Yahoo! News: Argentine president calls for boycott of Shell after company hikes prices: “As the president called for the boycott, some 300 militants who support him blocked traffic outside the Shell's Buenos Aires offices and threatened to blockade all of the Anglo-Dutch company's gasoline stations in Argentina…” (ShellNews.net) 10 March 05
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentine President Nestor Kirchner called for a nationwide boycott of Royal Dutch/Shell after the oil company hiked gasoline prices at the pump by as much as 4.2 percent.
"There is no better action than this national boycott against those who are abusing the people," Kirchner said at the Casa Rosada presidential palace.
"Let's not buy anything from them, not even a can of oil," he said.
As the president called for the boycott, some 300 militants who support him blocked traffic outside the Shell's Buenos Aires offices and threatened to blockade all of the Anglo-Dutch company's gasoline stations in Argentina if the 4.2 percent price hike is not reversed.
"If they don't lower the prices we call for a boycott and a blockade of all Shell stations," provincial deputy Luis D'Elia said at a rally outside the Shell offices.
"We will do it throughout Argentina," said D'Elia, who leads a militant movement made up mainly of unemployed workers.
Shell has a total of 930 gas stations in Argentina, where it controls 16.5 percent of the liquid fuel market.
Spain's Repsol-YPF and Brazil's Petrobras have said they would not raise their gas prices.
The Argentine government is particularly worried about the impact of such price hikes because bonds recently issued as part of the restructuring of the country's crippling debt are pegged to inflation.
Keeping inflation in check is all the more important as the government faces legislative elections in October, at a time when workers are becoming increasingly militant in their demand for increases in their salaries that have remained at the same levels for about a decade.
Kirchner has also complained about increases in beef prices and set his sights on privatized utility companies that are seeking higher fees to compensate for the losses they suffered as a result of the 65 percent devaluation of the peso in 2002.
In Paris, the head of energy and environment utility Suez said Thursday that in view of the situation in Argentina, he could not rule out a withdrawal of the company from the South American country.
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