I have been thinking about this post for a few days, and just haven't been sure where to start, since there is so much going on in Buenos Aires right now.
To me, it seems like Argentina is at a pivotal point in its democracy. And what is interesting to note, is that this period of time is the longest span of democracy the country has seen, so I am sure we will continue to see the state of things evolve over time.
Argentina has an extremely tumultuous and recent history, and it's interesting to see how it has shaped the people and opinions today. The state and the people all seem fiercely committed to democracy--for example, if you are a Porteño and you DON'T vote, you get fined. (Although, I guess I'm not sure how democratic it is to force people to vote.)
In a country where democracy is new, and there are significant problems with the currency, it's not surprising things are still somewhat unstable, but hopefully this will not cause any major problems in the short run.
Some things I've observed:
The protests
Our host, as well as the tour guide from the BA Free Tour, have shared that protests are a regular part of life in Buenos Aires. Our tour guide seemed to take it in stride, as if it's just something wacky the Porteños like to do because they can. And largely, it seems to be the right way to think about it, since the protests are peaceful, and the biggest consequence is that the subway is often closed during rush-hour. Our host, who was probably a young adult when democracy returned to Argentina, looks at the protests a little more seriously.
I noticed the impact of protests personally at the Plaza de Mayo, where we noticed barrier fences with graffiti. Apparently those fences are put up during protests, and since there have been so many of them, the police get sick of taking them down, so they just leave them there.
These gates are permanently up and ready to barricade the Pink House, just in case.
Challenges with infrastructure
On Sunday night, the need for electricity reached record highs in Argentina, around the same time the temperatures reached record highs. Bad combination. City officials held emergency meetings with federal officials on Sunday, as the residents began protesting the electricity outage.
As we drove in on Friday, we saw all kinds of people in the barrios grilling out on the road, and apparently that is the only place for them to go without water or lights in the home.
By Sunday, over 11,000 people had been without power or water in this 100 degree heat (plus 60% humidity) for days--sometimes weeks--and on Monday, protestors began blocking the main roads to the city by burning things in the street to protest.
So far, we are not alarmed from a safety perspective, since the protests are peaceful, and are really just an attempt to get attention brought to the problem, but knowing first-hand how hot it is, it is just crazy to have so many people without access to air or water.
Picture taken from a BBC article . . . I haven't seen these protests personally, although we did see people without power and water grilling on the side of the road on the way in. These kinds of images, plus interviews with angry residents, was on the news all morning.
Clash of Buenos Aires government with the Feds
Another thing that has become clear to me over the last few days, is the divide between Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez, and Buenos Aires mayor, Mauricio Macri.
A caveat here, when you get political insight from someone, you really have no way to judge their perspective (i.e. would you agree with this person if you were living in that country) so a lot of this insight is based on our host opinion, who HATES President Cristina, and loves the mayor.
Mauricio was set to run against Cristina for the presidency, but after her husband died, she won the popular vote. (As our host said, "Oh the stupid woman. She cry and cry, 'oh my poor husband' and she won.)
Mauricio is more of a right-wing, businessman, and is very "pro-change," and focused on efficiency of government, (Although, I can't figure out what "right wing" is here, because he has implemented quite a few things in Buenos Aires like clean waste management, and a government-sponsored free bike system that I believe "right wing" Americans would argue against.)
In the current problems with the energy crisis, he has been on TV several times speaking out against the federal government, and especially Cristina, who has been AWOL throughout this entire thing, apparently with some medical troubles.
Corruption and Inflation
I am not sure how I feel personally about the Cristina government, but it does seem like the problems with inflation and corruption are real.
The fact that people in Buenos Aires do not save their own currency (which has lost 30% of its value since January) is a problem. JP Morgan estimates that the peso will be worth 45% less by this time next year, which is extremely troubling to residents of the city. Economic troubles has increased the amount of strikes--the police went on strike earlier this year, which led to looting in all the areas surrounding Buenos Aires.
It also seems like the government lies a lot (which, I suppose ours does too) in ways that stop the people from improving their status. For example, our host told us the government says there are 1 million poor in Buenos Aires, when in actuality, there are 10 million poor, segregated in slums, which I didn't even know Buenos Aires had!
I happened to see the slums from across the river as we drove by in a taxi, and our driver was quick to say they were 'muy peligroso," that we should not go there, and then change the subject to show us a beautiful museum. (Pic below from the internet, but when we drove by, this seemed like it went on for quite awhile.)
The pope, who apparently is not liked by Cristina, had asked many times to speak with her about the subject of the poor, and I guess was dismissed every time.
It also seems like there have been some shady practices lately, that may result in more inflation, and possibly more civil unrest. Our host also informed us that previously, you could be elected to multiple terms, as long as they weren't in a row, so husband/wife politicians (Cristina and her husband) used this to their advantage to keep the power in the family. Now that her husband has died, she is trying to change the constitution to ensure she is in power. Our host says there are a lot of problems with fraud, and money that is supposed to stay in Argentina going to Cristina's pet projects in Patagonia, and that she had made some deals with Iran that are not popular with the people.
I am sure there is a lot more to see and learn, and I hope, as we leave to explore the rest of the country, we come to develop a more full picture of what it's like to live here, and what we can expect to see in the years ahead.