Tens of thousands of Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires’ central square to mark the 26th anniversary of the country’s last military coup.

Argentinian President Eduardo Duhalde has set elections for late 2003 and unveiled an austerity budget he hopes will lift the country out of economic crisis.

Argentina’s top banker has resigned as mounting anger over draconian savings curbs pushed thousands of Argentines into fresh street protests and the value of the peso slumped to new lows.

Enraged Argentines have stormed banks and destroyed cash machines to protest against the penning up of their savings.

The value of the Argentine peso fell by more than 39% in its first day as a free-floating currency.

Thousands of Argentines poured into the streets after the government froze more savings accounts to protect banks from a run by panicked depositors.

Argentina’s economy minister announced a sharp devaluation of the peso, overriding foreign investors’ concerns and ending a decade-long policy pegging the currency one-to-one with the US dollar.

The Argentine government has announced a huge $11bn budget deficit for 2001.