Housing, Security, and Employment in Post-Neoliberal Buenos Aires

Abstract

The economic and social crisis in Argentina at the end of 2001 ended a decade of explicit free-market or neoliberal policies that had their roots in the country’s last military dictatorship (1976–1983). The current challenges facing the city, along with legacies of this recent past, include increasing social inequality, crime, poverty, and the difficulty of managing public services that were comprehensively privatized during the 1990s. State responses to these challenges have been more effective with regard to employment than with regard to their impact on housing and security. La crisis económica y social en Argentina a finales del 2001 acabó con una década de política de mercado libre o neoliberalismo que tenía sus raíces en la dictadura militar (1976–1983). Los desafíos contemporáneos que encara la ciudad, al lado de la herencia de su pasado reciente, incluye el agrandar del desequilibrio social, el crimen, la pobreza, y la dificultad del manejo de servicios públicos los cuales fueron privatizados comprensivamente durante los 1990. Las respuestas del estado a estos retos han sido más eficaces en torno al empleo que en su impacto en la vivienda y la seguridad.

Composing the social factory: An autonomist urban geography of Buenos Aires

“…Despite impressive statistics – between 2003 and 2007 the economy grew by 9% a year, unemployment fell from above 20% to below 9%, and the poverty rate almost halved from around 50 to 27% (Levitsky and Murillo, 2008: 17) – these were starting from an extremely low base and reflect the once-large middle classes re-finding their feet. Accordingly, the pre-crisis socio-economic realties of a fragmented, racially striated city and class structure persisted – in the post-crisis ‘recovery’ decade, residents of both BAMA’s gated communities and villas grew by 50% (Benwell et al., 2013).…”

“…The crisis’s economic impact must be factored in here, again creating an unnaturally low base, but the trend has only worsened, with average rents now $224.1/m 2 (Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 2017: 20). Faster and higher than rises in both wages and inflation, these rent increases squeezed CABA’s population, contributing to a serious housing crisis (Benwell et al., 2013). This crisis was/is most acute in CABA’s south.…”

State-community collaborative strategies to enable the right to the city in Argentina

“…As critics point out, 3 The last military regime in Argentina from 1976 to 83 is characterized by mass state violence and human rights abuses, state reorganization, ballooning national debt, as well as a growing inequality within the population (see Ferrer, 2012;Veigel, 2009). 4 Argentina is said to have had the most intensive experience with the 'neoliberal experiment' in Latin America (Azpiazu, 2002;Benwell et al, 2013)In terms of effects on the social housing sector, loans from multilateral financial institutions mandated extensive restructuring, including privatization of the National Mortgage Bank, the reduction of state spending per housing unit, and the refocusing of programs to beneficiaries who could contribute higher down payments. Reform of the 'Federal Housing Systems Law' did not allow for diversification of housing programs outside of introducing private sector intermediaries into the process of construction and financing of 'turn-key' housing units, which overall resulted in the reduced affordability of state-subsidized housing units (Angel, 2001).…”

“…The resulting 2002 economic crisis, characterized by unprecedented unemployment, urban poverty, and spatial and economic inequality, substantially transformed Argentina. The widespread experience of this crisis demonstrated the broad social and economic failings of neoliberal approaches and prompted a broad reassessment of the state's responsibility for providing basic needs (Benwell, Haselip, & Borello, 2013;Teubal, 2004). During this period, a variety of social organizations, cooperatives, and NGOs emerged as important actors in the provision of housing and formed a strong presence in urban centres across the country.…”

“…This neoliberal backlash, particularly in Latin America, has arisen from widespread social demands reacting to the underlying logic of neoliberal privatization, exploitation, and state roll-back, and the resulting social and economic inequality (Radcliffe, 2012). In Argentina this involves increased state involvement in refocusing the economy and development policies in pursuit of more equitable growth and social stability through regulation and social security programs (Benwell et al, 2013;Grugel & Riggirozzi, 2007). The way in which right to the city movements employ concepts such as the social production of habitat has succeeded in influencing policy in Argentina and serves as a reminder that processes beyond neoliberal urban development are playing an important role in shaping Argentinean cities today.…”