Report of Cacerolazo held in Los Angeles, January 26, 02.
In Los Angeles, California (USA), a loud and lively multiracial group of 15 women older and younger and some men supporters, participated in a cacerolazo before the entrance to a Citibank office today (January 26). Citibank was chosen as a protest site because of its history of theft and corruption in Argentina and all over the world.
From noon until about 1 pm, when the bank closed, we marched on the sidewalk in front of the bank with placards in English and Spanish and a banner that read “Mothers Daughters Sisters Wives, Fighting for Our Loved Ones’ Lives. We banged pots and pans and chanted including calls of “who let the thieves out”, “shame, shame” and “women do the dirty work, bankers take the dirty money”. After the march, we held a rally, which began with a presentation on the corruption of Citibank in Argentina and elsewhere and accused Citibank of being “an equal opportunity exploiter”. A group that included a student, an older woman and a Black woman who is a grandmother on welfare read the statement by SAC (spell out). Someone spoke out about how Argentina is the biggest user of genetically modified foods and the impact on people’s health and the economy.
Drawing from SAC’s statement, we spelled out the savage ways the policies of those and other financial institutions impact people across the globe, but with a particular focus on the women of Argentina. We called out governments – not only the corrupt government of Argentina but also the corrupt government of the United States, which uses its military power to protect loan-shark banks and the corporations that exploit us all over the globe.
Our protest succeeded in drawing press including La Opinion the largest Spanish speaking newspaper in the United States, Channel 13 TV, and two Spanish language TV stations Channels 34 and 52.