Yesterday in Buenos Aires there was yet another mass demonstration which attracted gunfire from the massed ranks of police present and brought the afternoon traffic to a standstill. The name of the demonstration caught my attention instantly...'The Hunger March'. Thousands of trade union activists, social organisations and groups from far-flung corners of Argentina came together in the centre of the city, waving banners carrying phrases such as 'Hunger is a Crime' and 'Every child needs food and clean drinking water'.
Now in europe I'm more used to trade unionists marching because they are concerned that their members might loose their jobs, or because they need a pay rise to maintain their standard of living. But neither in the UK nor Italy can I remember a trade union demonstration that had such a striking objective: to raise awareness that millions of Argentinians workers couldn't even feed their families.
But was this rhetoric or fact? In a country in which many people are unemployed, surely it is they, the unemployed, who really have difficulty in making ends meet. Surely not those in paid employment, these marching trade unionists? Was this yet another attempt by an interest group to exaggerate the extent of a problem, in order to score political points?
Well, yesterday Argentina's President, Cristina Kirchner, announced a new policy. She was going to reduce the tax burden for Argentina's high-earners, those who earn above 7,000 pesos per month (about €1,600). In doing so, she hoped to stimulate the countries struggling economy and get these people spending again.
Whilst left-leaning, Cristina's newest policy appears to be extremely pragmatic, especially if many of the countries workers really are struggling against famine. To understand their situation we need to look at how much your average Argentinian worker earns, and analyse food costs as well.
An unskilled, full-time worker in Buenos Aires earns about 1,500/1,700 pesos per month (€340/385). If this worker lives in the poor suburbs of the city, pays a rent and has two young children, then they would probably have the following expenses:-
Rent 300 pesos
Clothes and essential furniture/household items 150 pesos
Transport (bus tickets) 50 pesos
Energy costs (heating, electricity, gas) 100 pesos
These costs leave low paid workers about 900 pesos (€200) per month to feed their families. But what can you buy in Argentina for 900 pesos?
I visited a mid-range supermarket in Nunes, a barrio of the city which is neither rich, nor poor. There I wanted to see what our hypothetical Argentinian working family of four could buy with their weekly, 210 peso food budget.
I was instantly amazed to see that the prices of foods in the supermarket were at least equal to those in Italy, if not superior. A litre of milk cost 3 pesos, a bottle of drinking water the same. Remember that in many parts of Argentina tap water isn't drinkable. A loaf of bread 5 pesos. A basic frozen pizza was a real luxury at 15 pesos. Steak an impossibility at 15-20 pesos for a decent joint (in Argentina!!).
That night as I ate my 15-peso-luxury frozen pizza and watched Newell's Old Boys against Racing Club on TV, I realised that in our hypotheticial, low-paid, working Argentinian family I was eating a third of my weekly food budget! Three pizzas a week is certainly a starvation diet, and suggests that the marchers weren't axaggerating when they said that Argentinians couldn't afford to feed their families.
Probably the clearest insight into the problem of hunger here was provided whilst I was leaving the supermarket itself. A security guard came up next to me and started shouting at a young girl, who must have been no older that 10, who was standing close to my trolley. The child went away, and the guard informed me that the girl had been planning to rob me. But planning on stealing what? I had no wallet, no mobile phone nor expensive gadgets on me. I had been warned about going out looking like a rich european and had intentionally 'dressed down'. "No, She wanted to take the food from your trolley" the guard replied. Her parents had sent her out to get food knowing that, being a child, she couldn't be prosecuted if caught.
Maybe Cristina Kirchner should be concentrating her thoughts on other matters than tax breaks for Argentina's high-earners.
Now in europe I'm more used to trade unionists marching because they are concerned that their members might loose their jobs, or because they need a pay rise to maintain their standard of living. But neither in the UK nor Italy can I remember a trade union demonstration that had such a striking objective: to raise awareness that millions of Argentinians workers couldn't even feed their families.
But was this rhetoric or fact? In a country in which many people are unemployed, surely it is they, the unemployed, who really have difficulty in making ends meet. Surely not those in paid employment, these marching trade unionists? Was this yet another attempt by an interest group to exaggerate the extent of a problem, in order to score political points?
Well, yesterday Argentina's President, Cristina Kirchner, announced a new policy. She was going to reduce the tax burden for Argentina's high-earners, those who earn above 7,000 pesos per month (about €1,600). In doing so, she hoped to stimulate the countries struggling economy and get these people spending again.
Whilst left-leaning, Cristina's newest policy appears to be extremely pragmatic, especially if many of the countries workers really are struggling against famine. To understand their situation we need to look at how much your average Argentinian worker earns, and analyse food costs as well.
An unskilled, full-time worker in Buenos Aires earns about 1,500/1,700 pesos per month (€340/385). If this worker lives in the poor suburbs of the city, pays a rent and has two young children, then they would probably have the following expenses:-
Rent 300 pesos
Clothes and essential furniture/household items 150 pesos
Transport (bus tickets) 50 pesos
Energy costs (heating, electricity, gas) 100 pesos
These costs leave low paid workers about 900 pesos (€200) per month to feed their families. But what can you buy in Argentina for 900 pesos?
I visited a mid-range supermarket in Nunes, a barrio of the city which is neither rich, nor poor. There I wanted to see what our hypothetical Argentinian working family of four could buy with their weekly, 210 peso food budget.
I was instantly amazed to see that the prices of foods in the supermarket were at least equal to those in Italy, if not superior. A litre of milk cost 3 pesos, a bottle of drinking water the same. Remember that in many parts of Argentina tap water isn't drinkable. A loaf of bread 5 pesos. A basic frozen pizza was a real luxury at 15 pesos. Steak an impossibility at 15-20 pesos for a decent joint (in Argentina!!).
That night as I ate my 15-peso-luxury frozen pizza and watched Newell's Old Boys against Racing Club on TV, I realised that in our hypotheticial, low-paid, working Argentinian family I was eating a third of my weekly food budget! Three pizzas a week is certainly a starvation diet, and suggests that the marchers weren't axaggerating when they said that Argentinians couldn't afford to feed their families.
Probably the clearest insight into the problem of hunger here was provided whilst I was leaving the supermarket itself. A security guard came up next to me and started shouting at a young girl, who must have been no older that 10, who was standing close to my trolley. The child went away, and the guard informed me that the girl had been planning to rob me. But planning on stealing what? I had no wallet, no mobile phone nor expensive gadgets on me. I had been warned about going out looking like a rich european and had intentionally 'dressed down'. "No, She wanted to take the food from your trolley" the guard replied. Her parents had sent her out to get food knowing that, being a child, she couldn't be prosecuted if caught.
Maybe Cristina Kirchner should be concentrating her thoughts on other matters than tax breaks for Argentina's high-earners.
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