Thousands rally in Buenos Aires over Nisman death

Tens of thousands of people demanding justice marched in symbolic silence on Feb. 18 in soaking Buenos Aires to mark a month since the suspicious death of a prosecutor who was ready to accuse the Argentine president of a massive cover-up.
      
"I am here because I want to see justice done for someone who gave his life for the truth," said teacher Marta Canepa, 65, among those traipsing the 1.7 kilometers (just over a mile) under the banner "Homage for Prosecutor Alberto Nisman."       

Drenched in driving rain and led by prosecutors and opposition figures, the rally is the first major public show of defiance in a murky case that has ignited a political firestorm in Argentina and piled the pressure on President Cristina Kirchner, 61, in her last year in office.
      
Thousands also gathered in solidarity with the marchers in the cities of Rosario and Cordoba, in the resort of Mar del Plata, and in the northwest Tucuman province.
      
Among those who braved the relentless deluge in the capital were Nisman's two young daughters and his ex-wife, Judge Sandra Arroyo Delgado. People in the crowd applauded them when they recognized the three, dripping as they walked.
      
"The march itself is a reflection of society's underlying demand for an end to impunity. Tension between the justice system and executive were there before, but the Nisman case has exacerbated them," said sociologist Rosendo Fraga with pollsters Nueva Mayoria.
      
There were contrasting figures for the number at the rally in Buenos Aires: local police said 400,000 people attended, but federal police said it was nearer 50,000.
      
Nisman was found in his Buenos Aires apartment with a bullet through his head on January 18, the day...