Overview
- On December 19, 2001, President Fernando De la Rúa declared a nationwide state of siege, triggering mass cacerolazos, unrest and heavy police repression.
- De la Rúa resigned on December 20 and sent his letter to Senate provisional president Ramón Puerta before leaving the Casa Rosada by helicopter with the Constitution in hand, according to witnesses.
- With no vice president after Carlos “Chacho” Álvarez’s 2000 resignation, constitutional succession passed to congressional leaders, exposing a critical gap in the line of authority.
- Five men occupied the presidency in eleven days: Puerta for 24 hours; Adolfo Rodríguez Saá selected by Congress and announcing a default before quitting a week later; Eduardo Camaño briefly; and Eduardo Duhalde serving to 2003.
- A non-governmental commission later documented multiple fatalities from the December 19–20 repression, including named victims in Rosario and Villa Gobernador Gálvez that remain central to the episode’s memory.