In March 2012, Brazilian judge Jirair Aram Meguerian ordered that the nation’s government had to evict all loggers and settlers working illegally in the demarcated region belonging to the indigenous Awá tribe within 12 months. Fourteen calendar pages have come and gone, and the government has still not completed a successful eviction. But the issue is still of utmost importance. Two weeks ago, coinciding with National Indigenous People’s Day, Brazilian aborigines occupied congress to protest a law that would give congress power in the demarcation of tribal lands. Furthermore, the quandary facing the Awá people is at a crux, and if changes are not made soon, the tribe may face extinction.

The failure to carry out the evictions simply marks the latest obstacle in a long series of misdoings against the Awá, deemed the world’s most endangered tribe by human rights NGO Survival International. Despite the area they inhabit being demarcated as a protected region in 2005, after a two-decade battle for such a distinction, these illegal loggers continue to threaten the existence of the Awá people, both by destroying the forests that constitute their home and by using firearms against the indigenous people they come into contact with. The tribe is believed to be numbered at about 360 people, with roughly 20% more thought to be living without contact with the outside world. Without increased action by the Brazilian government, the chances of the Awá of avoiding the fate of countless other persecuted tribes, of becoming little more than footnotes in a history book, look bleak.

The Tribe

Located in four regions within the western half of the Brazilian state of Maranhão, the Awá people -a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers- are marked by a deep connection with the natural environment they inhabit.

Awá tribe members are known to have many pets, including boars, vultures, and coatis (relatives of the raccoon). It is even common for Awá women to breastfeed animals such as capuchins, howler monkeys, and small pigs, and coatis are known to share hammocks with the Awá. In fact, many families have more pets than they have children. And while animals such as monkeys are a source of protein for the Awá, the hunters try to avoid killing animals they recognise as former pets released into the wild.

“When we find a baby animal, we want to look after it,” an Awá woman called Parakeet told Survival International. The names of Awá people change throughout their lives as more suitable titles arise. “When [the animals] are older, they become independent and go back to the forest. Sometimes when we’re out hunting, I’ll see one of our pets and say, ‘don’t hunt it!’ I would never eat an animal we raised. We looked after it, we watched it grow. If I ate it I would feel terrible. I can hear the howler monkey that used to be my pet singing in the forest. My pet lives in the forest, and now it’s going to make a family of its own.”

The Past

The troubles faced by the Awá people date as far back as the 1950s when ranchers and loggers approached their territory after the construction of road BR322. A major threat to the tribe materialised in 1967 when large deposits of rich iron ore were found in the hills of Carajás, which lie to the west of the four regions occupied by the Awá. This resulted in the installation of the Great Carajás Project, a series of dams, smelters, and cattle ranches — and, in 1985, a railway — funded by the US, Japan, the EU, and the World Bank. The project decimated the area’s forests and just 14 years after the discovery of iron ore in the area, Brazil’s National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) reported that over half of the 56 indigenous people contacted in 1976 had died.

In the following decades, organisations such as Survival, FUNAI, the Indigenous Missionary Counsel (CIMI), the Coordination of Indigenous Organisations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), and the Pro-Indian Commission of São Paulo have pressed for increased protection of the indigenous population, calling for Awá demarcation as early as 1985. The Brazilian government was lethargic in its response. In 1999 the government noted 240 cases of illegal occupation in the Awá region, and in 2005 the territory was officially demarcated by the state as a tribal territory, thanks in part to a petition submitted by Survival International. Meanwhile, the logging and ranching industries continued to threaten the Awá’s survival with assaults against the environment and acts of violence against the indigenous people.

By 2010, about one-third of the area occupied by the tribe had been destroyed, and experts deemed the situation genocidal, a characterisation that is still held by advocates to this day.

The Present

Currently, the Awá face more danger of extinction than ever. In 2012, FUNAI released evidence that the illegal loggers were but 3km away from the Awá’s location. While the government failed to act on Judge Meguerian’s orders, the Awá’s sustainability remained in jeopardy. The tribesmen are now afraid to hunt, because they do not want to be seen by the loggers or ranchers and put themselves at risk of being killed.

As roads increasingly spring up in the territory, another great fear is that the invaders will encounter uncontacted Awá tribe members. It is believed that they would have severely adverse reactions to the loggers and ranchers because of their lack of interaction with the outside world. “A common cold could kill them,” states Survival.

According to Survival, “there are several accounts of [uncontacted aborigines] being killed by loggers and ranchers, but there is no recent confirmed data and encounters are not reported.” Survival has recorded video footage of loggers illegally occupying the area, but were unable to take action as the loggers are typically armed.

“It’s not too late for the Awá, but it soon will be,” said Stephen Corry, director of Survival International. “It is entirely within the Minister of Justice’s capabilities to evict loggers, but he must act today. If he doesn’t, tomorrow the Awá will be gone.”

The failure to reach the deadline for evictions should result in daily fines for FUNAI, said Alice Bayer, spokeswoman for Survival International, but she thinks it is unlikely that they will actually be paid.

“The situation is clear cut: the invaders are illegal and must be removed,” Bayer said. “The solution is simple and plans are already in place. They now need to be put into action before they become useless ideas that were implemented too late to save lives.“

The Misconception

While it is possible the Brazilian government has dragged its feet in matters regarding the protection of Amazonian tribes simply due to lack of urgency, there are signs of an ideologically based belief that the tribes are simply undergoing an inevitable and necessary assimilation into Western society.

One politician who has espoused such beliefs is senator Katia Abreu.

“Who benefits from [increased protection of the indigenous groups]?” Abreu asked. “Not our country, which today enjoys the best and cheapest food in the world and boasts of being the globe’s second-largest food exporter…. Neither do the Indians (sic), who as their numbers show don’t need more physical space, but sanitation, education and an efficient health system. They need, in short, a better life, like all of us.”

Bayer denounced that view.

“The view of Senator Abreu stems from a position of racism, which sees the life of self-sufficient tribal peoples as ‘backward’,” she said. “She seems to be proposing that tribal peoples would be better off if they joined mainstream society. But we have seen time and time again that the forced integration of tribal peoples into the mainstream can have devastating consequences, often leading to addiction, disease, and dependency on government handouts.”

Survival made a strong push to fight such ideology with its ‘Progress Can Kill’ report, released in 2007. The report notes how assimilation into “progressive” cultures often ravages the lives of those in indigenous communities, commonly leading to maladies such as alcoholism, suicide, starvation, obesity, and sexually transmitted diseases, if not all-out extinction.

Survival also confronts the opinion, raised within the Brazilian political sphere too, that the case of the Awá cannot be deemed genocide, as hundreds of lives are at stake, not thousands or millions: “Apart from [the number] having no relevance in law, such an interpretation discriminates against Amazon Indians (sic) who are numerically small.”

The Campaign

Survival International launched a new campaign to protect the Awá in 2012, including a short film depicting the troubles the tribe is facing as well as a detailed and interactive website that cites the reasons that governmental measures are necessary and educates readers on the Awá people. Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth narrates the short film and has worked as an advocate for the cause, hoping to raise international awareness of the issue.

Thus far, over 50,000 letters have been sent to Brazilian Minister of Justice José Eduardo Cardozo, who is the focus of the campaign and who is addressed by name by Firth in the video. The campaign’s Facebook page sports 34,000 likes, and the organisation also provides an opportunity to donate money to support the cause.

Survival has been involved with the case of the Awá since as early as the 1950s when one of its founders, Francis Huxley, went to the area and did research regarding the uncontacted aborigines. The organisation has continually petitioned the government to address the issue in the decades since and has published various reports on the Awá’s crisis, in addition to the ‘Progress Can Kill’ report. The organisation is funded primarily by small donations, as it does not accept money from any governments in order to avoid political influence.

The Hope

The works of the Survival campaign have not resulted in an effective governmental eviction of the illegal loggers and ranchers, but support and awareness has increased for the cause around the world. Actors like Firth and Gillian Anderson have raised awareness, Brazilian football supporters have taken on the cause as the 2014 World Cup approaches, and the ‘awáIcon’ logo has popped up worldwide in photographs and as street art to support the cause.

And while the Brazilian government still has a long way to go in terms of protecting the Awá tribe, it did ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Convention No. 169, an international law created in 1989 that secures land rights for tribes. Brazil is one of only 22 countries to ratify the law, although there have been questions as to whether or not it is actually being followed. Furthermore, the nation ratified “the genocide convention, which imposes a duty on the state to investigate and prosecute if genocide is suspected,” per Survival International.

However, the most inspiring bit of hope in the Awá narrative may lie in the story of a man named Karapiru. In 1978, his community of uncontacted Awá people were attacked by a gunman. He escaped, and spent the next ten years in complete isolation. Eventually he was found, and, because the attending anthropologist was unable to understand Karapiru’s language, members of various tribes met with him in hopes of finding a linguistic connection. Finally, he met with an indigenous man named Xiramuku. As The Atlantic’s Joanna Eede reports, “Not only could Xiramuku understand Karapiru’s language, but he used one specific Awá word that instantly transformed Karapiru’s life: he called him ‘father’.” Karapiru was reunited with the Awá people and integrated back into their culture; a miraculous, storybook ending.

The beacon of hope that lies in storybooks, however, is threatened by the sawmill of colonialisation found in history books. If drastic efforts are not made by the Brazilian government to heed the plight of the Awá, hope might be all that tribesmen like Karapiru have left.

“I hope the same things that happened to me won’t happen to my daughter,” said Karapiru, according to The Atlantic article. “I hope she will eat lots of game, lots of fish, and grow up to be healthy. I hope it won’t be like in my time.”

 

Do people believe indigenous people in the region are being sufficiently protected? Click here to find out.

Citizen requests are flooding the website of the National Administration of Social Security (ANSES), as the Procrear credit program opens up to funding queries for new housing construction and mortgage loans.

The program primarily targets owners of land seeking to finance construction on their properties. Yesterday, however, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner decreed a new plan to address relocation and mortgage financing.

The government has published a list of 86 properties, totalling 1820 hectares throughout all provinces, which will be the sites of new housing developments. These include Rosario, Mendoza, La Plata, and Buenos Aires, each with areas set aside for new housing.

Following yesterday’s decree, query submissions on the ANSES web site have quadrupled, bringing in approximately 150 visits per second. Of the requests made so far, 56% have come from people who currently own land, while 43% have come from individuals without land, seeking mortgage loans or relocation.

The Procrear program is aimed at boosting economic activity, creating jobs, and providing solutions to the housing problems of low-income families. While acknowledging that there is a relatively large amount of credit available through major public and private banks, yesterday’s decree also cautioned “the conditions are highly restrictive for potential applicants of different income levels.”

Mortgage loans will be financed through a state-supported trust offering fixed interest rates between 2% and 14%, for plans up to 30 years. People of lower income will have access to smaller loans for which the monthly fee does not exceed 40% of their income.  The system will receive additional funding through bonds issued by the trust.

“[This project] is a safe investment for ANSES resources,” said ANSES chief Diego Bossio. “When a loan is designed with affordable terms, people pay.”

 

In what appears to be part of a wider picture of urban and economic development in the South-East of the city, in December 2011 the Buenos Aires City legislative body approved a law to build a future commercial, cultural and gastronomical centre in San Telmo.

The plans for the centre have generated controversy, dividing opinion among residents. Every Thursday, a group of teachers, students, and artisan workers meet in a small classroom under the 25 de Mayo motorway bridge in the Mercedes Céspedes sports centre. They are there to fight against the centre, which in their eyes poses a serious and deep threat to local education and social activity.

A Controversial Project in the Epicentre of San Telmo

The project, known as Feria del Sur, was voted on virtually unanimously by legislators of the PRO party and by the majority of the opposition. Out of 55, only four abstentions and one negative vote were cast. The law must be voted on twice, and since the composition of deputies in the Legislative body has changed since the first vote, the construction of Feria del Sur is probable, though not yet definite.

The construction of the centre would involve a $15 million investment from a group of four private construction companies; Lanusse S.A., Criba S.A., Servente S.A., and Crivelli Construcciones. Feria del Sur would be located between Bolivar and the half block between Balcarce and Paseo Colón, under the 25 de Mayo motorway. It would measure 16,000m2, with parking space for 266 cars. According to the presentation of the project, the centre would include “cultural, community and commercial activities” including a cinema and restaurants, as well as a graffiti wall and a gallery.

It is hoped that Feria del Sur will bring diversity, money and tourism to the barrio, upliftingand modernising the area underneath the motorway, that according to the governmnet has been “abandoned.”

Although it is generally accepted that the area still needs to be improved, its critics ask why improvement must mean radical change, instead of maintaining and upgrading what is already there.

In the proposed location under the motorway, an artisan cooperative and a community sports centre can be found. While the artisan shops hope to be involved in the project, it is still unknown what would happen to the Mercedes Céspedes sports centre. Schools in the area use the centre for physical education, and a number of local community projects operate here as well. If the shopping centre goes ahead, their space could disappear.

Unifying San Telmo and Healing the “Scar” Created by the Motorway

In 1980, the 25 de Mayo motorway was created, and for most people its construction split San Telmo in two, effectively creating two separate barrios. 20 years later, both the City Government and the private companies state that a principal function of Feria del Sur is to “unify the division in San Telmo, and involves large scale investment in the south of the City.”

Speaking to local paper El Sol de San Telmo, Eduardo Servente, from Servente S.A, deems the project a way to heal the “scar” that the motorway has created in San Telmo, a way to “cure the injuries produced by the motorway and unify the two sections of the barrio which are today separated by an inhospitable and ugly place.” The creation of a shopping centre would also respond to local preoccupation with the safety of an area that can still pose dangers: “Another issue that many people mentioned was the light and security in the area just next to the motorway, and how we could improve it.”

David Kullock, research professor and director of Urban Planning Post-Graduate study at the University of Buenos Aires believes the shopping centre would do nothing to heal the division. “These are just words. On the contrary, it would divide. A shopping centre could never be a friend to everybody – it’s a social fallacy. Of course, this would create more divides.

“This centre wouldn’t be for people who actually live in San Telmo,” he continues. “These residents aren’t the type of people who are going to use a shopping centre. Its purpose is to capture middle class people and tourists.” Kullock explains that the social effects of a shopping centre are extremely difficult to predict, but that in this instance, the project could potentially create more divides within the area.

Efrain Cruz, actively against Feria del Sur, has worked hard to develop the area, as well as volunteering in social activity locally, and is involved at the Mercedes Céspedes sports centre. For him, these claims come too late. For the last eleven years, he has been working extensively with others in the barrio to help unify San Telmo. He opened Feria Gráfica just under the motorway, a shop selling graphic art that upholds Argentine tradition. Along with the Artisan

Cooperative across the street and the creation of the sports centre, it has made people cross San Juan to the area under the motorway, which aided in bridging the divide. He is outraged by the project proposal: “This private project called Feria del Sur seems to tell us that it’s coming to do what we’ve been doing for 11 years.”

The Impact in Focus: Sacrificing Education

Cruz has not only worked to help bridge the divide and improve the area, but he has also been involved in projects aiming to help local children. Around 2,500 children from local schools in the area use the Mercedes Céspedes sports centre for physical education, and the destruction of the sports centre would leave them without a space to practise sport.

Those at the centre work hard to offer help and activities for children in the area. Local schools use the centre to offer extra classes for children who are falling behind at school, an activity the schools currently do not have space for. Groups such as ‘Club de Jovenes’ and ‘Taller de Musica’ also operate here, offering help to children from difficult or violent backgrounds, and giving free music classes to local children.

Unfairly, those at the sports centre only found out about the project through a journalist who came to ask them what they thought for an article about Feria del Sur. There is a strong feeling that they have been left in the dark, left only to wonder about what will happen to the children, the centre and the social activity that is done there. They have reached out to legislators, writing questions to ask what will happen to the centre, but they have been met with silence.

“These people just don’t care that 2,000 children will be left without a space,” says Diaz. “They will destroy everything that we have created. You can improve without destroying.”

Improvement, maintenance, investment are all welcome; they know the area is not without its faults. But what continually emerges is the sense that macrismo is leaving them behind – favouring big, private businesses and allowing their work to crumble in the wake. Moving somewhere else simply is not an option; there is no other space in San Telmo that could cater for the 2,500 school children as well as the social activities.

“There is no better place around here for what we’re doing. They’re putting in private money to a public space, when they should be investing and maintaining it,” says Ricardo Fuentes, a delegate for volunteers in the 4th district.

Next Steps

As it stands, it seems that only those behind the project – the government and the private companies – can see the advantages of Feria del Sur, while locals feel that investment is necessary, but that this project is not worth sacrificing a community centre and the barrio’s authentic feel.

For Kullock, a modern shopping centre in San Telmo is the “antithesis” of the backdrop of antiquity and bohemia that characterises the barrio. There is “no advantage of building this shopping centre. I think San Telmo is the worst place that they could be building it.” He notes that San Telmo has undergone much change and development over the last 20 years, and currently there are areas that need developing much more.

“They have to invent words: ‘would complement’, ‘would diversify’ – but for me we don’t need to make San Telmo more diverse, but instead we should aim to focus on its uniqueness, on its singularity.”

The second vote on Feria del Sur is on 9th May. Until then, those at the sports centre will continue to campaign against it. For now, they are distributing flyers, and talking to legislators, but they will protest if their concerns continue to be met with silence.

It is impossible to tell what the project will do for the area. PRO legislators must now decide if the change, improvement and development the project could bring to San Telmo is enough tosacrifice local work of the last 11 years, or if Feria del Sur will ultimately create a much deeper and long-lasting scar in San Telmo.

Find out what the locals think about development in San Telmo here.

In December of 2011, a law was voted on by the Buenos Aires City legislative body for a substantial new commercial and cultural centre to be built in bohemian San Telmo. Heralded as a necessary modernisation of a derelict neighbourhood, the Feria del Sur project is to include a mixture of shops, restaurants, bars, a gallery, and a cinema. Essentially, it will bring money and tourism to the underdeveloped area under the 25 de Mayo motorway bridge – between Bolívar and Paseo Colón.

Before the new centre can be approved, the legislative body must vote once more, but with 50 out of 55 ‘yes’ votes, the project already seems inevitable.

Yet not everyone sees this development project as indisputably beneficial for the area. The new shopping mall will be constructed on the very ground that Mercedes Céspedes, a community centre which helps around 2000 children, is currently sitting on. Although the developers are promising to help the centre move elsewhere, it is clear that there is nowhere near to go, side-lining countless vital community projects.

The Indy took to the San Telmo neighbourhood to see what the locals had to say about this development project.

Patricio Useglio, 30, Rosario

I think that some development in San Telmo would be good, but not a shopping centre. There are other things that need to be developed first in the area that are more based on the culture around here, more clubs and more social things. Instead government money should be going towards more benefits for the clubs and the community centres. I think it will affect the area in a bad way. I don’t think they should move the community centre, for the children that go there to play some sport, it is very important to be near to the house, and it would be very hard to move to another place.

Norma Mesquiatti, 49, Artisan, San Telmo

Certain areas and aspects of San Telmo need to be developed further, for example, the protection of the historic quarter, regularisation of street sellers, the situation of artisans, and also the preservation of antique shops that are being lost.

I think [the proposed development] is going to be negative, the spirit of San Telmo is not just the historic centre but also the foundation of the city. In fact that’s why San Telmo became famous in the first place, with all the antique shops. It represents everything that is old, it represents the foundation of Buenos Aires.

I will never be for a project that goes against solidarity and justice. The kids need community centres, and I hope one day we won’t need them, but for the time being I know that they shelter many children from the street. That is fundamental for social development, not only for San Telmo, but also for the country.

Kevin Dean, 24, Food Entrepreneur, Belgrano

Part of San Telmo’s charm is that it’s underground, hippy, and bohemian, so I’m not sure if a commercial mall fits with the whole vibe. Although, I do think the plans might gentrify the area a bit more. Sometimes when a sports stadium is built they usually put it in a not so good neighbourhood, so that more businesses, restaurants, and bars sprout up, and it usually works. But I don’t know if San Telmo needs a shopping centre, as it’s cool as it is. It could be good for the market because it could bring more people, but it might be bad because people might go to the mall instead of San Telmo fair.

If the community centre can be moved to a good location, then I don’t think it’s a problem. But I sometimes think becomes a last priority concerning plans like this, so they should have that sorted before they start knocking [the community centre] down.

Olena Proskurova, 48, Retired, Microcentro

I don’t like the idea of a commercial centre because when they build it they are going to destroy the area. With modernisation, San Telmo will loose its style. I like San Telmo, because it’s small, old, romantic, it has warmth, and is comfortable. This is not an area to be building modern buildings, although I understand it’s business and it can bring a lot of money here. It might be good in more modern areas, like Puerto Madero, but not in San Telmo.

I‘m not against Macri, or Cristina, I just don’t like it. If it is an area where people go out for walks, with restaurants then I would like that, but not a commercial centre.

It’s better to leave to community centre for the kids, instead of building anything else. Macri wants to build things like shopping centres for money, and the community centre doesn’t matter because he can’t make a profit out of children. Children don’t produce money, they are the ones that need investment.

Venecia Negron, 28, Secretary, Palermo 

The idea of a shopping centre has nothing to do with San Telmo, because it is a very touristy neighbourhood, and a shopping centre is a monster.

But, I don’t like Havanna and Starbucks in this neighbourhood, I feel they have nothing to do with downtown San Telmo. The building where Starbucks was built was originally a very old, very touristy café, it was stupid to replace it. These new modern developments should be in Palermo or a more modern neighbourhood, but not in San Telmo.

The people that sell at the market are the artisans, who live and sell their handcrafts. If you put a commercial centre too close it won’t help these people, it will only be for tourists.

I think to replace somewhere that is a centre for the community is total madness. It’s not necessary. It is more necessary to have community centres to help the children.

Mauricio Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires, plans to expand the Julio A. Roca Avenue, more commonly known as Diagonal Sur, as far as the 9 de Julio Avenue.

Currently Diagonal Sur starts at the Plaza de Mayo and ends on Belgrano Avenue but, if approved, the project will require the demolition of approximately 40 buildings in the surrounding area.

Macri’s purpose is to finish the “symbolic structure of the city”, a project which was planned a century ago.  He also looking to build an underground parking garage underneath Diagonal Sur.

Congressmen from the opposition have questioned the usefulness of the project while the Central Society of Architects has praised the initiative.

Editor’s note: The original article incorrectly stated that the street was commonly known as ‘Diagonal Norte’, when it is ‘Diagonal Sur’. This has since been amended.

Despite a strong economic recovery since 2003 and various government efforts at social inclusion, many Argentines remain working in the informal sector, impoverished, or unemployed. Implemented in 2009, the Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH), a conditional cash transfer programme tied to children’s school attendance and vaccination, has reduced poverty and increased class attendance around the country, according to government and independent studies.

Closely mimicking successful programmes in Brazil and Chile, the policy entails a monthly payment of up to $180 per child of unemployed and informal workers. Eighty percent of the subsidy is paid out automatically; the remaining 20% is issued when parents present valid vaccine documentation for children aged four and under, or proof of school attendance starting at the age of five. The measure includes a $720 monthly subsidy for children with disabilities.

The National Social Security Administration (ANSES), the organisation responsible for administering the programme, has noted its mitigating effects on poverty.

“The Asignacion Universal por Hijo has contributed significantly to the drop in poverty and indigence in Argentina,” said Diego Bossio, executive director of ANSES. Bossio backed his claims by citing independent studies and statistics from INDEC, the national statistics bureau, that say poverty in Argentina has dropped significantly since the programme’s implementation.

But INDEC in recent years has been accused of manipulating inflation statistics, which directly affects its poverty measurements.

A study by researchers Leonardo Gasparini and Guillermo Cruces at the Universidad de la Plata reinforces the government’s claims. Outlining Argentina’s need for a “massive cash transfer programme as an axis for social policy, providing relief for the most immediate economic needs of the population”, the report calls the AUH the “most transcendent social policy decision in a long time”.

Extreme poverty is down to 2.8% from 6.9%, and child poverty dropped to 3.7% from 12%, according to the report.

Investigators at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigation (CONICET) claim that the AUH has reduced indigence by up to 70%, and poverty by 13-32%. A report issued by the Council says that the AUH is the “most successful social policy measure of the last 50 years, especially for its impact on indigence and extreme inequality between rich and poor”.

Gains in School Attendance

The programme has also boosted school attendance, according to official data. The Ministry of Education, in a survey of 676 of the nation’s schools, found that 51% reported an increase in student inscription since the programme’s inception until May 2010. The average increase in attendance was 15%, and a majority of school directors credit the AUH for the gains.

But its apparent success in promoting school attendance has laid bare deep problems in Argentina’s education infrastructure, as many schools are ill-equipped to absorb the uptick in primary and secondary school enrolment, particularly in Buenos Aires province.

“The right to the AUH should imply an inclusive space, as such, the conditions to learn and teach must be in agreement with the needs of our children and teachers,” said Mirta Petrocini, president of the Federation of Buenos Aires Educators (FEB).

“The growing demand in matriculation is not reflected in a bigger budget or efficient management in order to resolve the daily problems seen in provincial schools.”

In a visit to schools in greater Buenos Aires, the FEB found hallways being used as administrative space to make room for classrooms, halted construction projects due to lack of funds, unsanitary bathrooms, leaky ceilings, deficient libraries, and a shortage of table and chairs.

A More Inclusive Social Policy, with Caveats

After the crisis of 2001-02, Argentina’s sustained economic recovery from 2003-8 led to employment recuperation and lifted many out of destitution. Although social programmes like ‘Jefes y Jefas de Hogar Desocupados’ and ‘Plan Familias’ helped certain sectors and alleviated situations of emergency, they didn’t respond to the magnitude of Argentina’s persistent poverty. Politicians, academics, and NGOs began pushing for a more inclusive distributive policy such as the AUH.

The AUH was passed by presidential decree in October 2009 and expanded coverage to children of informal and unemployed workers. At the time, the decree was criticized by opposition legislators for bypassing the parliamentary process and disallowing debate on alternative proposals.

Elisa Carrió, founder of the political party Coalición Cívica, argued that the measure isn’t redistributive because it “takes money from poor retirees and gives it to poor children” by using the pension system to pay the subsidies. Other legislators claimed the measure “foments clientelism” – exchanging favours for votes – by targeting primarily the middle and lower classes, the traditional base of the Peronist party.

In a column in La Nación, the economist Roberto Cachanosky echoed the critiques of many economists who partly blame the AUH for causing inflation in Argentina by creating consumer demand and putting upward pressure on prices. He called inflation “one of the most perverse taxes” because it disproportionately affects low-income workers, and said the recipients of the AUH have lost “a good part of their purchasing power” because of inflation – by some measures – of up to 22% annually.

These inflation worries are perhaps what lead President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, again by decree, to boost the monthly subsidy. In October, the payment will increase to $220 pesos per child, and $880 for children with disabilities, a gain of 22.2%.

A 2010 report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Argentina also lauds the programme but says there’s more work to be done.

Calling the AUH a “big advance” in terms of fortifying the economic capacity of families to send their kids to school, the report goes on to say that these types of policies are “diluted” if not accompanied by a “more profound transformation of economic, social, and educational policy”.

Lead image: President Cristina Kirchner at an event to assign the first cards for Asignación Universa por Hijo in Mar del Plata by Presidencia de la Nacion Argentina.

A report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicates that food production on the Caribbean island remains low. Agricultural production was highlighted as a fundamental tool to combat the consequences of the earthquake that occurred there earlier this year.

The study was conducted by the FAO and World Food Programme (PAM) of the United Nations.

The report indicates that current food production is 9% lower than in 2009 prior to the earthquake on 12th January. In comparison, the deficit in food production is approximately 186 thousand tons.

However, the economist for the Global Information and Early Warning System of the FAO, Mario Zappacosta, said that “food production levels could have been much worse”.

Following the January earthquake, agricultural multinational Monsanto decided to donate the equivalent of US$4 million in seeds of cabbage, hybrid maize, carrots, aubergine, melon, onion, tomato, spinach and watermelon to Haiti.

An English priest and former teacher in Port au Prince, Jean-Yves Urfi, said that “the company is offering Haitian farmers a lethal gift of 475 tons of GM maize along with fertilizers and pesticides”.

Local farming associations that practice agricultural ecology have opposed the donation.

Story courtesy of Agencia Pulsar, a news agency run by AMARC-ALC network of community radios

“Museums in Europe are beautiful, but they’re very closed off. They’re like cemeteries. (The Hudson Nature Reserve) shouldn’t be a dead museum.” These are the words of Ruben Ravera, curator of the William Henry Hudson museum and nature reserve are located to the south of Buenos Aires, just outside Quilmes.

The museum is based around the house of William Henry Hudson, author and scientist, who was born in Argentina to parents from the US, and lived here for almost 30 years before moving to Britain. Although the park does celebrate Hudson’s past, Ravera insists it is very much committed to “projecting the dreams of Hudson” in the present.

Today it stands out for the sheer range of objectives it pursues: preserving history, preserving nature, inviting scientists to study, educating school groups, supporting social development and working with indigenous communities are all activities on its agenda.

Although it is by no means the park’s only asset, the historical value of the museum is great. Hudson is remarkable for being one of the few people who unites skill as a fiction writer with talent as a scientist. On the literary side, his record is impressive: he wrote several novels, the best known of which is titled “Green Mansion,” and he moved in circles with Virginia Woolf and George Bernard Shaw. Although his books are little known in Britain, he remains popular in other countries. Most notably inJapan translations of his work are on the high school syllabus.

Most of his novels focus on the theme of nature and the author and politician Cunninghame Graham once said: “Of all the writers that I can think of, Hudson is the one that gets closest to nature. He himself was nature personified.” The author Joseph Conrad also praised him highly, writing: “The secret of his charm as a man and as a writer is still mysterious to me, something supernatural. He was a product of nature, and had something of nature’s fascination and mystery.”

As a scientist Hudson was also accomplished. He is described on the park’s website as “one of the most important naturalists of his time” and as well as publishing a number of books, he also exchanged letters with Charles Darwin. He was particularly interested in bird life, and after moving to Britain in 1869 was one of the founding members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) He was also a great conservationist at a time of the industrial revolution, when few people either in Europe or Argentina gave a thought to the damage that the unregulated creation of factories, mines and railways could cause. He is also credited with being the first known etiologist, or scientist of animal behaviour. To put it another way, he was the forefather of the likes of David Attenborough.

Artefacts relating to all of this can be seen today in the museum and surrounding parkland. However, that’s only a tiny part of what the Hudson reserve has to offer. Ravera asserts: “It’s not all about the life of Hudson, it’s about doing things inspired by Hudson.” He insists that the reserve should be actively engaged with the community in the present, and should put Hudson’s passion for preserving the environment in a modern context. One way the park does this is by demonstrating alternative energy sources, including solar power and bio fuel. It is also home to a homemade fuel-efficient oven and Ravera hopes to use the museum’s resources to spread the design in Buenos Aires’ villas, where fuel is scarce and makeshift housing gets unbearably cold during the winter. The park also plays an important role in preserving biodiversity in Buenos Aires province, and it is a refuge for hundreds of forms of bird and plant life.

Ravera also emphasises the importance of not just using the park to preserve nature, but of getting actively involved in education. Talking about the park’s role in preserving the environment, he says: “We need new people and a new way of thinking, and it’s difficult to change an older person’s mind. That’s why it’s better to try and educate the younger generation the right way than change the minds of the older one.” He laments that even now, as people become aware of the importance of biodiversity, there is still a long way to go: “There used to be around 50 species of tree in Buenos Aires. Now the average resident here can name three. There’s an incredible lack of knowledge.” Today the park tries to change this and engage the community, inviting school groups and scout organisations to stay in the park for free.

Ravera also stresses the role of the park in fostering development in Argentine society in a more general way. The reserve is located just to the south of Buenos Aires, near some of the city’s poorest districts. As such, Ravera also uses the centre as a sort of community base, which hosts installations by local artists, concerts and festivals, including an important winter solstice celebration organised by the indigenous community. Ravera tells me, “Some people ask us why we do it. ‘What has Hudson got to do with the indigenous?’ But the point is that we’re doing what he would have wanted.” He also relates social development to Hudson’s fight to conserve nature, saying “The idea of diversity is that you don’t express preference for one culture over another,” and this isn’t just true in the natural world, but in human society as well.

In the end, the park is about Hudson, but it’s also about inclusion and social progress. “You don’t have to build a fence around the reserve and say ‘this is nature, and that isn’t’,” Ravera tells me. Instead, the park is all about inviting nature in, and spreading culture out, making this is a museum that is very much alive.

The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 5pm. The address is Calle 1356 (El Zaino) between Avenida Hudson and 1379 (1888), Florenciao Varela. Contact the park by calling 2229 497 314 or emailing museo_Hudson@ic.gba.gov.ar. For more information visit the website:http://parquehudson.blogspot.com/2007/08/atlas.html

After volunteering in a Belgrano soup kitchen for two years, Patricia Frankel came to realize that while those she served each night left with full stomachs, their difficult lives remained fundamentally unaltered.

“We realized that food is important, but it doesn’t generate a change in the person’s life,” she said. “It continues the person’s dependency.”

Frankel saw so many of her fellow porteños trapped in a vicious cycle of homelessness, hunger, violence and poverty, and she wanted to find a way to help them break out by enabling them to support themselves. In Frankel’s eyes, this move to self-sufficiency would require a transition into the working world.

Thus Frankel and her husband Alfredo Schwarcz decided to start Ecobolsas last year, a project that helps a group of street kids earn a small income while promoting environmentalist ideals.

Every week, a group of homeless youth meets at the Coghlan train station to design and decorate canvas shopping bags. They then sell their creations as an alternative to the ubiquitous plastic bags that are distributed at every grocery store, fruit stand, and pharmacy in Buenos Aires.

In the beginning, Ecobolsas only had two participants. Now, a group of eight or nine show up regularly, learning design techniques from volunteers, mixing paints, and creating their bags.

Frankel, who lives in Coghlan and works as a kinesiologist, said that she sees Ecobolsas as an opportunity for “resocialization” for those who show up every week. The participants, who are mostly male, range in age from late teens to mid twenties, and often sleep in train stations or under viaducts. The majority of them have suffered turbulent, dysfunctional home lives.

“There’s a lot of violence, a lot of alcoholism, rapes, abuse,” Frankel said. “Living in the streets is terrible, so usually there’s a terrible situation at home.”

The young participants are often quite closed off when they begin working at Ecobolsas, distrusting of physical contact and reticent about their situational and emotional difficulties.

At first, many of them had trouble adjusting to the relatively structured atmosphere of Ecobolsas, as they live in what Frankel called an “anarchic manner”. But over time, they adjusted to the schedule of weekly meetings and orderly work environment.

Indeed, on the last Thursday in June, a group of regular participants sat around a picnic table chatting casually in the bright winter sun while painting their bags, occasionally walking around to talk to one of the volunteers on the scene or inquire about a particular colour of paint.

Walter Ramon, 19, first joined the group in 2009 because he was enticed by the opportunity to learn a new skill. He has since returned to school, and hopes to have a career in the army.

“She [Frankel] said we could learn to make the bags and paint and design and do something for the environment to eliminate plastic bags,” he said. “What I like is preparing the paint and painting. Before I didn’t know how to, but I learned. To me it doesn’t matter how many bags I produce or sell. What interests me is making the bags neat and presentable.”

Ramon said that the friendships that he has developed with other participants is one of his favourite parts of working at Ecobolsas.

“When I need something, they can help,” he said. “When they need a hand, I can give it to them.”

Frankel sees this growing sense of camaraderie as a positive development, as well.

“The presence of the people is not constant,” she said. “They are very reserved with their problems. But they’re forming a bit of a group now, and this is something that gives order to their lives.”

In addition to socialization, making sure the participants sell their work is important. The first objective of the group is to generate work for the down-and-out, and when the bags do not sell, Ecobolsas is not attractive to them, Frankel said.

Ecobolsas offers bags in different sizes ranging from $10 to $20, which they sell as they work at the Coghlan train station from 10am to 2pm every Thursday. They also occasionally sell the bags at political events, or in the medicine faculty at the UBA. Special purchases boost sales as well. Late last year, a Buenos Aires company bought 350 bags to distribute to their employees as Christmas presents.

The design supplies have all been donated by various community groups. Ecobolsas workers generally buy the blank bags at half price, and then keep the profits from the sale, although due to significant donations, they are often able to buy the bags for less than half.

In addition to helping the homeless youth get on their feet, Frankel said she is happy to promote environmental consciousness in Buenos Aires, an awareness that porteños are sorely lacking.

“The cartoneros are the only recyclers,” Frankel said of her city. “There is no consciousness of recycling, no separation of trash. There are many economic interests [that block environmentalist policies in Argentina]. There is a lot of impunity.”

But now the young participants are developing an interest in the environment, talking amongst themselves about local issues like river pollution.

“All of the kids have more consciousness,” Frankel said. “It’s going from the bottom up.”

Ecobolsas is always looking for more volunteers, and those who are interested can contact Frankel through the group’s Facebook page.

“The best way to collaborate is to buy the bolsas, if not for Ecobolsas itself but then for the planet,” Frankel said.

Contact Ecobolsas at ecobolsas@msn.com, or check out their Facebook page.

It used to be home to the wealthiest families in the 19th century before the yellow fever epidemic swept them all to the north of the city, leaving the working class to incubate in the damp, diseased area by the river.

Sound familiar? No, it’s not San Telmo or La Boca. It’s Barracas, literally the barracks: the barrio south of San Telmo that borders the Riachuelo river. The name is a reference to the temporary shacks that originally made up the area. Its proximity to Constitución and La Boca, as well as the presence of a slum by the river border, means that it has remained relatively undiscovered, but with building projects on the way, that may soon change.

In the 18th century, Barracas was filled with warehouses storing hides and meats brought up on the river. Later the area started filling up with mansions before the yellow fever epidemic hit.Then, it became an manufacturing zone and home to many Italian immigrants. The factories eventually fell into disuse. Now, the spaces are being put to different use, but if you have an interest in architecture, it’s worthwhile taking a walk around to spot the remnants of industrial history.

Lezama Palace (Martin Garcia 320) used to be home of Canale biscuits and the whiff of cooking dough could be smelt just walking down the road. José Canale, a Genoese immigrant, opened up a bakery on Defensa and Cochabamba in 1875 and later the factory by Lezama Park. The building has two domes and is decorated with majolica ceramics.

Nearby is the old Argentine alpargatas factory (Regimiento de Patricios 1142), which was opened by Juan Echegaray from the Basque country and a Scotsman, Robert Fraser. Just by the large flyover, on Herrera, sits the El Aguila chocolate factory – worth peek just to see the eagle statues guarding the building.
The old fish market (Villarino 2498) has been converted into the Metropolitan Centre for Design. It is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities network and tours can be taken around the converted building. Those with an interest in architecture or art should take advantage of the seminars on offer or go to one of the ferias held inside.

For more local art, take a stroll down Calle Lanín, an alternative to La Boca’s Caminito that was created when artist Marino Santa María decorated three blocks of houses in psychedelic colours with swirling ceramic designs. His atelier can be found down this road along with cosy wine-bar, Ingrata, that offers live music.

If you are feeling hungry after all that walking around, Restaurante Lanín (Suarez 1999) is just a few minutes away and will give you the strength to walk back. Also nearby is El Progreso (Montes de Oca 1702), one of the 54 bares notables: a pleasant place to sit and read with a coffee for a couple of hours.

Spirits of Barracas

St Lucy of Syracuse is the protector of eyesight and patron saint of Las Barracas district. Make your way to the parish church on Montes de Oca on 13th December, the Feast of St Lucy and Barracas day, to see the annual procession.

Whilst there, take a walk around Plaza Colombia. There used to be a house on this land, which belonged to Martín de Alzaga, a Basque tradesman, who helped defend Argentina against the English invasions in 1806 and 1807 and was then executed for opposing the Primer Triunvirato. In the middle sits the Hoisting the Flag monument, which features a 25m flagpole. There are also bronze sculptures by Julio César Vergottini and a bronze plaque, given by the city of Bogotá government. If it’s sunny, take a picnic and sit around watching old men play chess on the painted tables and teenagers flirting on the benches.

Just off Plaza de Colombia stands San Felicitas church, dedicated to Felicitas Guerrero, the young and wealthy widow of Martín de Alzaga, grandson of the Basque trader of the same name. Considered one of the most beautiful women in Buenos Aires, she was murdered in 1872 by local dandy Enrique Ocampo when she rejected him as a suitor. (Ocampo was the uncle of writers Silvina and Victoria Ocampo.) Felicitas’ parents built this gothic church in memory of their daughter. The church is the only one in Buenos Aires that contains secular statues. The figures are made of Carrara marble and show Felicitas with her husband and children.

If you want to more spirituality there is a synagogue on Brandsen. It was built by the Jewish community of Barracas and La Boca in 1930 when there were a high number of Syrian immigrants in these areas. Although you can’t enter, it’s worth taking a walk down just to see the Oriental design, the multicoloured Andalusian mosaic patio and the large onion dome at that front.

If you happen to be at the San Telmo market and don’t want to venture too far, walk a little further down Defensa to Parque Lezama. Lezama has its own amphitheatre and a weekend market. The Museum of National History is also situated there. Although this park and the mansion that houses the museum are beautiful, the area has fallen into disrepair. However, the atmosphere at the weekends makes up for the ruinous appearance as families come out to play.

Nearby are restaurants Caseros (Caseros 486) and Club Social (Caseros 442). Club Social offers traditional Porteño fare and an extensive drinks menu, whilst Caseros offers a menu of comforting meaty alternatives to beef. Also nearby and worth a try are Parrilla 1880  on Defensa, facing onto Parque Lezama and El Vulcano, further down on Ituzaingó
Making a Song and Dance

Las Barracas is not somewhere to go for a banging night out, but there are cultural events if you want to flex your linguistic muscles.

Circuito Cultural Barracas (Iriarte 2165) is a local community project that runs a murga group as well as various musical and theatre shows to promote social inclusion. Recent shows have included a play about climate change and a fake wedding party, where the audience are also the guests. Just by El Borda Hospital is Galpón Ve (Vélez Sarfield 218) that hosts a variety show on the first Saturday of every month. The shows are put together by a variety of artists involved in the circus, in music and film. In El Borda itself, there is also a cultural centre and La Colifata radio show. Both of these initiatives are run with people in the psychiatric institute itself.

El Leopardo

Barracas is low key, like a Naples of the southern hemisphere – a little derelict, but full of faded elegance. Nonetheless, the locals are friendly and, as is evident in the prevalence of cultural projects, there is a strong sense of local community.

The community and the barrio could soon change distinctly. The area needs some restoration, but risks being overwhelmed by massive, urbanisation projects. The old Bagley cookie factory (previously home to Moca Cultural Centre) and the Piccaluga textile factory have both been converted into apartments and offices. The Canale factory looks like it will go the same way.

A local shopkeeper said of the construction, “What do I know? I just know they will probably end up as offices and prices will go up, but nobody knows what’s happening. The government’s just realised all the buses come through this area and the land is worth much more.”

In the last two years, house prices have gone up in the area, but many of the building projects look far from finished and empty, so it is unclear exactly how the area will develop. For the moment, if you want to discover a Buenos Aires, still untouched by overwhelming gentrification, grab your Guia T and explore Barracas now.

To find out more about construction work in the area, go to: http://protegerbarracas.blogspot.com/.

Metropolitan Centre of Art: http://www.cmd.gov.ar

Circuito Cultural Barracas: www.ccbarracas.com.ar.

For more information about Galpón Ve, email galponve@hotmail.com or call 43044305.

Go to www.lacolifata.org to listen to a La Colifata radio show.

Find out more about the cultural centre in El Borda Hospital at http://centroculturalborda.blogspot.com.