http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2965483.stm

Argentina factory battle resumes
By Peter Greste
BBC correspondent in Buenos Aires



Riot police in Argentina fired teargas and rubber bullets to
disperse hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside a clothing factory that workers seized in 2001.

At least two protestors were
injured in the clashes as the
police sought to enforce a
court order evicting the
workers.

With presidential elections less than a week away, the
Brukman factory has become a symbol of the country's
economic crisis.

Workers occupying the building have already been expelled
twice but they have won their battles in the courts on both
occasions.

Rubber bullets

Hundreds of angry protestors confronted hundreds more police
in full riot gear throughout Monday in violent clashes.

The demonstrators were
demanding that the Brukman
workers be allowed back in.

The police ultimately responded
with rubber bullets, tear gas
and baton charges.

There are reports of dozens
more placed under arrest. The
protestors accuse the police of
brutal oppression. The police insisted that they had been
threatened with Molotov cocktails and other weapons.

The authorities raided the factory last week to enforce an
eviction order removing the 57 workers who are locked in a
legal battle with the factory owners.

Workers' occupation

The owners originally closed the plant two years ago, at the
height of Argentina's economic crisis.

They argued that they simply couldn't afford to pay the
months of wages owed or to keep the looms operating.

But desperate to keep their jobs, the unemployed workers
forced open the doors, repaired machinery and began selling
again.

The strategy inspired similar tactics from employees in more
than a hundred other businesses who collapsed under the
weight of the economic crash.

The outcome of this round still isn't clear.