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The aim of this paper is to show that the popular rebellion of December 2001 in Argentina had a double meaning: first, it illustrated the crisis of the system itself in terms of its two basic constituent elements, representative 'democracy' and the capitalist market economy; second, it led to the creation of neighbourhood assemblies which, together with some movements of unemployed workers, and certain companies taken over by workers, constituted embryonic mechanisms of direct democracy that even extended their demands towards a new integral vision of society, very close to the project of Inclusive Democracy. In fact, important elements of three of the main components of an Inclusive Democracy had been attempted in practice in Argentina: direct political democracy, economic democracy, and democracy in the social realm, whereas issues relating to an ecological democracy had also been raised. At the same time, a new form of confederal democracy emerged which was based on nearby communities organized into a territorial network at a local and regional scale. Although the majority of the population still remain today detached from any perspective of social change, it is significant to note the kind of alternative institutions that people attempt to set up -whenever the opportunity arises -as the only way out of the present multidimensional crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]