report from opendemocracy
In Buenos Aires, Alicia Casimiro said sadly: "Many families come to the soup kitchen to seek help." Even the unemployed who have never set foot here before have become regular visitors. . In addition, the elderly, pregnant women and many children also frequently appear here.
Casimiro runs a community soup kitchen in Villa 31, a slum in the heart of Buenos Aires. It is only separated by a wall from Recoleta, the most affluent district in the Argentine capital, which is famous for its ancient mansions and luxurious lifestyle. But it is regrettable that despite being so close to wealth, the food the charity kitchen can provide is dwindling and it is difficult to meet the needs of everyone who comes. Casimiro said helplessly: "All we can do is stew, but the vegetable supply is far from enough."
Another woman named Griselda Burgueño also told opendemocracy Shared similar experiences. She said: "Bread is already in short supply and far from enough to distribute." Bugueno is in the town of Gregorio de la Ferre in the La Matanza district of Buenos Aires province, which is 31 kilometers away. About 30 kilometers away from the villa, another charity kitchen is run. She recalled: "In the past, we were able to fill the tupperware boxes with food and ensure that families received a good lunch and dinner. But now, if we still do this, the people at the back of the queue will not be able to eat at all." It’s time to eat.”
In Argentina, there are 140,000 women like Casimiro and Bugueno. In addition to their daily work and life, they also bear the important task of fighting hunger. They feed more than 10 million people who rely on soup kitchens, known locally as "communal pots."
However, in recent months, this burden has become increasingly heavy and difficult to sustain.
In Argentina, shortly after right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei took office in December, the government almost immediately cut support for soup kitchens that included handouts of flour, rice, mate tea Wait for non-perishable foods.
Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello claimed that the move was aimed at "auditing" certain groups operating charity kitchens and curbing suspected "extortion" behavior in these groups, especially for Inhabited by "misery villages" (a pejorative term for slums), organized "pickets" of unemployed workers specialize in fighting poverty and inequality, cutting off streets and highways in protest.
María Claudia Albornoz, the leader of la poderosa, one of the largest movements of slum dwellers in Argentina, questioned the government’s behavior: “ Why does the government want to classify us as poor? Community catering chefs considered the enemy? ” Since 2004, La Poderosa has organized events through community forums and managed 158 community kitchens across the country, including one near Villa 31. Casimiro, a member of
la poderosa, also expressed her expectations: “We long for everyone to enjoy a warm meal at home and achieve progress and a better life through the support of their families. But The reality is far from that.”
htmlThe history of Villa 731The origins of Villa 031 date back to the 1930s, when immigrants and workers from Paraguay, Bolivia and northern Argentina converged on Buenos Aires. Settled in an area rich in ports and employment opportunities. In 1974, Catholic priest Carlos Mugica was assassinated. He was a patron of the "villeros" priest movement and engaged in community service and social work in the area.
Today Villa 31 has grown into a vast community of more than 40,000 inhabitants, located between the port area and the wealthiest district of Buenos Aires, Recoleta, Arturo Umberto · Thick concrete pillars are erected above dr arturo umberto illia.
Despite being close to the Retiro train station, Villa 31 has a bad reputation and no bus lines pass through it. Taxi and Uber drivers also refused to serve the area, and even ambulances were afraid to enter without a police escort.
In this simple residence made of hollow bricks and iron sheets, messy wires hang between makeshift iron towers, sometimes only a few inches above people's heads, which is extremely dangerous. The community has a chapel, school, square and small gated football field. Here, people ignore the scorching heat and dance to the rhythms of Cumbia country music around fires in tin cans, even as their skin appears tarnished by long exposure to the harsh environment.
Under such difficult living conditions, the 11 chefs of the "Gustavo Cortinhas" charity kitchen are particularly hardworking. Their kitchen is named after a young activist who disappeared during Argentina's last military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. These chefs work six to eight hours a day, not only cooking and serving food, but also cleaning and managing the kitchen. In order to raise more funds, they also sell homemade ice cubes to neighbors, although this still cannot make up for the shortfall in funds.
Since 2016, a group of women who are unable to work outside the home to take care of their children or who cannot find work began to organize. Casimiro, a mother of eight, shared, “None of us can leave our children in the care of someone else to go to work, or we simply can’t find a job.” Therefore, facing the challenges of ourselves and others demand, they formed a community. They pooled their resources and rented a small house with a large living room in the front and a kitchen in the back. They set up a lunch room and initially only served each other lunch, but the service soon expanded. "Even one dish can help you save a little on your daily expenses," Casimiro added.
In addition to serving the community, these women also perform nursing and housework at home, and some also work as temporary workers, so they call themselves "three-shift workers."
By mid-2023, la poderosa drafted a bill that would provide community chefs with a minimum wage, health insurance, paid holidays, maternity leave and a Christmas bonus, but the bill has yet to pass Congress.
Public canteens are not only a place for emotional support for neighbors, but also a "line of defense" to prevent drug abuse and drug trafficking activities.
"Even if parents work outside the home, the money they earn is not enough to sustain the family. Working means they cannot take time off to take care of their children." said Casimiro, who has lived in the slum for 33 years, a total of 49 years life experience. In desperation, sometimes a parent or child will start selling or using drugs. "They are willing to do anything to bring food to their families - everything here promotes violence."
There are 49 "villas" in the Argentine capital, with about 80,000 families living in overcrowded conditions and lacking regular water, electricity, and heating. and sanitary facilities. Of these households, nearly three-quarters (about 73%) are headed by women. In the country's 6,500 slums, women have worked side by side for decades to provide food for their communities.
When heavy rains come, as they often do in March, the water can rise up to the knees, soaking mattresses, wardrobes, and appliances, leaving people without power for days—and the risk of electrocution from using wet plugs and cables is greater than basic The demand is even more frightening.
But even if the sun returns, the damage caused by successive floods cannot be avoided. Lacking adequate infrastructure to support the growing population, sewers burst frequently and streets were filled with silt and vermin. Casimiro lamented: "Living in an environment where the smell of moisture is everywhere is not life at all."
Thanks to the meticulous and sustained efforts of the villagers, la poderosa organized a donation campaign for clothing, electrical appliances and furniture. In addition, it provides necessary assistance to people suffering from gender-based violence and conducts various workshops and public courses for children in the community.Furthermore, the organization strives to expand the cultural influence of the villa area by publishing a monthly magazine in order to eliminate the prejudice against the villa area from outsiders (especially outsiders). In the eyes of many, the villa area is seen as a hub of drugs, crime and misery.
Albornoz said: "The despair caused by poverty and the violence in the streets make it difficult to survive. But if we don't organize, the situation in our communities will only get worse."
Luxurious food
Casimiro Station In the center of the village, pointing to a line of 30 people waiting to collect their leftovers. She said: "Before the outbreak, we prepared about 120 meals a day. During the epidemic, this number increased to 500. Now, although it has decreased, it is still more than 420. It depends on whether we have enough food. ”
The daily classic menu starts with a morning cup of yerba mate (a herbal tea made from yerba mate) with fried wheat cakes (tortas fritas). Lunch might include rice or noodles with stewed squash, onions and tomato sauce (if available), chicken wings or offal. Milk tea and cakes are provided during snack time.
However, in the face of reduced food supplies, many charity kitchens have had to close or reduce the frequency and quantity of food provided. In the worst cases, all the soup kitchens can offer is chili powder in hot water.
Argentina had the highest food inflation in the world in February, with produce prices tripling from farm to store. Although local food prices are comparable to Spain or the United States, the minimum wage in Argentina is equivalent to only $210 per month, compared with $1,220 in Spain and $1,160 in the United States. In Argentina, the average salary level is not enough to support a family above the poverty line.
Similar to other Latin American countries, Argentinian women face greater food insecurity than men, and this gap is particularly significant in Argentina.
Argentina's inflation rate has reached an astonishing 254%. While economic policies are relaxing, the government has repeatedly emphasized that "there is no money." This statement may be quite similar to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's "no choice" slogan, while the national income and quality of life are declining every day.
Economist Candelaria Botto, director of Economía Feminista, a group that aims to shed light on Think tank and campaign association on gender inequality in work and the market. "The emergency is very serious, especially in poor areas."
The economic instability is also reflected in the sharp decline in drug consumption. From December 2023 to early March 2024, drug prices soared by 100%, resulting in a significant decline in drug sales and medical visits. It is rare in the world for drug prices to rise so much in such a short period of time.
Of Argentina’s 46 million inhabitants, 57% live in poverty, including 7 million children and adolescents. What's even more serious is that 15% of the population is in extreme poverty, 2.4 million of them are children.
Lucía Cavallero, a researcher at the University of Buenos Aires and a member of the ni una menos movement, said: “We continue to highlight the issue of economic violence because the government is systematically repressing the population. and economic terrorism.”
Organizing Catering
In order to organize and provide catering services, la poderosa, as well as many social, civil and religious groups, have opened approximately 44,000 soup kitchens throughout the country. The kitchens used to receive food aid from the national government, as well as meat and vegetables donated by businesses, local shops and neighbors.
In some cases, soup kitchens may also receive donations from Argentinian provincial governments, or even cash support from the state or financial assistance from United Nations international programs. Funds raised through events such as bingo or recycling cardboard and glass can help pay for rent, gas or firewood for a community kitchen.
The new government has slashed resource support for charity kitchens, citing alleged "casual and extortionate" use of resources by the groups running them. Officials claim that more than half of the 44,000 registered soup kitchens are either not functioning properly or do not exist at all. In response to community leaders' public complaints about food shortages, authorities called it a manifestation of "out-of-control and irresponsible controversy over food distribution."
poderosa's Albonos denies the accusations. She said in a radio interview: "There is no such thing as a middleman. The former Department of Social Development (disbanded by the Millay government) was responsible for buying food and delivering it to registered kitchens in small trucks. We were responsible for getting the goods from the trucks. It was unloaded and stored, and depending on the number of meals we provided, this food would last us one to two months."
Government Seizures and Picket Resistance
Following Trotskyism in the face of government seizures. Gabriela de la Rosa of the Workers' Party's polo obrero picket movement said: "When a crisis arises, women are always the first to organize... Therefore, they are the ones who take over the most organizations in favelas."
For decades , they have been doing this, especially since the economic and social crisis in Argentina in 2001. At the time, female pickets organized to deliver food to the most vulnerable communities. They now operate around 3,000 community kitchens across the country and offer trade workshops. " hunger will not kill us," said Lilián Rojas, leader of the Buenos Aires province Workers' Party (Polo Obrero) and 2023 candidate for La Matanza city council.
In Gregorio de Laferrère’s charity kitchen in Villa Union, volunteers are able to prepare 1,000 meals in less than 40 minutes. However, more and more often, even the chefs themselves have to go hungry.
Rojas mentioned that near Villa Unión, some 600 picket families have established their homes on a previously vacant piece of public land that, until 2017, contained nothing but fields and garbage. There was almost nothing but rubble and rubble. These families “occupied the land.” In this occupied land, food is served in three public cauldrons, each with its own name: Arrondissement III, Nuevo Union and Rio Cuatto.
Rojas said: "We have gained a lot of experience in hunger and suffering, so we are able to make the best use of all the resources we have. We know how to build a common cauldron and then go out and beg for staple food. This is who we are The way we survive will also be the way we survive in the future,” she added.
Richard Marelo, one of the residents of the occupied land and the head of District 3. “We cooperate to buy cables, erect poles and build streets,” he explains. They have been in dispute with local authorities who want to clear out these illegal settlements. Now, police won't even let trucks in to do things like digging septic tanks and collecting water, Marrero said.
Rojas emphasized that without the participation and efforts of women, these families would not be able to establish their homes on this land. "As the repression intensified, they became the main force supporting the occupation. From the beginning, we set out with a big pot to ensure that all those who went to occupy the land and their children could have food and clothing."
at Around the stove are some simple huts made of canvas, wood, cardboard, metal plates, rubber and wooden blocks. The openings of these huts are usually covered or closed with metal sheets or other available materials. Their floors are paved with dirt or cement. There are also buckets for washing, grills and firewood for cooking when gas is scarce, as well as daily necessities such as tables, chairs, shelves and makeshift cupboards.
Theft incidents are common here. “Hunger drives people to steal our power sockets, water pumps and vegetables from our gardens."We had almost nothing to save," Rojas said. "They even stole the pumpkins we planted." "
In this severe environment, through collective labor, thousands of people survived. "We started from tent life, throwing everything into the fire to use as firewood. We have nothing but hunger and misery. ” said María Zárate, 37, next to a cooker in Nuevo Union. Volunteers were packaging rice and children lined up, hugging their plastic containers.
She continued: “Step by step we got gas and stoves, and for five years we were providing daily meals to 200 families every day.
Antonia Cáceres, 34, said beside a cooker in Río Cuarto where volunteers are using what little money they have in their pockets to buy ingredients. “We need Help is coming in, but the government remains unwilling to provide any financial support. "Here they serve about 50 families," she said. Her comrade, 23-year-old Rocío Fernández, added that many pensioners and children come here to receive food.
la Poderosa's Albernos said: "We women are maintaining the livelihood of our community in an extremely difficult way. "She continued: "We are exhausted, but we can still stand up and continue our work. ”
About the author: Angelina de los Santos is a South American correspondent for Open Democracy. She is a feminist journalist based in Uruguay with an extensive background in human rights reporting and a degree in communications from the University of Uruguay. I have a bachelor's degree and have been working in social media and international media for nearly ten years.
articles are for communication and learning only and do not represent the views of
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