The Crisis in Buenos Aires Suburbs: Unemployment, Poverty, Violence, and Inequality

Luis Gotte / The little trench / Co-author of “Buenos Ayres Humana, the hour of your community” Ed. Fabro, 2022

The Buenos Aires suburbs are an urban area in the Province of Buenos Ayres that is home to almost 12 million inhabitants, representing 27% of the country’s population and 67% of the province’s population. This region is facing a deep social crisis that encompasses a wide range of problems, including unemployment, poverty, violence, insecurity, protests, corruption, inequality, homelessness, discrimination, marginalization, drug addiction, evictions, abuse of power, lack of education, the health crisis, overcrowding, housing shortages, and lack of access to basic services.

Unemployment is one of the main challenges of this communal crisis. The lack of job opportunities afflicts a large number of people, impoverishing them and making it difficult to meet their basic needs. This situation is exacerbated by the lack of access to basic services such as education and medical care. In the suburbs, unemployment is 8.3%, in the province 6.9%, where 30% are public employees, around 675 thousand workers -one employee in the state apparatus for every 27 Buenos Aires residents-. Of every two workers in CABA, one lives in the Conurbano.

Poverty perpetuates inequality in this region, since opportunities to lead a dignified life are distributed unequally among the population. The lack of adequate housing causes worrying overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions. In the Conurbano, 46.1% of the inhabitants are poor and 9.8% are indigent. Poverty especially affects children and adolescents, reaching 69% of the child population.

The lack of education limits the opportunities for personal and professional development in the Conurbano. in elementary school only 43 out of 100 students finish on time and with an acceptable educational level. In other words, more than half (57%) go to secondary school with overage or with basic deficiencies in Language and Mathematics, two fundamental areas to successfully continue further studies. Only 16% finish primary and secondary school on time.

Violence and insecurity create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust in the population. Robberies, assaults and violent acts are on the rise, and the homicide rate is 4.27 victims per 100,000 inhabitants, marking a decrease compared to the previous year. The number of criminal acts grew by almost 8%.

Political corruption and abuse of power erode trust in institutions and generate impunity. Discrimination and marginalization especially affect the most vulnerable sectors of the community, preventing them from accessing decent jobs. The lack of access to basic services such as water and medical care further aggravates the health context. Overcrowding and a shortage of adequate housing undermine the quality of life of the inhabitants.

The deficit of access to network water reaches 14% of households in urban Argentina and 18% of children. These levels almost double when it comes to households and infants in the suburbs (27% and 32%, respectively). This deficit affects children from the very low (43.1%) and low (38.7%) social strata more strongly, who live in conditions of poverty (38.9%) and indigence (40.2%), and those who reside in shantytowns or in settlements or informal neighborhoods (50.3%). Likewise, the probability of accessing well water is greater in the suburbs than in the country as a whole (24.8% versus 11.6%), and the propensity to have to access water outside the home is also greater (7.4% versus 4.6%).

Malnutrition, drug addiction, child exploitation, trafficking and disappearance of people, and evictions are other alarming problems that especially affect the most vulnerable. In the suburbs, one in three children suffers from hunger and malnutrition, and the sale and trafficking of drugs is highly prevalent. Furthermore, many families lose their homes due to lack of adequate housing and real estate speculation.

These problems feed back into each other and generate hopelessness and inequality in the Buenos Aires suburbs. The crisis is getting even worse, with fear of a social outbreak due to the accumulated discontent in the region. Despite the community networks and state assistance, it is necessary to rethink the policies to contain and sustain this crisis. The suburbs are in a scenario of postponement and deterioration, and it is necessary to take urgent measures to address this situation.