Economist.com Cities Guide: Buenos Aires Briefing - April 2006

News this month

Given the sack

In an unprecedented move, Buenos Aires officials have sacked the city's mayor. On March 7th a jury of city councillors ruled that Aníbal Ibarra had failed to uphold safety standards, making him partly responsible for the tragic fire at the República Cromañón nightclub in December 2004, which killed 194 people. The verdict was a surprise: Mr Ibarra's opponents needed ten of the jury's 15 votes and seemed likely to fall short. But a councillor who had previously stormed out of the proceedings returned to vote against the mayor, and he was unexpectedly joined by a councillor loyal to Néstor Kirchner, the Argentine president who had tacitly backed Mr Ibarra. These two men tipped the balance.

The families of the fire's victims are now calling for Mr Ibarra to be grilled by the judge investigating the disaster, with a view to criminal charges. But the former mayor refuses to be cowed. Citing poll results showing that a majority of the city's residents opposed his impeachment, Mr Ibarra has promised to run for public office again in 2007. He is unlikely to stand for mayor, however. Jorge Telerman, his deputy, will hold the post until elections in 2007.

Food for thought

One of the leaders of Buenos Aires's piqueteros—unemployed street protestors—has decided to open a free restaurant for the poor in the capital's most exclusive district, Puerto Madero. Raúl Castells, whose media stunts have long ensured him constant press attention, outraged owners of the area's businesses. Many argued that the service was unnecessary in an area associated with ostentatious wealth, while others took umbrage with the political slogans covering the premises. One was even translated for the benefit of English-speaking tourists: “We are fighting for an Argentina in which the dogs of the rich don't eat better than the children of the poor.”

The property belongs to Miguel Doñate, a businessman, who ceded its use to Mr Castells, perhaps because of a dispute with the commission that administers the district. The restaurant will serve tea, soup, stew and bread. For wealthier visitors, there is a souvenir shop that works on an exchange system: two litres of cooking oil for a key ring or two kilos of meat for a T-shirt.

Tax drive

The Buenos Aires provincial government has run into legal problems with a controversial bid to increase tax revenues. Motorists have fought back against a ruling in December that gave tax authorities the right to seize vehicles worth upwards of $10,000 with unpaid licence fees at over 10% of their value. This law generated several high-profile cases, including one of a motorist in March who locked himself and his wife in his BMW for several hours to avoid having it impounded by tax inspectors. The man retained his car only after pledging to start paying off the arrears a few days later. The stand-off, which was shown live on national television, generated a flood of payments from car-owners.

Several motorists have filed lawsuits arguing that the confiscations infringe on property rights. Enrique Arbizu, a judge from the city of Mar del Plata, ruled twice in favour of protesting motorists in March. But the tax authorities show no signs of backing down. Santiago Montoya, the provincial tax chief, will appeal Mr Arbizu's rulings, and has publicly slammed judges “who issue restraining orders in 48 hours, while taking an average of 101 days to approve a measure designed to collect taxes.”

Gently does it

In an about-face, the Buenos Aires provincial legislature will give judges more discretion when deciding whether to let prisoners out on bail. The decision on March 8th reverses the policy of the former provincial governor, Carlos Ruckauf, who increased mandatory sentences and reduced the possibility of bail six years ago. But these so-called “firm hand” measures did little to reduce crime, though they nearly doubled the number of prisoners in the province's jails to around 25,000. Around 80% of these inmates still await sentencing, and only 5% have been convicted. Meanwhile, another 3,000 unconvicted prisoners are held in the province's police stations, which are not equipped for long-term stays.

These unfortunate numbers, together with the inhumane conditions of the province's jails, did much to force the hand of the legislature. Eduardo Di Rocco, the provincial justice minister, defended the reform from accusations that the authorities were going soft on crime. “It is clear that the ‘firm hand’ policy was an absolute failure”, he lamented.

No laughing matter

The provincial emergency phone service, introduced to considerable fanfare in early 2005, is not being taken seriously by most callers. The 911 service, which connects users directly to the police, is available to around 10m residents in Buenos Aires province. But in the first 13 months of operations, a colossal 85% of the 10.2m calls received by the service were false alerts or pranks. The authorities reckon the majority of such calls are jokes, but fear that criminals may be making them to distract police attention. In response, the emergency authorities have introduced draconian punishments for pranksters, including fines of over $10,000 and up to 60 days in prison.

Catch if you can

April 2006

Buenos Aires International Independent Cinema Festival

April 11th-23rd 2006

Although local officials have tried to keep the details of the event under wraps, the city’s eighth annual film festival promises to be even more extensive than last year's, which featured over 400 films by established and emerging film-makers from around the world. The centre of the festival will be the competition for Best Film, with around a dozen films judged by an international panel. A range of other prizes will be handed out as well, with Argentina’s promising crop of young film-makers competing for the Argentine Best Film award. Don’t miss the festival’s series of retrospectives and other related events, from conferences and book presentations to a presentation of video clips.

Various times and venues. See the website for details.

More from the Buenos Aires cultural calendar