1 Roadblocks in Argentina Roadblocks in Argentina: Against the Violence of Stability By Ana C. Dinerstein R OADBLOCKS ORGANISED BY the unemployed, public sector workers and the local community have spread through several provinces of Argentina. Demonstrators have demanded employment programmes, job creation and capital investments as well as their participation in the decision making process with regards to those matters. This is a continuation of a nearly uninterrupted process of protests against the neo-liberal reforms of the Menem administration during the 1990s. During 1993 and 1994 spontaneous demonstrations organised by public sector workers against overdue wages, suspensions, wage reductions and redundancies, as well as cuts in welfare expenditure and corruption erupted in the north and south of the country. During 1996-1997 the roadblocks reached massive proportions. Some, like Cutral-có and Plaza Huincul, were considered ‘popular upheavals’ developing direct democracy among demonstrators and encouraging community solidarity. The roadblocks led to the emergence of new organisations with negotiating capacity regarding the distribution and management of employment programmes, and community concerns such as public works, the provision of essential services and credit for small and medium-scale business. Although in October 1999, the centre-left Alianza won the general elections, the illusion of the end of monetarism associated with the defeat of Menem soon vanished. The government soon fell, trapped between persistent protests against stabilisation policies, and international pressure to improve competitiveness. At the beginning of 2000, the de la Rúa administration and the IMF agreed to a tighter stability plan. As a result, a new wave of roadblocks reached massive proportions, this time accompanied by two national general strikes organised by the trade unions. As the crisis continues into 2001 the struggle to maintain stability is provoking the deepest political crisis of the last decade. This paper argues that the roadblock emerged as a new form of protest against the economic adjustment and stabilisation policies in Argentina. By blocking the roads, labour has set a physical and visible barrier to the violence of neo-liberal stability. The roadblocks have become a reminder of the centrality of labour in capitalist societies.