Many aspects have improved since the Argentine economic crisis of 2001, but it still remains difficult for many people to make a living. On my travels I´ve met a few Argentines that were on vacation. They were employed in white collar jobs such as librarian and economist. While they made enough money to be able to afford to go away on vacation, they were sleeping in dorm rooms just as I was.
And then there are the others that don´t make as much. Here in Buenos Aires I´ve seen men in their fifties, obviously well kept and well groomed, probably employed somewhere, but sleeping on the street with all their belongings in a suitcase. I´ve seen a parent and child hunker down for the night on a traffic island in the middle of the biggest street in the city. And I´ve seen the cartoneros.
The cartoneros are the people who go through all the trash bags that are put out each evening, looking for cardboard and other materials that they can sell to recycling depots. They appear all over the city centre when night falls, working hard, hauling huge bags made of tarpaulin, hustling for a few pesos. Small children often work beside their parents. It is simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring.
Check out these great links for more info.
A photo essay on the cartoneros done less than a year after the economic crisis began:
http://www.worldpress.org/photo_essays/cartoneros/
A blog post from a year and a half ago. The rest of the blog looks really interesting too:
http://www.magicalurbanism.com/?p=149
An article from a couple of years ago. Talks a bit about the cartoneros organizing politically:
Tags: Argentina
April 27, 2008 at 2:42 pm
wow. that’s heavy.
30% below the poverty line still?
great photo essay on the first link