Protests turn violent in Argentina over economy

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Police and national guardsmen fired tear gas Wednesday at hundreds of jobless protesters trying to blockade highways around the capital. Two people were reported killed and about 60 were arrested.\nDemonstrators said dozens of their colleagues were injured, claiming police fired on them from rooftops, shops and an elevated pedestrian walkway. The claim could not be independently verified.\nAcrid white tear gas wafted through the air as masked protesters scrambled to flee rifle-toting riot police. Officers fired from behind plastic shields during the confrontations, which happened at late morning at the Puerredon bridge, a key highway connecting the capital's north and south.\nBy the time police broke up the demonstration at midday, at least 60 people had been arrested, according to the news agency Diarios y Noticias.\nA Buenos Aires police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said two people had died. He said he had no comment on local media reports that at least four others were seriously injured.\nMasked demonstrators responded to volleys of police tear gas and rubber bullets with a hail of rocks. The protesters also used homemade clubs to shatter shop windows and smash cars. One bus was set afire after the driver said he and passengers were forced off at gunpoint.\nThere were other demonstrations around the country.\nUnemployed workers blocked other access routes to the capital, challenging recent government pledges to use force if necessary to maintain public order. Workers demanding government food assistance and jobs blocked a highway in the central city of Cordoba.\nRoad blockades and protests against the government's handling of a protracted recession have become near daily events across Argentina since the crisis exploded into street riots last December that claimed 29 lives.\nThe government of President Eduardo Duhalde warned protesters in recent days to exercise restraint, warning it would not hesitate to use force to maintain order.\nSince January, Argentina has devalued its currency more than 73 percent against the dollar, defaulted on its $141 billion public debt and seen billions of dollars in international aid shut off.\nOn Wednesday, lines again formed at banks as jittery peso holders sought to buy dollars. The peso was valued for 11 years at 1 to 1 with the dollar until a January devaluation. The local currency has been ebbing in value for months, falling this week to nearly 4 pesos to the dollar.\nEconomy Minister Roberto Lavagna was to meet in Washington on Wednesday with officials of the International Monetary Fund in hopes of a resumption of bailout aid for the country.