Kirchner signed a presidential decree signed late Tuesday just ahead of Argentina's annual Armed Forces Day.

Before his inauguration, Kirchner had vowed to rid the armed forces of veteran officers tainted by connections with brutal past regimes in the country, which only returned to democracy from a succession of military governments in 1983.

Kirchner has gone further than any previous leader in Argentina, which has known several military coups since 1930.

Brigadier General Jorge Chevalier was to take over as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Juan Carlos Mugnolo.

Army chief General Ricardo Brinzoni, who had been fiercely opposed by human rights groups, was to be replaced Wednesday by Brigadier General Roberto Bendini.

Brigadier General Carlos Rohde will take over the air force on June 4, and Rear Admiral Jorge Godoy will take the helm of the navy on June 5.

Both Bendini and Godoy previously served in Kirchner's native Patagonia.

Media reports said some 52 top-level officers would retire: 27 from the army, 13 from the navy and 12 from the air force. The reports said this made up more than 50 percent of the top military leadership.

But Defense Minister Jose Pampuro said Tuesday the forced departures could be limited to between 16 and 27 top officers.

Outgoing army chief Brinzoni said in a bitter final speech that the changes were "political intrigue" and he warned that it could be "risky" and return to the instability of 20 years ago.

"These dismissals hurt, not because of the personnel, but because of the unexplained circumstances surrounding it," Brinzoni said the in the Armed Forces Day speech with Defense Minister Jose Pampuro listening.

Pampuro has said that the president's ambitious plans for the country include sweeping military reform: "a renovation of the entire military structure."

Pampuro said Tuesday that the changes had been accepted by the military "in a climate of total tranquility."

However, the Clarin newspaper said Wednesday that Kirchner had rejected the defense minister's call for a more conciliatory attitude with the military brass.

Kirchner was inaugurated on Sunday with a host of Latin American leaders, including Cuba's Fidel Castro, present as he vowed to restore confidence in the economy, fight corruption and overhaul the military.

Former president Carlos Menem withdrew from a runoff vote giving the presidency to Kirchner, but the 53-year-old former provincial governor will have to work hard to win the public confidence he needs.

He said improving the economy will take priority to paying back foreign debt. But hundreds of unemployed and impoverished Argentines marched on Government House in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to demand more action for the poor.

An estimated 20 million of Argentina's 36 million population are said to be living under the poverty line and about 18 percent of the workforce is unemployed.

The demonstrators carried tools, which protest leader Raul Castells said "symbolises our demand for work."

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