Posted on 08/04/2002 12:27:38 AM PDT by sarcasm
MONTEVIDEO - More than 5000 police personnel reportedly curbed looting in Uruguay's capital Montevideo on Saturday, after the closure of banks earlier this week led to wide-scale rioting and looting.
The unemployed and the hungry were among the number of persons who looted supermarkets and restaurants on Friday, in unrest which spread from the city's slums to areas like the shopping district La Union near the capital's downtown.
Uruguay's government ordered banks closed Tuesday to prevent the national currency from continuing its plummet.
Uruguay, like Argentina, is suffering under a public crisis of trust in the economy and the outflow of capital abroad. Exchange reserves of the central bank have dropped by 75 per cent this year.
It was unclear whether the bank closure would continue next week.
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