clapped, waved flags and took to their cars, honking horns to protest what they saw as an insufficient reaction to the problems the country was facing. Police even had to use tear gas in order to disperse the crowd outside the Presidential Palace. Crowds had also gathered outside the home of Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo to express their displeasure. Two people died from gunshot wounds and dozens were injured as rioters ransacked and set fire to grocery stores and other shops around the capital.
As violence escalated, police became outnumbered and were unable to disperse the crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets. Rioters yelled about being hungry and complaining that the government was not helping them. The government attempted to calm the rioters by offering a $7 million to provide food for the needy.
On the morning of the 20th of December the battle of the Plaza de Mayo began. Tens of thousands of rioters confronted the police in a struggle to reach the Palacio de Governo. Amongst them were the "motoboys"; young motorcyclists who were among the most exploited group of young workers. At the end of the day, the battle resulted in nearly thirty deaths and hundreds of people injured or taken prisoner. De La Rua resigned and was forced to flee the Casa Rosada by helicopter. His successor, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, only kept power for one nearly pitiful week. His attempt to achieve a "cease fire", converse with the mass organization of rioters, and his promises to re-establish a minimum wage and create one million jobs all came to nothing. To end the country's economic and political turmoil on New Year's Day, Argentina's Legislative Assembly decided to appoint Eduardo Duhalde as a new President until December 2003. But, with Argentina’s unemployment level at nearly 20 percent, and in debt for nearly $132 billion, mainly to bond holders, this was the worst economic crisis in all of Argentina’s history.
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