At least three Argentines were badly injured when a small blast marred a largely peaceful mass march by tens of thousands of jobless people to mark the second anniversary of riots that ousted an elected government.
The cause of the blast, which came in the middle of a rally near the presidential palace last night, was unclear. A doctor told local TV that three people were badly burned after a device exploded, apparently in a garbage bin near the palace.
Some protesters said it was a homemade bomb. Others said a small gas canister exploded accidentally. Witnesses said several other protesters suffered light injuries. Police had no comment.
The blast came as demonstrators wound up the biggest protest since President Nestor Kirchner came to power in May. Columns of banner-waving unemployed clapping their hands in unison streamed around the presidential palace.
Widespread looting in 2001 and the deaths of at least 27 people, ending in the ouster of President Fernando de la Rua, shocked this once-wealthy South American nation to the core.