Smelly Politics

In a classic "only in Argentina" political moment, today in Buenos Aires the Senate had to evacuate its chambers while debating an oil exploration bill because members of the group Quebracho tossed a stink bomb into the Senate and began shouting "The Fatherland, yes. A colony, no."

By way of background, the ten-year-old Quebracho (Wikipedia profile) is a far left group that aims for the elimination of private property and likes to fight with representatives of the state. Most recently, it hit the news when it protested outside the Israeli embassy during Israel's recent invasion of Lebanon, its members wearing the combination of Palestinian-style headscarves with "Argentina" shirts and carrying photos of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (above) and picked fights with local Jewish groups like the AMIA.

I suppose that makes stink bombs a stepping down of the rhetoric.