Argentinians gripped by hunger in country's worst recession ***On March 23 a truck carrying 22 cattle overturned near Rosario, 180 miles to the north. As hungry shantytown dwellers gathered around the injured animals, men appeared with butcher's knives and carted away dripping sides of beef. Sociologist Artemio Lopez, at the Equis consulting group, said the government's "basic food basket" of essential goods like bread, rice and eggs soared 47.4 percent in the first five months of the year.
"With each passing day there is more hunger in Argentina," said Lopez. To properly feed a family of four cost 215 pesos in March and 252 pesos in April, government figures show. That's an increase from $61 to $72, and salaries haven't risen at all. The cash-strapped government has social programs for the poor, but critics say these can't keep pace with the spreading crisis. On May 17 the government started dispensing aid worth $42 a month to 1 million unemployed heads of households. The critics say it should be double that amount. ***
Chavez facing a storm of coup threats - Wary Venezuelans hoard food, guns*** CARACAS - A new wave of coup threats against President Hugo Chávez is pushing Venezuelans to the edge of hysteria, with many residents of the capital stockpiling food and condo associations preparing an inventory of guns in case of looting. Clandestine communiqués and videos from alleged military officers vowing to topple the leftist president emerge almost daily. As each rumor peaks and wanes, the country's battered currency fluctuates wildly against the U.S. dollar. The threats and an accompanying gusher of dire rumors have sparked an unprecedented crisis in this oil-rich nation, virtually paralyzing the country and awakening fears of bloodshed, even civil war.
U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro said Wednesday the coup rumors helped prompt a State Department warning this week that Americans in Venezuela should take security precautions. ''In a country where there are so many rumors, it's important for foreigners to be careful,'' he said. The crisis atmosphere is even more intense than in April, when a sudden military coup forced Chávez out of power for two days amid a whirlwind of political violence and looting that left 70 dead. ''The country is on the verge of a nervous breakdown,'' the centrist TalCual newspaper said this week in an editorial that called for calm.***