Economist.com Cities Guide: Buenos Aires Briefing - July 2005

News this month

Drug habit

A series of high-profile drug busts have highlighted Buenos Aires's growing cocaine problem. In May, police dismantled a cocaine-processing laboratory on the outskirts of the capital, arresting 20 people. And in June, they intercepted 103 kilos of cocaine being transported to Buenos Aires from Rosario. The country has also become a hub for the export—particularly to Europe—of drugs produced elsewhere in South America. In May, police in Spain discovered a tonne of cocaine that had arrived from the port of Campana in Buenos Aires province. Related raids in Buenos Aires uncovered another 190 kilos.

The discovery in 2004 of 60 kilos of cocaine sent by air from Buenos Aires to Madrid highlighted another issue: the lack of security controls at Ezeiza, the capital's main airport. The government-appointed administrator who has run Ezeiza since February said recently that it would take at least a year to implement tighter controls.

Violent times

Shootings last year overtook road accidents as the principal cause of violent death in Buenos Aires. According to a local press report, 18% of the 1,278 violent deaths recorded in 2004 were due to gunshots, while 17% resulted from road accidents. The next most common cause, accounting for around 10% of victims, was falling from heights.

The figures back up complaints from porteños—as residents of the capital are known—of a growing crime wave. They are all the more striking because the city government earlier this year announced a marked increase in traffic accidents; Buenos Aires has one of the worst road safety records in the world. Visitors, however, may be consoled by the fact that this murder rate is lower than that of most other large cities on the continent. Also, according to the Justice Ministry, the city’s crime rate was unchanged last year.

On Guard

In response to continuing public concern about crime in Buenos Aires, Aníbal Ibarra, the mayor, has launched a new Urban Guard to patrol the streets. This is just a first step in the long-delayed creation of a city-run force. Since 1994, when Buenos Aires became an autonomous district, successive city-council leaders have asked the national government to hand over control of the capital's Federal Police force. The process has suffered repeated political hiccups, however, so many see the new Urban Guard as a good sign.

Still, scepticism seems to be in order. The Urban Guard, which is meant to complement (not compete with) the Federal Police force, will number just 300 officers. That amount should rise to 700 by the year-end, but the officers will be unarmed and well shy of the Federal force's 12,000-plus policemen. The Guard's main tasks will be to offer assistance, control public parks and enforce traffic regulations. In the event of a crime, these new officials will simply call the police.

The show won't go on

Sparking a political storm, Roberto Gallardo, a local judge, has closed Buenos Aires’s main conference and exhibition centre, La Rural. It seems the venue had been operating for four years with only a provisional licence. While the owners argue that the venue is entirely safe and the provisional licence is sufficient, the judge said that such a venue had to have all its papers in order. His decision, which threatens to cancel the city’s annual farm show, was lambasted by the city council; its leaders say they will appeal and seek Mr Gallardo’s impeachment.

The case once again highlights flaws in the city's licensing and inspection process, already under scrutiny after a nightclub fire in December killed 194 people. Mr Gallardo has a record of irritating Aníbal Ibarra, the city mayor. He has previously closed down schools and the local casino, and once docked Mr Ibarra’s wages in a dispute over the city's homeless.

Going cheap

While porteños fret about rising inflation and falling purchasing power, Buenos Aires remains one of the cheapest cities in the world for foreigners, according to a study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. In a survey of living costs in 144 cities worldwide, only Asunción in Paraguay and Manila in the Philippines ranked lower, in dollar terms.

Devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2002 dropped Buenos Aires from near the top of the rankings almost to the bottom, sending tourism and exports soaring. Despite the peso's rebound, it has been kept low in recent months mainly by the Central Bank's hefty dollar purchases. Many economists doubt this policy is sustainable. Argentina is also under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to let the peso rise, in order to dampen inflation and enable larger payments on its debt.

Catch if you can

July 2005

Die Walküre

July 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 20th 2005

Charles Dutoit, a talented Swiss conductor, returns to the Colón opera house this month to oversee the latest instalment of Richard Wagner's “Ring of the Nibelung”. Mr Dutoit's direction last year of the prologue, “Das Rheingold”, received rave reviews, whetting appetites for this year's chapter, “Die Walküre”. The work will be performed by an international cast led by two Americans: Thomas Studebaker, a tenor, and Dinah Bryant, a soprano. Local Wagner-lovers have learnt to be patient: the four-part Ring Cycle has not been performed in a single season since 1967. But all good things come to those who wait: Mr Dutoit will return in 2006 and 2007 to complete the job.

Teatro Colón, Libertad 621, Tribunales. Tel: +54 (0)11 4378-7344. See the theatre’s website.

More from the Buenos Aires cultural calendar