Argentine president urges unity as anti-government protests build

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez called for unity on Saturday as protesters in the capital, Buenos Aires, marched to the gates of the presidential palace, lambasting his government over soaring inflation and a crushing national debt.
The center-left president is facing a rising challenge from a militant left-wing of the ruling coalition that wants more state spending to ease high poverty levels and inflation. Two key moderate allies have left his Cabinet in the last month.
The South American country, a major producer of soy and corn, is grappling with inflation running at over 60 percent, huge pressure on the peso currency and spiking gas import costs that are draining already weak foreign currency reserves.
In a speech to mark the anniversary of Argentina’s declaration of independence, Fernandez called for “unity” and asked different factions to work towards it.