President Néstor Kirchner of Argentina has spent much of his first year in office trying to bring groups aligned with the right — the military, the police and the state intelligence apparatus — to heel. But now he has begun confronting his far-left flank, represented by a dogmatic and often violent “picketers’ movement” that claims to speak in the name of the country’s unemployed. In response, the most militant members of “los piqueteros,” many with their faces masked and lead pipes in hand, have stepped up actions in the street aimed at paralyzing normal activities and forcing the president to back down. But that seems only to have increased public support for Mr. Kirchner, who took office in May after winning just 22 percent of the popular vote. Full Story