By Stephen Cviic BBC correspondent in Buenos Aires

Tens of thousands of people across Argentina are taking part in a day of protest against the government's handling of the economic crisis, the worst in the country's history.

The protest was called by the most left-wing of Argentina's trade union federations, the CTA, and it is also being joined by groups representing pensioners, the unemployed and students.

Traffic in the capital, Buenos Aires, is unusually light and the protest is expected to culminate in a big demonstration outside Congress.

Old age pensioners have been badly hit

It is not a good day to travel around Argentina.

Protesters who say they are fed up with hunger, unemployment and what they call the government's surrender to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have set up roadblocks all over the country.

Most of the access roads into Buenos Aires have been cut. At one roadblock, protesters stood behind burning tyres waving Argentine flags and burning American ones.

Some workers are on strike - schools and hospitals have been particularly affected.

There have also been demonstrations throughout the country.

So far, little violence has been reported, apart from the by now familiar attacks on banks by disgusted savers. Many of them have been unable to get access to their money since December.

Unattractive options

The government of President Eduardo Duhalde urged people not to join in the protests, saying that some of the activists wanted to provoke a situation of chaos.

But there was never any danger of Argentina grinding to a complete halt since the larger, Peronist unions are only taking part in certain places.

President Duhalde finds himself caught between several unattractive options.

He seems convinced that an agreement with the IMF is the only way to start an economic recovery, but to get there he has to push through unpopular measures, including big budget cuts.

For the time being, he is less worried about the anger on the streets and more concerned about his fellow politicians.

Many of them have ambitions of their own and have made little secret of their desire to replace him in the not too distant future.