An Argentinian man became an overnight sensation in South America after reportedly barricading himself inside a car dealership and refusing to leave without the truck he had made an advance payment for.

Abelardo Usandivaras, aka the “gaucho of Salta’, has been making international news headlines for over two weeks and has become somewhat of a living symbol of the common man’s struggle against the shady practices of car dealerships. The middle-aged man from Metán, in Salta, arrived in Buenos Aires with his family at the beginning of April, and went straight to the dealership that was supposed to deliver his new much-needed truck. After failing to get the answers he needed and finding himself unable to get in touch with the owner, Usandivaras barricaded himself inside the dealership, refusing to leave without the truck he was promised, or at least the downpayment he had made for it. His story quickly went viral, and Abelardo’s struggle became a hot topic in all of Latin America.

Usandivaras, a horse breeder and advisor from Metán, decided to buy a new truck last year, and after getting in touch with a dealership in Buenos Aires, he decided to sell his old truck and make a downpayment for a new one. Everything went smoothly up to that point, but after paying the advance, he never heard back from the dealership. They had a 120-day delivery deadline, but he never got so much as an update, and whenever he got in touch, they just referred him to another department.

“Since December, they have passed me from one phone to another and they have not even told me the company representative’s last name,” Abelardo Usandivaras told reporters. “The truth is that they offered trucks they didn’t have. It is a financial system where they use your money and then try to make you another deal.”

The Argentinian man claims that he was offered another car for the downpayment he had made and told that he would have to pay extra if he wanted a new truck. But that wasn’t the original deal, and Usandivaras wasn’t having it. After bringing his whole family with him, including his daughter and minor son, to Buenos Aires, as well as the rest of the payment for the truck, the gaucho decided he wouldn’t leave the dealership without it. After hours of negotiation and mediation by the local police, Abelardo’s unusual form of protest went viral.

“I traveled with 13 million pesos to pay off the rest of the truck. I even told the dealership, ‘Bring me the truck and I will pay for it in cash, right here,’ Abelardo said. “They treated me like a country man, as if they knew everything and I understood nothing. I felt like they were saying ‘We beat so many smart Buenos Aires people, we’re not going to have a problem with this gaucho.”

But the dealership underestimated Abelardo Usandivaras’ resolve and the power of social media. Photos of the Metán man behind the glass wall of the dealership quickly spread online, and before long newspapers started writing about him. People were cheering him on and reporting their own issues with how dealerships treat customers. In the end, the story got so big that the dealership paid the man back his advance just to get him out.

Unable to get the truck he so desperately needed for work, Abelardo Usandivaras ended up getting a used one from 2021. It wasn’t the newest model, but it has low enough mileage and it runs well enough. However, the Argentinian man isn’t about to just forget about his ordeal with the dealership. He plans to take the company to court, because the money he received may be the same he paid last year, but due to inflation, its value is different. The truck he bought back in December is more expensive now, and the dealership refused to pay him any kind of compensation.

“I am going to the Salta Justice Department to see how they resolve it. I want to ask them to enforce my rights,” Usandivaras said, claiming that he has been contacted by many others people with stories similar to his.

 

The Buenos Aires dealership, on the other hand, claims that it is the victim of a media campaign designed to put it out of business. In a statement posted on the company website, it denounces the “dirty war” waged against it and reassures its community of customers that it does everything in its power to offer the best possible services.