News of poverty

Up to 150 million could join extreme poor, warns World Bank

07-10-2020 15:40 Up to 150 million people could slip into extreme poverty, living on less than US$1.90 a day, by late next year, says World Bank.

Supreme suspense in court

03-10-2020 09:49 These are busy days for the Supreme Court, which is caught in the middle of the fierce political polarisation that has dominated Argentine politics since the rise of Kirchnerismo in 2003.

by Martín Gambarotta

The incredible shrinking peso

26-09-2020 08:58 The desperate attempts that are being made to keep the dollar out of arm’s reach are bound to prove counterproductive; it is the government’s way of inadvertently warning people that, yet again, the economy is going under.

by James Neilson

Land occupations and rising poverty pose problems for Peronism

26-09-2020 08:53 The eviction of squatters at the Guernica encampment in Buenos Aires Province has been temporarily delayed – but the problems it poses and represents aren’t going away anytime soon.

Down with development

05-09-2020 09:39 Alberto and the people surrounding him are determined to solve the country’s socioeconomic problems by levelling down, taking as much as they can from the more productive parts of society and giving it to the millions who rely on handouts.

by James Neilson

Poverty-stricken defy courts and coronavirus to occupy land

05-09-2020 09:06 On the southern fringes of Buenos Aires, at the worst moment of the coronavirus pandemic, some 2,500 families are defying both the courts and Covid-19.

Slum priests, jack-of-all-trades in Buenos Aires’ villas

08-08-2020 09:59 Local church leaders take on all tasks, as they help to keep residents and their communities afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Debt deal sealed, but Argentina’s economic woes remain

08-08-2020 09:36 Experts say deal with bondholders ‘takes pressure off’ the government, but warn renegotiating terms of US$44-billion loan with IMF is now the urgent concern.

Sabina Frederic: ‘Security means protecting people, not repression’

08-08-2020 08:37 During almost eight months leading the Security Ministry, social anthropologist and university professor Sabina Frederic has found herself under criticism from both Sergio Berni and Horacio Verbitsky. In a feature-length interview, she discusses those debates, Sergio Maldonado, Facundo Castro and why mediation should be prioritised over the violent use of force.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Once-bustling La Boca struggles without tourists

23-07-2020 02:00 Legendary neighborhood, normally filled to the brim with tourists and shops, now appears deserted due to quarantine and travel regulations. Shopkeepers and residents struggle to cope with economic contraction and loneliness.

What we learned this week: July 4 to July 11

11-07-2020 08:39 Stories that caught our eye over the past seven days in Argentina.

Apocalypse now

11-07-2020 08:27 Quarantine saves thousands of lives but lockdown spells meltdown – both these truths are irrefutable and yet completely in conflict despite the efforts to present this as a false dilemma.

100 days of quarantine

27-06-2020 07:48 On March 20, President Alberto Fernández told the nation in a televised address that all citizens would enter a mandatory quarantine period in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Though restrictions in some regions have now been loosened, many Argentines are today waking up this morning to their 100th day of lockdown. Here’s a look back at how the pandemic has changed our lives.

by Michael Soltys

Pandemic puts dreams of poor young footballers on hold

20-06-2020 11:43 Football has now been cancelled for more than 80 days now with no restart in sight, cutting off thousands of young players in Argentina’s poorest barrios from what many felt was their only shot at a better life.

Lockdown: complainers will complain

30-05-2020 09:16 The debt drama will escalate if the talks fail to make progress and some bondholders decide to accelerate the situation, which could see them eventually taking the republic to court in the middle of a pandemic that is crippling for the economy.

by Martín Gambarotta

Disease that began among rich shifts to Latin America's poor

29-05-2020 13:04 The virus, initially brought to the region largely by wealthy citizens or visitors coming from Europe and the United States, is now increasingly concentrated in poorer neighbourhoods, where residents have few means of protecting themselves.

May 2-May 9: What we learned this week

02-05-2020 09:44 Key stories from the last seven days in Argentina that caught our eyes

City officials: 124 Covid-19 cases confirmed in Buenos Aires' villas

01-05-2020 16:53 Villa 31 de Retiro has the most cases of Covid-19 out of all the City's shantytowns, with 57 infections confirmed. Villa 1-11-14 follows with 48 cases. City government says it has plans to mitigate social circulation of the virus.

Alberto Fernández: ‘Every time I speak, I’m saying the truth – I don’t lie’

18-04-2020 08:14 In a feature-length interview, Argentina's president addresses the coronavirus pandemic and opens up about his private life and relationship with both Peronism and Radicalism, explaining why he is more a child of hippie culture than Peronist doctrine.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Desperate hunt for food by Peru's poor amid virus quarantine

08-04-2020 07:21 Pandemic has spotlighted the wide gap between rich and poor in Peru. Economists say a looming recession worse than any since World War II could push the continent's long-suffering poor into even more dire circumstances.