A makeshift fence obstructs the view of the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. Many years and many graffiti slogans later, the fence — originally installed in the Plaza de Mayo to keep back violent protestors — seems to remain as a symbol of a country ever in wait of catastrophe. As the world watches Argentina's economic freefall, some foreign newspapers have recently predicted that Argentina will follow in the footsteps of Venezuela or Ukraine.

Last month, The Guardian claimed that Argentina has all the ingredients of a “Recipe for Revolt.”

Comparing Argentina’s current situation to those preceding the violent outbreaks in Turkey, Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela, author Simon Tisdall concluded that “It is not hard to predict where unrest may next break out — Argentina is a prime candidate for trouble."

Many other foreign observers have been anticipating disaster in Argentina. Last month, The Economist pointed to Argentina's predicament as a lesson for other states. Titled “The Parable of Argentina: lessons from one country's 100 years of decline,” the article looks with critical eyes at every part of Argentina's social makeup. With totalitarianism unlikely, the primary concern of any state, the article suggests, is inadvertently becoming the Argentina of the 21st century.

However, according to Argentine Silvia Luppino, an NYU Buenos Aires professor, foreign media tends to present a superficial perspective of Argentina's troubles.

"Some perspectives build a sense of unintelligence [in Latin America]," said Luppino. "The idea is 'you are not intelligent,' 'you are not able to see the problem,' ‘you do not see what's good for you.'"

Luppino is cynical about Argentina’s politicians; however, she dismisses the viewpoints of some foreign media outlets that she sees as dramatic and misleading. She suggested that an attractive story to write is that of an ambitious and promising Argentina in the early 20th century going astray on the road to success. That narrative is told in The Economist's piece above. Luppino emphasized that understanding Argentina's history is crucial to analysis, especially given its culture of protest. Luppino teaches Argentina Today at NYU Buenos Aires, covering topics such as human rights, immigration and social linguistics to piece together Argentina's current condition.

Teachers, who have been on strike since the beginning of this school year, protested on March 6. in Buenos Aires, demanding higher salaries as inflation continues to rise. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo march weekly as they have since 1977 during The Dirty War, in which the government disappeared up to 30,000 people. Countless protests have taken place in the square, including the riot in 2001 in which the president was forced to flee in an Air Force helicopter in the back of the presidential palace. In fact, the Plaza de Mayo is named after the revolutionary protest in May 1810 that freed Argentina from Spanish rule.

"Now the worst problem is the inflation ... salaries are losing value," said Luppino. "In the supermarket, you can see the difference each week."

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner allowed for the devaluation of the Argentine peso earlier this year. According to independent economists, consumer prices rose by 28 percent last year, although government officials report lower inflation. The International Monetary Fund has accused the government of falsifying economic reports on several occasions. In January, The New York Times ran two pieces, “Argentina on the Brink” and “Erosion of the Argentine Peso Sends Shudder Through Latin America,” both of which are deeply critical of the government's ability to handle the economy.

In the eyes of student Estefanía Luraschi at the Universidad Nacional de General San Martín in Buenos Aires, Western media outlets have a tendency to focus on the worst of Argentina. Originally from Austria, Luraschi reads foreign and local newspapers. She is concerned that some media outlets oversimplify the troubles in Argentina based on a Western perspective of how economics should function.

"International media grabs the worst possible predictions of Argentina, of local news ... and just regurgitates that," said Luraschi.

Nevertheless, in January the Argentine peso saw its steepest decline since the 2001-2002 economic collapse. The fear is that the riots of 2001 will be repeated.

"The worst days [were] ten years ago in December 2001; about 30 people died in the streets," said Luppino. "I don't think the same can happen [this time] because those days are very strong in our memory. Two weeks ago, [there was] a trial for members of the government of that movement."

According to Luraschi, the mood in Argentina is that of ambivalence, which makes a violent riot unlikely, in her opinion. Professor Luppino agreed, suggesting that the ambivalence is due to the Argentines' hardened cynicism.