led by Luis D'Elia, a supporter of the Kirchner administration, and a cacerolazo violently faced each other during the demonstrations pro and against the export tax policy of Cristina Kirchner's government.Spain
More than 90% of the Spaniards were against the Iraq War and provoked during 2003 cacerolazo-fashioned protests against the government decision to support it. People protested from their homes turning lights on and off, making noise with whistlesWhistles
Whistles is a clothing brand with 40 stores across Britain. It was founded in the early 1980s by Lucille and Richard Lewin.In January 2008, Jane Shepherdson, former Topshop director, signed a deal to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Whistles and was appointed the job of chief executive.-Style:In the...
and klaxons and hitting stew pots. In Huesca lamp posts
Street light
A street light, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or walkway, which is turned on or lit at a certain time every night. Modern lamps may also have light-sensitive photocells to turn them on at dusk, off at dawn, or activate...
of 16 streets were turned off in protest during 15 minutes.
Iceland
The protests fallowing the financial crisis that started in 2008 are sometimes called The Kitchenware Revolution2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests
The 2009-2011 Icelandic financial crisis protests, also referred to as the Kitchenware Revolution or Icelandic Revolution occurred in the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis. There had been sporadic protests since October 2008 against the Icelandic government's handling of the financial crisis...
, because people took to the streets banging on pots and pans and other household utensils.
See also
- CharivariCharivariCharivari is the term for a French folk custom in which the community gave a noisy, discordant mock serenade, also pounding on pots and pans, at the home of newlyweds. The loud, public ritual evolved to a form of social coercion, for instance, to force an as-yet-unmarried couple to wed...
- Rough musicRough musicRough music, also known as ran-tan or ran-tanning, is an English folk custom, a practice in which a humiliating and loud public punishment is inflicted upon one or more people who have violated the standards of the rest of the community...
- December 2001 riots (Argentina)December 2001 riots (Argentina)The December 2001 uprising was a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina, which took place during December 2001, with the most violent incidents taking place on December 19 and December 20 in the capital, Buenos Aires, Rosario and other large cities around the country.- Background :The...
- Argentine economic crisis
- Piqueteros
- HorizontalidadHorizontalidadHorizontality or horizontalism is a social relationship that advocates the creation, development and maintenance of social structures for the equitable distribution of management power...
External links
- Cacerolazo.com
- Articles in Worldpress.org: http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/372.cfm, http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/380.cfm