Unequal Scenes - Buenos Aires

In Buenos Aires, wealthy neighbourhoods sit hard against the informal settlements known as villas miserias. This is in the affluent northern suburbs around San Isidro, not far from where, in 2009, the municipality began building a three-metre wall along its border with poorer San Fernando, citing security. Residents tore it down within days and a court halted the work; the Argentine press dubbed it the "wall of discord." No single wall stands now, but the walls, fences and barbed wire remain, and so does the chasm between the two sides.

Argentina is a country with a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant history, but it's also a place that has struggled with inequality and economic mismanagement for many years. Nowhere is this more evident than in the country's capital city of Buenos Aires. While the city is home to some of the most beautiful architecture, food, soccer players and people in the world, it is also home to some of the most significant economic disparities, and many millions live in or near villa miserias.

In the early 1900s Argentina was one of the world's 10 wealthiest countries by GDP, but its subsequent decline relative to other industrialized countries since then has sparked much research and perplexity amongst economists. Record high inflation, stagnating growth, and rising poverty and unemployment rates at various times during the last century have led Argentina to default on its debt nine times, and accept multiple bailouts from international institutions like the IMF. My first trip there in 2021 was a tragi-comedy of trying to pay for everything in pesos, as the difference between payments settled by a foreign credit card and local currency was over 100%.

That all began to change in a big way with the election of Javier Milei to the Presidency in 2023. Milei campaigned on ultra-libertarian economic principles, threatening to take a "chainsaw" to the country's social welfare state, dramatically reduce inflation, and balance the budget. His approach has been harsh and has sparked huge protests amongst students, health care workers, and public employees who have suffered under austerity measures imposed by Milei. How will this radical approach play out?

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Discover also nearby cities like São Paulo and Santiago.

Inequality Data created by the World Inequality Database.

Villa Rodrigo Bueno is located on some of the most expensive land in the city, on an ecological park in the shadow of the city's financial district. These informally built homes are currently being upgraded by the city to modern and regularized apartments.

The densely packed Villa 20, currently undergoing an upgrade.

Three Buenos Aires meet in one frame. On one side rise the towers of downtown; on the other spreads Villa 31, an informal settlement of around 40,000 people on prime central land. Between them runs the great band of the Retiro rail yards, the seam that has long separated the formal city from the villa at its edge. Officially renamed Barrio Padre Mugica, the settlement is now a mix of self-built brick homes and newer concrete blocks, its residents drawn from across Argentina and neighbouring countries.

Haphazard and unchecked development in Buenos Aires' sprawling villa miserias is the only affordable option for many families who want to live close to the city center.

In the political context of Argentina, the relationship between urban development and inequality is particularly relevant. As a result of neoliberal policies in the 1990s, Argentina underwent a wave of privatization, which had a significant impact on the country's infrastructure and social fabric. Housing was particularly affected by these policies, leading to a lack of access to affordable housing and a rise in informal settlements. The construction industry has played a key role in shaping Buenos Aires, with new developments and skyscrapers rising up alongside older, more traditional architecture. This growth has not always been equitable and has often benefited only a small segment of the population.

Despite these challenges, there are also signs of hope and progress in the fight against inequality in Buenos Aires. The government has launched several initiatives aimed at increasing access to affordable housing, such as the Federal Housing Plan and the Procrear program. These programs aim to provide low-cost housing to the country's poorest residents, and have already made significant progress in reducing the housing gap. In addition to government initiatives, there are also numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community groups working to address inequality in Buenos Aires. For example, the Urban Ecology Center in the neighborhood of Mataderos provides support and advocacy for residents of informal settlements, while the Techo organization works to provide low-cost housing solutions for the city's poorest residents.

Inequality in Buenos Aires Province, to the northeast of the city. Developments in the Paraná river delta are changing the face of the province closest to the river's edge.

The Alvear Tower, the tallest building in Buenos Aires, and a home for wealthy Porteños.

Villa Rodrigo Bueno, opposite a dilapidated amusement park on the river's edge in the affluent eastern section of BA.

The elevated Arturo Illia highway runs straight through Villa 31, its deck passing directly over the barrio. For years families lived in the gap beneath it, in the dark and noise under the traffic. The settlement, officially renamed Barrio Padre Mugica, sits on prime central land beside downtown Buenos Aires, home to some 40,000 people. A city program has since relocated many of those who lived under the highway, clearing the strip below the road.

Homes have been built in every conceivable place, including between and under the highway.

The city is the undisputed political, cultural and economic powerhouse of the country. Fully 1/3 of Argentina's population (15 million people) lives here.

These developments on wetlands north of the city are called "Nordelta". Reclaiming land from the soggy delta has become a gold mine for wealthy "Porteños".

New "regularized" housing in Barrio Padre Mugica.

The towns of Quilmes (left) and Avellaneda (right) are split by Calle Caviglia. The informal section in Quilmes, called Villa Azul, was the site of the country's first total quarantine, enforced by the military to mitigate a fast-spreading outbreak in May 2020. No such quarantine existed on the other side. Hailed as a success by the Argentine media, the spread of the virus and the response point to the tale of two worlds that came into sharp focus around the world during 2020.

In a June 2020 interview Health Minister Jonathan Konfino said, "...this has confirmed that for the occurrence of diseases, the determining factor is much more the postal code, rather than the genetic code. Today that street has become a symbol of injustice, which shows the inequality we live in and the need to advance the political decision to urbanize the neighborhood."

Villa 31 is separated from the downtown core of Buenos Aires by a busy rail yard.

Most of Buenos Aires’ “misery villages” are located in the south of the city. Villa 20 is built directly opposite a shopping center, the Olympic Village (from the 2018 Youth Olympic Games), and a defunct amusement park known as Parque de la Ciudad. Much like other informal neighborhoods in the city, it is undergoing an upgrading process, with new apartment blocks being built in an ever-expanding bid to formalize the city and guarantee basic services.