On December 3rd, 2013, all hell broke loose in Cordoba City. Vandals looted supermarkets, stores, and mom-and-pop shops throughout the city. While some thieves were after food, most of them focused on stealing alcohol and electronics.
Before I get into why things went to sh*t down here, I want to clarify that the images depicting the looting in this post were not taken by me. That’s mainly because there’s no way I would have been dumb enough to be anywhere near that trashy filth seen in these photos.
So, what caused this crime spree that made the 1992 L.A. riots look like the Electrical Street Parade at Disney World? The police force!
Only a month after a drug scandal broke out, the cops in Cordoba City demanded an undeserved pay increase, but when the government failed to meet their demands, they went on strike.
Without local law enforcement, some Cordobeses crossed the line and the city turned to sh*t!
For over 24 hours, Cordoba had no police protection whatsoever. So, people of all ages, skin tone, and gender began looting.
Although owning guns is not as popular here as it is in the States, some store owners took to firing guns to warn vandals to stay clear of their properties.
It was essentially like The Purge down here!
The real tragedy is that some teens and young adults boasted about their criminal activities on Facebook. Aside from the fact that this is probably the dumbest thing they could have done, it shows a complete lack of remorse for their actions. And if these kids are the future governors, teachers, and doctors of Cordoba City, then I'm cringing already.
I took to social media to see what people were saying about these vandals. For the most part, the general consensus among the Argentine people was the same. They were all ashamed and disgusted by the actions of these thieves.
However, some blamed the government, while others pointed to poverty as the driving force behind the looting. But in my opinion, these are not acceptable excuses for behaving like criminals. I don’t need the police or some alleged sacred book to keep my moral compass in check. As a civilized society, everyone MUST respect each other, their property, and their city.
By Wednesday afternoon, the government gave in to the demands of the police force, and the cops went back to work.
Order has now been restored… for the most part. However, I read that there were over 60 injuries and at least one death in all this mayhem, not to mention that more than a thousand stores were allegedly damaged.
The remaining photos were taking by me and show how the city bounced back after the looting.
On Thursday, I walked the streets of Cordoba City, and I’ll admit, I was nervous as hell. Not that you could blame me after what happened. But what really shocked me was that life had returned to normal. In fact, there didn’t seem to be any indication that anything had ever happened.
I’m told that while protests are nothing new in Argentina, this type of chaos has not been seen in Cordoba City in nearly 30 years. I can only hope that this is an isolated incident or that the government responds to any future threat with military force. Otherwise, the hubs and I might have to consider getting the hell out of here!
sounds like the perfect time to get rid of those that pissed you off. Isn't there something happening now over there Government wide?
ReplyDeleteHi Brian. Actually, there's always some kind of political turmoil here, either nationally or provincially, but it's usually caused by people, like the cops, the transportation services, and the teachers, who are constantly demanding more money and when they don't get it they go on strike. The government usually gives in to the demands and then a couple of months later, these same people will go on strike again and demand more money.
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