Whoever takes the helm inherits a ship sinking under the weight of its public debt and facing the prospect of insolvency or devaluation. The new leader will also have to wrestle with rampant rioting and looting that has left 24 dead so far and continues to reign.
Trade unions meanwhile have called a general strike until the effective state of emergency -- due to remain in place for 30 days -- is lifted.
De la Rua was departing as one of the most unpopular leaders in Argentina's history having imposed round after round of punishing spending cuts.
In working-class neighborhoods in Buenos Aires province, hordes of teenagers ransacked grocery stores as outnumbered police stood by helplessly on Thursday. Helmeted officers fired tear gas to disperse dozens of looters in a central Buenos Aires neighborhood.
The capital's streets looked like a battleground. Fires smoldered and smoke curled over the Plaza de Mayo outside the ornate pink government palace as thousands gathered to vent anger over the economy and call for De la Rua's ouster.
The US and Britain have urged Argentina to employ democratic means to resolve its crisis, while Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said he regretted De la Rua's resignation.
But while words of support poured in from around the globe there were no signs the likes of the US or the International Monetary Fund would pony up more cash.
A recession in its fourth year, 18.3 percent unemployment, relentless pay cuts and tax hikes to service the public debt, plus draconian limits on cash withdrawals to stop a run on banks have effectively strangled the economy.
Every day 2,000 people drop below the poverty line in a country that was one of the wealthiest nations in the early 20th century and is now paying the price of decades of endemic corruption and economic mismanagement.
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