President Hipolito Mejia said again yesterday that his government will resolve the problem. He regretted that most of the population could not listen to his televised 2 October speech because of a widespread blackout. The Presidency paid for the publication of his speech in three full pages in three daily newspapers today. Referring to the crisis, which he attributed to past administration errors, the President said, “it will be resolved, listen well, it will be resolved.” But after months of hearing the same promise and enduring long blackouts, the population is getting more restless. Yesterday, one man died in a clash with the Police in the low income area of Buenos Aires, Herrera. Two more people were injured in the El Capotillo low income barrio. News reports say everyone knows the blackouts are happening due to the arrears of the government with the power companies, including thousands owed by government departments. AES told the Listin newspaper that yesterday it operated at 45% of its normal distribution. Edenorte and Edesur (Union Fenosa) reported the deficit was 800 megawatts. The demand is usually 1,700 megawatts.
