buy imported cars and access a standard of living which was until then beyond their means. But also a middle-low class emerged composed by the ‘losers’ of the previous decade who became impoverished and even unemployed sending their living standards down. A third segment is the middle-class that maintained the historical stance of this social sector.

The protests expressed by beating pans and pots on December 19 related to the unprecedented negative vote percentage and electoral abstention reported in the October 14 legislative election. Both the pans and pots banging as well as the ‘vote of rage’ are the expression of a wide social sector that cannot save abroad (under the shelter of internal upswings as the high class does) and cannot resort to roadblocks or food aid to face their problems like lower-income sectors do.

But the so-called financial corralito (in reference to enclosed deposits) that not only prevents the middle-class from using their savings but also from using their cash which triggered the pans and pots banging that forced Cavallo out of government, pushed De la Rúa out of the Presidency and pressed Rodríguez Saá to resign, everything in less than two weeks.

There are no historic records of a similar middle-class mobilization. Perhaps the final demonstrations against peronism in 1955 were the most relevant protests led by this social sector but there the Catholic Church first and the anti-peronist parties next played a decisive role. There are no records of another case in which the middle-class has moved so spontaneously.

The middle-class believed in the Alliance that reached power with the De la Rúa-Alvarez formula. But the failure of this coalition along with Cavallo left the three segments into which the historic middle-class was divided out of all political hope. The middle-high class that remained loyal to the radical party and De la Rúa in particular was defeated by its failure. The middle-low class, that impoverished sought progress in the Frepaso as an alternative to change has been frustrated since Alvarez’ resignation.

That is why the Alliance’s failure with Cavallo meant the failure of the three political expressions that in the past years represented the different segments into which the traditional middle-class of Argentina divided.

The protest of this social sector that has gathered momentum through the pans and pots banging –‘cacerolazo’- lacks total political or social leadership. Efforts have been made to create a movement of ‘self-convened’ ‘caceroleros’ (pans and pots bangers). However, success has been null so far. Besides, these public expressions do not reflect any political or ideological homogeneity although there is a real call against politicians in general.

This lack of leadership prevents middle-class protests from generating political decisions that favor them.

Paradox is such that the protests of the middle-class sectors forced out the two figures that represented them the most in the past years (De la Rúa and Cavallo) but led to power two politicians that have historically been rejected by this social sector: justicialists Rodríguez Saá and Duhalde.

It will not be easy for the Duhalde Administration to deal with the middle-class protests. The new President with his Buenos Aires province populist tradition and his record as loyal representative of the Buenos Aires province and his wife traditionally provider of peronist assistance will likely clash with the exacerbated middle-class of the capital.

Besides, the trigger of this protests which was the financial corralito is still in effect despite its flexibilization. In addition, the middle-class faces the effects of devaluation after ten and a half years of currency board and unlike what happened in the ‘80s today they cannot use their pesos to buy dollars, the tools they used in the past to protect themselves against inflation.

Against this background, both due to political, social and economic reasons, middle-class protests are likely to continue and escalate. The question is whether they will be able to generate a political framework in line with the demands of the middle sectors or whether they will only be a new trigger of the process they do not control.