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

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The contender

After Néstor Kirchner, Argentina’s president, brought hundreds of thousands of supporters to Buenos Aires’s historic Plaza de Mayo for a rally on May 25th, many commentators declared that he would win a second term in office—even though Mr Kirchner has yet to announce a re-election bid. But shortly thereafter, Roberto Lavagna, the president’s former economy minister, emerged from political hibernation, making Mr Kirchner's victory in 2007 seem less certain.

Mr Lavagna took office a year before Mr Kirchner did, and oversaw four years of rapid growth before the president unceremoniously sacked him last November. Since then, Mr Kirchner’s policies have veered sharply left, and in early June Mr Lavagna began publicly assailing the president for his heavy-handed economic measures, cronyism and dalliance with Hugo Chávez, Venzuela’s populist president. The ex-minister has met several opposition politicians, many of whom now tout him as a presidential contender. Mr Lavagna says he will not decide whether to run until next year. But the two men who together stared down the IMF and angry foreign bondholders may wind up fighting over who deserves the credit for their successes.

The heat is on

Mr Kirchner is not the only politician who faces obstacles to re-election. With polls scheduled for 2007, the battle to become the next mayor of Buenos Aires is already underway. Three months ago, the city council fired Aníbal Ibarra from the mayoralty for poor job performance, promoting his second-in-command, Jorge Telerman, to the post. Since then, Messrs Telerman and Ibarra have stopped speaking to each other, and in early June the new mayor fired four of his predecessor’s top officials. But Mr Ibarra still commands the loyalty of many key ministers and could turn them against Mr Telerman, sabotaging his administration. Mr Ibarra may well rouse his allies if the courts rule that he can run for the mayoralty again. Buenos Aires mayors are barred from serving more than two consecutive terms, but since Mr Ibarra was impeached, he may be exempt from the limitation.

Mr Telerman may be unable to keep his job even if his predecessor lays low. He is vying to win Mr Kirchner’s invaluable support for his campaign, where he faces plenty of competition. The vice president, Daniel Scioli, has expressed interest in the mayoralty, and Rafael Bielsa, a congressman and former foreign minister, has suggested he may run even if Mr Kirchner supports someone else.

Moving in

Mr Kirchner, apparently unfazed by Mr Lavagna’s censure of his economic meddling, has increased the government’s role in the capital’s airports. On June 16th he signed a deal for the government to acquire at least 35% of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the private, Argentine-held company which has run the city’s two main airports for the last eight years. In exchange for shares in the company, the state will forgive the $275m Aeropuertos owes in back concession payments and reduce future charges by about 30%.

Mr Kirchner is also seeking to increase the government’s stake in Aerolíneas Argentinas, the country’s leading airline, from 1.4% to as high as 20%. Marsans, a Spanish firm that has controlled Aerolíneas since 2001, announced on June 21st that it would give the government 5-20% of the airline. Details of the agreement have not been disclosed, but there is talk that the government, in exchange for winning a larger stake in Aerolíneas, will forgive some debts or authorise the company to raise fares and float shares on the local stock exchange.

Their cup runneth over

The president’s airports deal might have raised hackles in Buenos Aires under normal circumstances, but in a city gripped by the World Cup, no one paid much attention. On the day Mr Kirchner made his announcement, Argentina’s football team demolished Serbia and Montenegro 6-0. To ignore the game was not an option: the city’s businesses lured fans to work by installing giant TV sets on factory assembly lines and in conference rooms. Even though the game was broadcast in most classrooms, throngs of state school students still took the day off. The streets were eerily empty during the match as porteños were glued to their screens, with the quiet punctuated only by the six unanimous roars heard across the city as each goal found the net.

After the match ended, Argentines poured into the streets to celebrate, with some 3,000 fans gathering by the city’s central obelisk. “Whoever doesn’t jump is a Briton!”, local reporters heard the jubilant fans shout, taunting their long-time football adversaries. “No, a Brazilian!”, screamed others, referring to Argentina’s arch-rival. The Brazilians themselves did not miss the opportunity to play down the team’s achievement. At a meeting with the first lady, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a Brazilian diplomat remarked, “Really, it’s no big deal. You scored three goals on Serbia and three more on Montenegro.”

Thinking big

Buenos Aires has historically sought to emulate European architecture, but the present wave of high-rise construction in the city’s wealthier neighbourhoods seems more inspired by Shanghai than by Paris. Although the bevy of new skyscrapers top out at about 170 metres, the city has hopes of building a tower, the Buenos Aires Forum, stretching 1,000 metres high, though the timeframe for the project remains unclear.

The residential market is the main force behind the construction boom, as foreigners and well-heeled locals eager for panoramic views push prices for penthouses as high as $4,000 per square metre. A few hapless community groups have sought to slow the tide and preserve their neighbourhoods’ intimacy, but the city’s zoning laws are rather liberal for buildings with less than 35 storeys. Even if prices do not climb much further, the developers will probably continue building until they have eased the city’s perpetual shortage of quality housing.

Catch if you can

July 2006

Roy Lichtenstein: Animated Life

Until August 7th 2006

In the five short years since its founding, Buenos Aires’ Latin American art museum (MALBA) has already become a heavyweight in the city’s crowded cultural scene. By snagging this travelling show en route from Brazil, MALBA takes another bold step forward, venturing outside its core competency of Latin American art to host a serious exhibit of work by Roy Lichtenstein, a pioneer of American Pop Art who died in 1997. The exhibit eschews Lichtenstein’s finished paintings and sculptures in favour of some 80 drawings and collages spanning five decades.

The exhibit offers a glimpse of the painstaking thought that went into each iconic, cartoonish image. Viewers can revel in this uniquely intimate look at Lichtenstein’s artistic process and in the subtlety, ingenuity and irony of the works themselves. Many sketches include dozens of notations indicating a work’s final proportions, while the more polished, brilliantly coloured collages feature a dazzling array of media, from magic marker to aluminium foil. Of particular interest are Lichtenstein’s lesser-known works from the 1990s, when he made interiors his subjects and further explored the conceptual side of his unmistakable style.

Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta 3415, Palermo. Tel: +54 (0) 11 4808-6500. Open: Wed noon-9pm; Thu-Mon noon-8pm. See the museum’s website.

More from the Buenos Aires cultural calendar