When I visited Argentina a few years back it was during the weeks leading up to the Buenos Aires provincial elections. I was struck by how many demonstrations and political gatherings were being held in the streets every day.

Here at home we have the occasional rally at the capitol building. For the most part they’re few and far between, and the amount of people that participate pales in comparison. On the streets of Buenos Aires you’re likely to see a demonstration often, especially during election season.

Occasionally I’ll mention to friends how active Porteños are in politics, and the frequency of the street demonstrations and protests. They assume I’m exaggerating, but if put on the stand I think this verifies it in an interesting and humorous manner.

I watch but mainly listen to C5N for an hour or two every morning. It helps me practice my Spanish, and gives a feel for daily life there. (Even if like here the news carries a heavy focus on the irrational.) C5N is a 24 hour news channel serving Buenos Aires, and is always up to speed on what’s happening in the streets. I grabbed some few screen shots over the past few months to highlight some of the daily occurrences.

The daily interruptions of traffic flow on the streets are so common they are included in the traffic reports, and even plan for upcoming events that are scheduled. These are never violent, but occur to facilitate the awareness of issues important to the workers and residents. And apparently standing in the streets with large signs accomplishes that.

Now that the mid term elections are finished the daily demonstrations have subsided some. It’s chaotic, unorganized, and crazy – and I love and appreciate it. Here are some shots from April and May:

March 23:

April 30:

April 27:

April 9:

April 16:

April 10: Blocking a bridge

May 14: Taxi drivers demonstrating:

May 1: Downtown

May 29: Scheduled protest at 6pm

I really didn’t catch what was going on here, but there is a crowd of people dancing in the street:

Other random shots:

Here’s Christina Kirshner delivering one of her uplifting speeches:

Dealing with the H1N1 virus:

Traffic backup. Makes the 405 look like a country drive:

And of course coverage of South Carolina governer Mark Sanford: