BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - A day after defaulting on the national debt, Argentina's new president said the first details of an ambitious works program aimed at creating a million jobs would be unveiled on Tuesday.
President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa also said Monday that he would appeal to the United States and Spain for financial help in reversing a four-year recession that has ground down Argentina's economy.
Anger over surging joblessness and spreading poverty erupted in looting and rioting last week and drove President Fernando de la Rua to resign midway through his term. Rodriguez Saa was elected by Congress early Sunday to serve as interim president until a special election March 3.
Governor of San Luis province before assuming the presidency, he used his inaugural address Sunday to declare a suspension of payments on some of Argentina's staggering 132 billion public debt. Reaction was muted Monday on Wall Street and other financial markets because a default had been expected for weeks.
Seeking to defuse discontent and boost the nation's morale, Rodriguez Saa is pledging to create 100,000 jobs within a week and 1 million jobs eventually.
It remained unclear exactly what sort of jobs the president plans to produce, but officials suggested work clearing public parks, spaces and highways could be in the offing.
A plan to create 11,000 jobs was being prepared for Buenos Aires Province, which surrounds the capital and is home to a quarter of the nation's 36 million people. The plan, expected Wednesday, calls for paying each worker the equivalent in bonds of 200 weekly for 25 hours of work.
The 18.3 percent unemployment rate nationwide is just a whisker below the record set in 1995 following a Mexican currency devaluation that upset finances in Argentina and other emerging markets of Latin America.
Casting about for help keeping the cash-strapped country afloat, Rodriguez Saa said he'd appeal personally to the leaders of the United States and Spain.
There was no immediate reaction from either capital. But the U.S. State Department said Bush earlier told Argentina's new leader that he intended to maintain good relations between the two nations.
Although Rodriguez Saa insisted debt repayments were being suspended only temporarily, the move will make it even harder for Argentina to obtain credit, which could worsen its economic slide.