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

News this month

Election elation

Voters in Buenos Aires, the focal point of October 23rd’s mid-term congressional elections, gave Néstor Kirchner ample reason to celebrate. Argentina’s president had declared the elections in the city and surrounding province—which comprise almost half the country’s voters—to be a vital test of his support.

Buenos Aires province is the stronghold of Mr Kirchner's predecessor and former backer, Eduardo Duhalde, now his main rival within the ruling Peronist party. Competition between the two men played out in a heated senate race between their wives. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner won 46% of the vote to Hilda “Chiche” Duhalde’s 20%, a result that cements the Kirchners’ standing and bodes ill for Mr Duhalde. In the capital city, Mr Kirchner’s candidate for the lower house came third (defeated by Mauricio Macri, president of Boca Juniors, a football club), but this did little to dampen the president’s spirits—nationally, his candidates won about 40% of the vote.

Tainted victory?

The elections in Buenos Aires were marred by charges of corruption, smear campaigns and vote-buying. In Buenos Aires province, politicians accused each other of securing votes by handing out electrical goods, school supplies and clothing. (Both the government and the local Peronists, led by Mr Duhalde, denied any wrongdoing.) Meanwhile in the capital, Elisa Carrió, the centre-left opposition leader, blamed her defeat on an alleged government campaign to discredit one of her leading candidates, tainting her by association.

Talk of foul play is common in Argentine politics, and often has little effect. Charges that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner bought votes and paid campaign workers with unemployment benefits did little to stain her campaign.

Jailhouse blues

In the latest rash of prison violence in Buenos Aires province, a fire at Magdalena jail killed 32 prisoners in October. Prison authorities said that fighting inmates had set fire to mattresses and barricaded a cellblock to prevent victims from escaping. But Felipe Solá, governor of Buenos Aires province, questioned this official account. Many reports have suggested that while prisoners started the fire, it was the guards who locked them in. Faulty fire-fighting equipment seems to have exacerbated the problem.

The fire is the latest in a string of prison scandals in the province, with critics blaming overcrowding, appalling conditions and corruption among prison authorities. Fear of mounting street crime has led to tougher sentencing and stiff parole rules, measures that have doubled the number of prisoners in the province over the last five years. And while prisons are stuffed, they have few convicted criminals. Last year the Supreme Court found that three-quarters of the prisoners in Buenos Aires’s jails were still awaiting trial.

The fat lady sings

Faced with continuing strikes, the city government has cancelled the rest of the season's performances at the Teatro Colón opera house. In the past, the old mantra that “the show must go on” had ruled supreme: during a strike in the 1950s, operas were accompanied by just a piano, and during theatre restorations in the 1980s, they were simply staged elsewhere. But this year has seen record disruptions—authorities say musicians and backstage workers have held 39 strikes so far.

Gustavo López, the city's culture secretary, called off what was left of the season in late October, arguing that the Colón could not guarantee the quality of performances, or that they would take place at all. Workers cancelled their latest protest, but Mr López said he would not reopen the Colón unless they promised not to disrupt performances during negotiations.

Going down

Visitors to Buenos Aires ride the city’s 130,000 lifts at their own risk. According to the local government, 90,000 do not have the required inspection certificates, and about 50,000 have not even been authorised for use. A local newspaper reported that last year courts launched 25 investigations into lift accidents, six of which resulted in injuries (none fatal). The parlous state of the lifts explains odd signs seen in some of the city's older buildings: “Since there are stairs, the administration takes no responsibility for use of the lift.”

Catch if you can

November 2005

Creamfields

November 12th 2005

The Creamfields electronic music festival returns to Buenos Aires for the fifth straight year. This event is not for the weak of heart—last year, 55,000 fans sprawled across the 13-hectare site along the River Plate, and this year's organisers are hoping for an even bigger crowd.
Creamfields will feature many of the acts that made last year's event a success, as well as a smattering of new bands. The line-up is headed by the Prodigy, a London “techno-punk” band last in Buenos Aires in 1998. Other artists include Audio Bullys and Paul Oakenfold, billed as the world's leading DJ. Local acts include Hernán Cattáneo, a famous Argentine DJ, and Emanuel Horvilleur, a pop star.

Costanera Sur. For tickets: + 54 (0)11 4321-9700 or Ticketek. See also the Creamfields website.

More from the Buenos Aires cultural calendar