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

News this month

Striking back

Getting around Buenos Aires is always difficult, but a pair of recent strikes virtually paralysed the microcentro, or downtown. In early April the truckers’ union stopped delivery of fuel, water and soda for four days as they sought to extract a 28% wage increase from various transport companies. Only when the teamsters threatened to stop rubbish collection in the city—as they had already done in Buenos Aires province—did they win a 19% raise and return to work.

Perhaps inspired by the truckers, on April 11th a group of 70 subcontracted security guards and janitors demanding inclusion in the public-transport employees’ union shut down the city’s subways for two days. The strike forced 250,000 commuters who rely on the system to drive instead, while many of the remaining 650,000 subway users crammed into the city's already crowded buses. The resulting traffic jams caused usually short trips to last for hours. On the second day of the strike, the police removed workers from one station, resulting in ten arrests and one minor injury. The union agreed to resume service only after Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human-rights activist, offered to mediate between the workers, the labour ministry and the subway operator, Metrovías SA.

High steaks

Argentina's soaring beef prices have helped propel the country’s inflation rate into double digits. Locals who view an affordable slab of bife as their birthright are finally getting some relief from a national campaign to lower the cost of red meat. In March the economy ministry banned meat exports for six months in order to increase domestic supply (though a federal judge in San Luis province is weighing the ban’s constitutionality), and in April it secured promises from farmers to sharply reduce prices. These discounts, which some economists claim are short-sighted, have been passed on to consumers for lower-quality beef. But butchers in Buenos Aires have continued to demand a premium for veal and other desirable cuts.

The government’s new negotiator, Guillermo Moreno—nicknamed “the sheriff” for his toughness—has threatened to use a 1974 price-control law to fine and even jail vendors who charge more than the set amount. However, respite for local carnivores may be short-lived: industry analysts say the government’s policy could exacerbate the beef shortage by discouraging farmers from raising cattle.

Gambling days

Some 20 gamblers, mostly foreign tourists, were baffled when federal police kicked them out of one of the city’s two floating casinos on March 27th. The police promptly closed the facility after a municipal judge ruled that it was operating illegally, since casinos are prohibited in Buenos Aires. But just five hours later the Coast Guard reopened the boat to the public, responding to a federal judge’s verdict that the casinos, which are permanently anchored in the port and connected to land by footbridges, operate outside the city’s jurisdiction.

Numerous cynics and anti-gambling advocates—including the city’s generally pro-business newspaper, La Nación—noted that the federal government takes 20% of the casinos’ ample revenues in taxes, giving it a compelling incentive to keep them running over municipal objections. The dispute may be settled by the Supreme Court: one attorney involved in a lawsuit seeking to close the casinos has called for Argentina’s highest court to take up the case.

Student rebellion

A series of student protests have prevented the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) from electing a new leader. Guillermo Jaim Etcheverry’s term as UBA’s rector is scheduled to end on May 7th. The frontrunner to replace him is Atilio Alterini, now dean of the UBA law school, whose supporters recently won 11 of the 15 seats on the university’s governing council. But members of a left-wing student organisation say they will not accept Mr Alterini's appointment because he participated in the Buenos Aires city government during the brutal dictatorship of 1976-83, although he has not been accused of any crimes. This is no small matter, as the public university accounts for one-quarter of Argentina’s undergraduates and 30% of its scientific research.

The university’s 236-member assembly has attempted to hold a vote three times, but students took over the meeting hall each time to block a vote. The students say they will not allow the body to convene unless Mr Alterini abandons his candidacy and non-senior faculty members are allowed to vote. Argentina’s interior minister has ruled out using the police to force the students out of the building, so the university will probably be left without a leader when Mr Jaim Etcheverry steps down.

Getting his hands dirty

More than a month after the Buenos Aires city council voted to fire Aníbal Ibarra, the city’s mayor, for poor job performance, his successor, Jorge Telerman, has begun outlining an agenda. Perhaps responding to residents' complaints about poor public hygiene, the new mayor has promised to make improving garbage pickup a top priority.

Mr Telerman’s first step will be to place skips on some corners, to prevent rubbish bags from piling up on pavements. But convincing locals to co-operate will be a challenge, as they consistently fail to pick up after their dogs even in the city’s most elegant neighbourhoods. “We have to work very hard on every person’s conscience,” Mr Telerman said, “to achieve changes in collective and individual habits.” His plan had better work quickly: elections are scheduled for next year.

Catch if you can

May 2006

The Grand Nonsense: Marcelo Bordese and Miguel Ronsino

Until May 7th 2006

Despite this show's name, the 41 works on display by Marcelo Bordese and Miguel Ronsino, two contemporary Argentine artists, are hardly frivolous. They all seem to explore the relationship between the female form and nature. Mr Bordese’s works, in coloured pencil and watercolour, are highly sexualised renderings of young women’s bodies interacting with and occasionally melding into those of animals. Mr Ronsino’s life-sized collages of female silhouettes adorned with leaves evoke Gustav Klimt’s style made more sinister.

Drop by the show after 5pm and you will probably catch both artists in the room, eager to discuss their work and, in Mr Bordese’s case, to practice his English.

Centro Cultural Recoleta, Junín 1930, Recoleta. Tel: +54 (0) 11 4803-1040. Open: Tues-Fri 2pm-9pm; Sat-Sun 10am-9pm. Admission is free. For more information visit the centre’s website.

More from the Buenos Aires cultural calendar