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| Riot police fired tear gas at protesting teachers in Neuquen province last Wednesday [AFP] |
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Argentine teachers have held a one-day nationwide strike after a high school chemistry teacher was killed by police last week during a protest over pay in the southern province of Neuquen.
In Buenos Aires, the capital, workers at banks, hospitals, government offices, and public transportation joined the strike for an hour on Monday afternoon.
Police in the northern city of Salta fired tear gas at groups of protesters, local media said.
Carlos Fuentealba, a 41-year-old teacher, died on Thursday, a day after he was hit in the head by a tear gas cartridge when police broke up a teachers' protest and road block in Neuquen.
Protesters blame Jorge Sobisch, Neuquen's governor, who ordered police to break up the road blocks and marches.
Presidential bid
"They shot Carlos, but they shot not only him, they shot my entire family, and they also shot all those things he stood for"
Sandra Rodriguez, widow of Carlos Fuentealba | The death of the teacher has further complicated a plan by Sobisch to run for president in October against Nestor Kirchner, Argentina's current president.
Recent polls showed that support for Sobisch was in single digits.
Hugo Yasky, president of the national teachers' union, said at a rally of striking teachers in Buenos Aires: "Professor Carlos Fuentealba's assassin has a name. His name is Sobisch, and he must pay. He must go, he must answer for his crimes."
The protest in Neuquen last week came after many provinces said they do not have enough money to give teachers raises decreed by the central government.
Base salaries for Argentine teachers were raised by 24 per cent by a government decree in February. Inflation last year was close to 10 per cent and the base teachers' wage was raised to about $334 from $270 a month, which was below the poverty level for a four-person family.
Sandra Rodriguez, Fuentealba's widow, said: "They shot Carlos, but they shot not only him, they shot my entire family, and they also shot all those things he stood for."
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