Argentines protest outside president's palace, top offcial quits
( 2001-12-29 16:08 ) (7 )

Thousands of Argentines beat pots and pans in front of the presidential palace and some pounded on its doors early on Saturday, venting anger at the new government's handling of a brutal recession a week after violent protests forced out a previous president.

Less than a week after interim President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa took power, a top government adviser accused of corruption in a previous job quit after Argentina's decaying middle class took to the streets and demanded his departure plus the repeal of unpopular banking curbs.

The resignation of Carlos Grosso, chief adviser to the Cabinet but widely suspected of illegal activity during a stint last decade as mayor of Buenos Aires, was accepted, a government spokesman told Reuters.

There was no sign of the violence or looting that killed 27 people last week and led Fernando de la Rua to resign as president on Dec. 20 as frustration boiled over with a four-year recession that has impoverished thousands, closed entire industries and led the government to stop payments on its foreign debt.

But a very short honeymoon appeared to be over for Rodriguez Saa, who was appointed by Congress last Sunday as a caretaker president until elections in March but sparked anger with his proposal for a new floating currency that some fear could quickly become worthless.

"These gangsters have got to go!" yelled one woman on television as she jumped up and down and beat pots and pans, which has become a symbolic way to express anger in Argentina as social tensions rise.

Some protesters also voiced anger over the Supreme Court's decision on Friday to uphold curbs on cash withdrawals from banks, which De la Rua's government implemented earlier this month to stop a run on the beleaguered financial system.