Funeral Procession of Raul Alfonsin

---

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Raul Alfonsin, ex-president of Argentina (1983-1989) died this past Tuesday. His funeral occurred today, and the procession passed by my apartment building, so I did a little documentation from the balcony (please excuse my poor videography skills)

Alfonsin was a widely respected man in Argentina - many considered him to be the most honest, democratic leader of the nation. He took power after the tragic rule of Jorge Videla's military junta, and his election as president was a surprising victory for the radical party (most thought that the Peronist party would dominate).
One of Alfonsin's biggest causes was human rights; one of his most famous actions as president was the trial of military officials from Videla's regime for their human rights violations.

It was really interesting to watch the procession with my madre and hear what she had to say about Alfonsin, the government in general, and the procession itself. I commented that the number of people involved in the procession was incredible - she responded by saying that it was actually a really interesting signal to the nation, because the radical party (which Alfonsin represented) has been kind of dormant/"off the scene" in the past few years. She was happy because such an enthusiastic turnout to honor the ex-president seemed to demonstrate that there is still strong support for the party, and for Alfonsin's ideals. She said for her, it was a welcome sight because it means "todo no esta perdida" (all is not lost)

really interesting...

---

Photos

Waiting
People lining Avenida Callao...

Building across the street
more balcony-viewers like myself

Los Guardados
Mounted soldiers leading the procession

The procession
Alfonsin's coffin (behind the green truck, with the Argentine flag) accompanied by a throng of supporters

Still coming....
the ENTIRE street was filled, as far as I could see in either direction

Government officials
Central political figures, arm-in-arm, about midway through the procession (I think the man directly in the middle is the vice president of the nation)