Following up on complaints from neighbors, police began a stakeout of Juan Jantum’s house. A steady stream of people coming and going from the house made the decision to investigate an easy one. Juan Jantum’s house was obviously being used to distribute drugs.

Coastal city Mar del Plata is a top vacation spot for Argentines.

At 1:50 am on March 4th, police witnessed a woman arrive by taxi, enter the house and exit a few minutes later. They apprehended her as she walked out, the two doses of acid in her purse causing the expected arrest. It was, however, a shock to find out that the person in custody was in fact a man named Sergio. Despite being caught red-handed, there are no arrest records for Sergio, probably owing as much to her baritone protestations of innocence as to what happened next.

Entering the house, the police quickly found more than enough evidence to make an arrest. Scattered about the house and largely prepped for distribution, were more than 4 kilos of marijuana and 600 grams of cocaine. Jantum (45, aka “Ruben Castro”, aka “Piti”, aka ‘Pepe”) was indignant at losing his wares and being hauled off to jail. Accusing the police of kidnapping his drugs, he shouted, “I have judicial protection!”

Cops uncovered a major corruption
scandal in Mar del Plata, Argentina

Confounded, the police wondered exactly just what he meant. As Jantum happily explained, he was legally allowed to sell the drugs because they were “taken from the evidence vault of the Federal Court.”

After being assured that there is no such thing as “judicial protection” for dealing drugs, Jantum quickly implicated everybody in his operation. Beginning with Jose “Chico” Tarantino, a local mechanic who delivered the drugs, on up to the Court Clerks and Guards who stole the drugs and finally to the Federal Judge who adjusted the evidence records to show that the drugs were never there.

Sensing they were on the verge of breaking a major public corruption case, the police moved quickly and quietly. Paperwork for their arrest was held to keep it out of the public record and avoid raising Judge Roberto Falcone’s suspicions. Turns out they needn’t have been so cagey.

Falcone was already raising eyebrows around the court house, having in the same week brazenly pocketed $400 in walking around money from the evidence vault. A quick review of records showed that Falcone was not even trying to hide his tracks, recently adjusting 20 kilos of marijuana from the evidence reports with no explanation provided.

The court clerk, Facundo Capparelli, had noticed the discrepancies and when confronted by police admitted to knowing of the thefts. Asked as to why he hadn’t felt the need to file a report he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Report what? We’re going to burn everything.”

Sure enough that same day Capparelli signed an order to incinerate all of the drugs stored in the vault, thus destroying all evidence of the crimes. Public Prosecutor Adrian Peres was able to secure a court injunction preventing the burning and allowing an inspection of the vault. Peres discovered massive amounts of contraband were missing:

Court proceedings start this week in Mar del Plata.

64 kilos of Marijuana and 8 plants,
11.5 kilos of Cocaine,
49 doses of LSD,
239 tablets of Ecstasy,
12 doses of PCP and,
2 Hallucinogenic Mushrooms.

Later chemical tests confirmed that the drugs found in Jantum’s house were in fact from the federal evidence vault.

Court proceedings open this week in the cases against Capparelli, Jantum and Tarantino. No word on whether or not “Sergio” will be making an appearance to recount her tale of the fateful evening.

Honorable Roberto Falcone is still sitting on the federal judiciary, as no charges have been brought against him. He is also serving on a Congressional Advisory Committee on Issues surrounding the Repression of Drug Traffickers and Complex Criminality.

Related

Juicio a dos secretarios y un policía por el robo de droga de un tribunal (Clarin)

Drogas en Mar del Plata, episodio II. Jueces, policías y una historia de novela (El Ojo Digital)

Intercambiando

Over 300 people have filed a $15 million lawsuit against farm owners, as well as the provincial and national governments for the damage caused by the fires and the smoke.

UPDATE 4/20 10:07 : It appears meteorologists are about as accurate here as back in the U.S. Changing wind patterns have given Buenos Aires residents a relief from the smoke and a breath of fresh air. The winds are expected to turn back and take a southernly direction by this afternoon, returning the smoke to the city.

The smoke that has blanketed Buenos Aires for the past week will continue through at least Wednesday, Servicio Meteorologico Nacional warned today. On Wednesday the wind patterns will provide a respite from the smoke choking the city, however the relief will be minor and short lived.

For city residents the negative health affects of living downwind from a 173,000-acre grass fire are starting to take hold. Over 400 people have been admitted to hospitals for smoke related ailments, prompting the Ministry of Health to declare a yellow alert for hospitals, ophthalmologists and pediatricians. Authorities in La Plata have recommended people not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.

Smoke clogs the streets and obscures the view of the Obelisco in Buenos Aires

Carbon monoxide levels have been steadily rising in Buenos Aires, with levels as high as 17 ppm detected. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure include headaches, dizziness and nausea, which worsen with long-term contact. Prolonged exposure to fresh air is required for carbon monoxide to clear from the bloodstream, something that is currently in short supply in the Buenos Aires area.

Adding to the misery of residents in Capital Federal, transportation cuts are still in effect. Highways Ruta 9, 12 and 14 are closed, all departures from Retiro bus station are cancelled and Aeroparque Jorge Newberry has been closed because due to poor visibility. All flights have been diverted to Ezeiza, however visibility problems there have led to numerous cancellations and delays. Supte lines A, B and D are closed and C is running with lengthy delays.

Officials confirmed in a press conference today, that new fires have been detected along Ruta 12. Police officials said they spotted “two people on horseback setting fires, and in another area a tractor with a trailer on fire – which is the typical method employed for burning pastures.”

The fight against the fires in the Parana Delta is proving to be strikingly ineffective. Over 297 separate fires are currently burning and there are only 300 firefighters in the area to combat the blazes. Another 300 firefighters are being held in reserve and will rotate in to relieve those on the front lines. With such a glaring lack of manpower, the government is admitting that it cannot stop the blazes. The Secretary of the Environment, Ramina Picolotti, conceded that “humans can not put [the fires] out, we can only help nature.”

Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo confirmed today that two people are in custody in connection with starting the fires and a third is being searched for. Additionally the government has leveled charges against 200 farm owners for their liability in starting the fires.

“This is not a forest fire, it’s the burning of grasslands for greed and personal gain which has caused enormous risk to the population and enormous expense to the state. It’s unacceptable,” Picolotti stated in a press conference today. However the government has taken care to say their charges against the 200 farm owners have nothing to do with the ongoing negations to resolve the campo crisis.

The agricultural sector has responded angrily to the charges. Vice President of the Rural Society, Hugo Biolcati argued that "it is extremely unfair and unwise to hold an entire sector responsible, such as farmers, for the actions of individuals." Today in an escalation of rhetoric, the farmers unions threatened to restart the strikes that crippled Argentina’s highway system and blocked food delivery to Buenos Aires for three weeks.

RELATED:

- State of Emergency: Highways to BsAs Closed

- Government Blames Farmers For the Delta Blaze

- BsAs Darkened By Smoke From Delta Grass Fires

- No Respite From Smoke Until Wednesday

- Government Blames Farmers For the Delta Blaze

- BsAs Darkened By Smoke From Delta Grass Fires

UPDATE 4/23 7:42 The dense cloud of smoke has returned to Buenos Aires, bringing with it a familiar smell and the expected round of transportation cuts. Visibility has dropped to 400m in the city and large sections of Rutas 9, 12 and 14 are all closed. Retiro bus station has stopped service to the northern part of Argentina as well as Brazil and Uruguay.

UPDATE 4/18 17:42 The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) is stating that winds from the north will continue through next Tuesday, bringing a steady stream of smoke into Buenos Aires. SMN additionally warns that the smoke will be especially bad this evening, resulting in "zero visibility in the city."

UPDATE 4/18 17:26 The Government has filed formal charges against 200 farm owners for the Parana Delta wildfire. In an attempt to distance the charges from the ongoing campo negotiations, Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo appeared on Radio 10 and stated that the charges have "nothing to do with the discussions with the agricultural sector."

With grass fires in the Delta still raging out of control, the smoke in the Capital is becoming increasingly intense. The poor visibility has forced the government to declare an emergency and close many of the main entrances to Capital Federal. The Panamericana between Campana and Pilar, autopista La Plata-Buenos Aires from Hudson to the Capital, and Rutas 9 and 12 are all closed to road traffic.

Additionally, Retiro station has suspended bus departures indefinitely and the Aeroparque Metropolitano is only operational for departures. Supte line C is closed and all other lines are operating with significant delays.

NASA Image showing the fire locations – outlined in red. The fire has spread to over 270 sq-miles.

According to Ernesto Arriaga, a spokesperson for the Direccion de Vialidad Nacional, there are locations where visibility on the autopistas drops to as low as 5 meters. On the highway connecting Ezeiza airport and Capital visibility never exceeds 200 meters.

The Servicio Meteorologica Nacional (SMN) is reporting that because of an "unusual phenomenon" the smoke will continue to hang over Buenos Aires for the foreseeable future. Winds from the North are transporting smoke from the Delta fires into the city and according to the SMN, "if the fires continue to be active, the smoke will persist."

The Secretary of the Environment, Romina Picolotti, has acknowledged that so long as the fire in the Delta continues, the dense smoke covering the city will continue. Picolotti has also said that the government is unable to stop the blaze, and is currently only working on containing the fire which has spread into Entre Rios. In statements to Radio Americano, Picolotti said that the fire will only be brought under control "if nature helps us."

Smoke blanketing the city of Buenos Aires.

Related:

Por la acción de los vientos, el humo se quedará varios días (Clarin)

Cerraron los principales accesos a la Capital Federal (Clarin)

El humo se incrementa y complica los accesos a Capital; emergencia vial (La Nacion)

Smoke on the Water…. and in the Sky Over Buenos Aires (A Texan in Argentina – Personal Blog)

UPDATE 4/18 17:42 The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) is stating that winds from the north will continue through next Tuesday, bringing a steady stream of smoke into Buenos Aires. SMN additionally warns that the smoke will be especially bad this evening, resulting in “zero visibility in the city.”

UPDATE 4/18 17:26 The Government has filed formal charges against 200 farm owners for the Parana Delta wildfire. In an attempt to distance the charges from the ongoing campo negotiations, Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo appeared on Radio 10 and stated that the charges have “nothing to do with the discussions with the agricultural sector.”

Following tense negotiations with agricultural groups over the campo crisis, the Kirchner administration placed blame for the Delta fires squarely on the farming sector.

Buenos Aires as seen from the Rio Plata today.

“There is no doubt…those responsible are farmers who are showing a great disinterest in the community, an inconceivable irrationality and enormous irresponsibility. They are not measuring the consequences, just maximizing their profits ” proclaimed Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, speaking from the Casa Rosada.

The attacks against the agricultural sector closely follow the tact taken during the height of the strike, two weeks ago. At the time President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner accused the farmers of extorting the government. Additionally she painted the farmers as greedy and selfish with statements such as “When the cows become fat it is for them and the hardships are for everyone else.”

The Vice President of the Rural Society, Hugo Luis Biolcati quickly responded to Randazzo’s charges, asserting that the government is trying to take advantage of the disaster and affect the ongoing negotiations.

Palermo, Buenos Aires under a cloud of smoke.

“It is extremely unfair and unwise to hold an entire sector responsible, such as farmers, for the actions of individuals,” argued Biolcati. The Vice President of the Agrarian Federation, Ulises Forte openly questioned the Interior Ministers motivations, saying “I think there is a clear policy intent of the Government to distract from the heart of the debate and to distract the public with the disaster. What is happening is very serious. But much more serious is the political infantilism, you can not blame the farmers. “

The agricultural sector has recently been accusing the government, and specifically Randazzo, with resorting to pressure tactics. With the negotiations between the government and the agricultural sector stalling, both sides are looking for maneuvering room to bring about a favorable resolution.

Randazzo admits that they don’t know who started the fires, but insists that they “are conducting investigations to find those responsible.”

To date, no one has been charged with starting the fires.

Parana Delta fires as seen from the air.

Related

La Presidenta también vinculó al humo con la actividad agraria y habló de irresponsabilidad (Clarin)

La quema de pastizales se coló en el conflicto con el campo (La Nacion)

UPDATE 4/18 17:42 The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) is stating that winds from the north will continue through next Tuesday, bringing a steady stream of smoke into Buenos Aires. SMN additionally warns that the smoke will be especially bad this evening, resulting in "zero visibility in the city."

UPDATE 4/18 17:26 The Government has filed formal charges against 200 farm owners for the Parana Delta wildfire. In an attempt to distance the charges from the ongoing campo negotiations, Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo appeared on Radio 10 and stated that the charges have "nothing to do with the discussions with the agricultural sector."

Smoke clouded the Buenos Aires skyline this afternoon, the result of island grass fires in the Parana Delta. Strong winds are driving the smoke down river, creating severe visibility problems on the highways and enveloping the city in an acrid odor. The fires are located 30 minutes north of Buenos Aires and provincial governments are proving unable to extinguish them.

Buenos Aires obscured by smoke from the delta fires.

The fires are consuming grasslands in the Parana Delta, a complex network of islands, rivers and mainland, 30 minutes north of Buenos Aires. The fires are currently not accessible by overland vehicles, leaving the government with few options in extinguishing them. Firefighters are trying to dampen the flames through the use of water delivering helicopters, however that is proving ineffective as the fires rage on into the second week.

The provincial governments are working in tandem to prevent the fires from moving upriver and into the farming pastures of Entre Rios.

The Interior Ministry closed over 200km of highways today as a safety precaution. With visibility described as "virtually zero," the notoriously dangerous Ruta 9 became impassable. Already this week numerous accidents on Ruta 9 have left 4 dead and more than 20 injured.

Two men suspected of starting the fires have been detained by police, although neither has been charged with a crime. The authorities are still searching for the cause of the fires.

www.lnteve.com

Related

Otra vez, humo y mal olor llegaron a Capital (Clarin)

El Gobierno prohíbe circular en un tramo de la ruta 9 (INFOBAE.com)

Smoky (GoodAirs)

Smoky Skies (line of sight)

Fire Haze Shrouds Argentine Capital (Washington Post)

"I would really like a military dictatorship like the one of Juan Perón. When he made you disappear, you stayed disappeared!" Carl proclaims in the episode. The comment occurs during a beer-fueled discussion about politics in Moe’s Tavern.

It was in fact, not Perón’s regime but a 1976-83 military dictatorship following his rule that disappeared 30,000 Argentine citizens. The show isn’t due to air in Argentina until June or July, but clips of the scene posted to YouTube have already been viewed over 120,000 times.

The director of COMFER, Gabriel Mariotto, won’t acquiesce to Pepe’s demand, deciding that "Argentine society has matured and it would be irrational" to censure the episode. This would appear to be the last word on the matter as COMFER is the government agency tasked with regulating radio and television in Argentina.

Lorenzo Pepe isn’t the only government official in Latin America fighting against The Simpsons . Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently took the popular series off of the air in his country, calling the show “inappropriate” for children. The series apparently ran afoul of a law which prohibits “messages that go against the education of boys, girls and adolescents.”

In Venezuela the series has been replaced by re-runs of Baywatch Hawaii .

It’s long past midnight high up in paradise, and Atilio Csik’s hand-rolled cigarette has cast a wispy haze across his mountain cabin. Atilio washes down the smoke with a gulp of red wine, then continues to regale three eager city slickers with a patient profile of his life in the mountains.

He’s no raconteur – preferring to explain the right of public access to rivers and lakes rather than to wax on about the adventures that have coloured his 28 years in the mountains – but he plainly likes conversation. At 1:30am, with only a few amber lights still glowing, Atilio finishes his wine, and sets off to bed. He will wake up long before sunrise the next morning, setting off on one of his occasional journeys out of the mountains and in to town.

Photo By: Eric Benson

Every day of the year, Atilio’s home, a wooden cabin perched above the Río Azul, is open to throngs of hikers seeking a warm meal, mate, and a place to the rest their heads. Refugio Cajón del Azul, the public name of Atilio’s home, is set against the startling beauty of the Andean Comarca of the 42nd Parallel, a mountainous area west of El Bolsón and Lago Puelo that has become of one Argentina’s most treasured wilderness sanctuaries.

In 1960, the Club Andino Piltriquitron (CAP) was founded to help open these mountains to those who felt their call most strongly. CAP began with only a few refugios (the name given to these South American alpine hiking huts) but has now swelled to become a confederation of 11 with a network of trails crisscrossing the peaks and valleys of the region. Most of the CAP refugios are privately owned and operated, gaining entry into the CAP network based on their adherence to the group’s governing philosophies, which emphasise conservation and low-impact, non-exploitative, alpine tourism.

Photo By: Eric Benson

On an early December trip to the region, I made the trek up Piltriquitron, carelessly underestimating the snow and freezing winds at the top. I arrived back at the refugio with a growling stomach and numb fingers. Inside, I found a crackling fire, oven-cooked pizza, and the refugio’s own home-brewed beer.

Camping is all well and good, but stumbling off the frigid summit of a mountain into a cabin where you can get a hearty pizza and a few pints strikes me as the ideal mix of stark nature and rugged civilisation.

My experience in Atilio Csik’s refugio, Cajón del Azúl, was no different. Cajón del Azul lies a three-hour trek from Wharton, a place that is nothing more than a four-way intersection an hour’s bus ride from the centre of El Bolsón. The hike up is spectacular – the trail winds along the side of the strikingly turquoise Rio Azul as it cascades down from its glacial source.

Photo By: Adam Bloch

Thirty minutes into the hike, you find yourself making a perilous crossing of two bridges that, in my mind, have come to define the word ‘rickety’ (think ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, subtract a few planks from the bridge and stop worrying about the crocodiles).

Once you cross these treacherous obstacles, you find yourself deep in the forest, occasionally peeking out at the river and the rest of the Comarca range as you make the steady ascent towards the refugio.

The final approach to Cajón de Azul evokes a sense of fairy-tale wonder. You’ve been navigating perilous bridges, scrambling over rock faces, and trudging up and down an endless series of heavily wooded hills, and suddenly you find yourself in a bucolic clearing with a vegetable garden, a bright green lawn, and an immaculate log cabin.

Photo By: Eric Benson

It has a perfect, somewhat eerie beauty. When I knocked on the door, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find a grinning wolf dressed in an old woman’s rumpled garb.

Cajón del Azul does have its own grinning wolf, but he’s of the most benevolent sort. Atilio, with his wizened face and full white beard, has a mythic air about him that is reinforced by the romantic arc of his life story.

The scion of Hungarian immigrants in Buenos Aires, Atilio left the bustle of the city behind at the age of 27, purchased the property on which Cajón del Azul currently sits, and began a life that of rugged isolation that would put Henry David Thoreau to shame. For 12 years, he lived exclusively off the land, raising crops, livestock, and his own family, before converting his home into a refugio in 1992.

Like Refugio Piltriquitron, Cajón del Azul is a careful mix of wilderness and bare bones humanity. There’s electricity, but it depends on a series of old car batteries. The lights in the central room range from dim to dimmer as the batteries slow lose their charge. Every few hours there is a brief blackout before Atilio or one of his staff members hooks a new battery into the system. Then, the flickering towards darkness resumes again.

Photo By: Eric Benson

There are hot showers at Cajón del Azul, but they’re only available for a few hours at night. The oven is wood burning, and specialises in pouring out rich stews and warm bread – the perfect complements to the starry mountain night.

This fairy tale existence, however, is in peril. Tourism to the area is unrestricted, and in the height of the January season, Atilio has found himself playing host to as many as 280 guests. It’s his policy never to turn a hiker away, a decision that reflects his idealistic hospitality, but also results in overcrowding.

Lest anyone think that financial concerns drive this inclusiveness, Atilio says that when the place is packed, he lowers prices if he doesn’t think the experience is up to par. I didn’t need to hear this to know that the bottom line had little to do with the workings of Cajón del Azul.

When my hiking companion asked if he could buy one of the Cajón del Azul T-shirts that Atilio and his three staff members were wearing, Atilio gave a soft smile and replied that he regretted that he couldn’t please my friend, but that ‘he didn’t like engaging in that sort of commerce’. My friend was never so pleased to have been refused service.

Despite this anti-commercial posture, Cajón del Azul and the rest of the CAP refugios have embraced tourism even as worries mount that the growing numbers may compromise the area’s splendour.

Photo By: Eric Benson

“The era of massive tourism coincides with the era of greatest risk to the forest,” Atilio said in our late night conversation – he pointed to the increasing number of fires that have torched the region in the last 15 years, many due to human carelessness, and to the growing incursion of foreign plants that has crowded out fragile local species.

Protecting the Comarca from the full brunt of human development relies on the continued collaboration of public and private forces. All the land in the Comarca is privately owned, much of it by cattle and sheepherders who use the high plateau as pasture area. Yet, all of the land in the Comarca is under the stewardship of the provincial government. If a landowner in the Comarca wants to do so much as fell a tree on his property, he must consult with a provincial officials before legally carrying it out. It means a lot of hassle, but also a real commitment to conservation.

Even in this carefully controlled zone, the balance of tourism and nature is a constant concern. In the last ten years, three new mountain houses have cropped up within an hour’s walk of Cajón del Azul, threatening to inflate the already high number of visitors.

One of the new mountain houses, Refugio El Retamal, is a year-round CAP refugio that is a kind of sister facility to Cajón del Azul. The other two houses, La Playita and La Tronconada, occupy a more shadowy area in the Comarca landscape.

Photo By: Eric Benson

Neither La Playita nor La Tronconada has been granted entry into the CAP, and both advertise their presence with the commerce-promoting signs that Atilio shuns. One of the bylaws of the CAP is that refugio owners should ‘impede the creation of other similar mountain houses in the areas serviced by already existing refugios ’. It would be silly to cast the owners of these new mountain huts as crass capitalists, but their decision to do business on the mountain poses another risk to the delicate balance between access and exploitation.

While the Comarca is an increasingly popular summer destination, it’s worth remembering that its exposure to humanity is limited almost completely to a two-month window. In the winter, Atilio spends his time in almost complete isolation at Cajón del Azul, working on carpentry projects and relaxing amid the snowy splendour. The only interruptions to his solitude are visits from his daughter and the friends and neighbours who occasionally make the snowy trek from El Bolsón. It’s rare though, that Atilio sees more than 30 people in these winter months.

The fairy tale charm of the refugios of the Comarca stems from the solitude that they maintain even as tens, even hundreds, of hikers file in and out of their walls. There were 40 other guests staying with me during my night at Cajón del Azul, but as the lights flickered and the last wisps of smoke drifted off of Atilio’s cigarette, it could have been the dead of winter. These mountains, threatened as they are by human incursion, have the spectacular power to make you feel small without feeling lonely. Here, I’ve experienced joyous solitude amid the pleasures of company – a feeling that maybe only a wooden cabin on the side of a mountain can bring.

A massive ‘white elephant’, a road that stops in mid air and a man made island with a building on it that looks like it belongs in The Smurfs.

What is it that connects these things? The answer is that they are all unfinished constructions that can be stumbled across on a wander around Buenos Aires.

In recent years Buenos Aires, and indeed the rest of Argentina, has been experiencing a development boom. It has in fact been described by property developer John Boyle as the largest in the nation’s history.

But it is the regularity with which ambitious projects seem to be left unfinished that grabs the attention of so many. Dramatic empty buildings with no windows or doors, unfinished developments that seemed so impossible that it is a marvel that the project was ever approved, even roads that stop in mid air… All can be seen in Argentina’s capital and all lead to one big question: how is this possible?

The San Telmo Road to Nowhere. Photo By: Kate Stanworth

The economic crash is often cited as a major cause of Argentina’s unfinished projects, and this does make for a poetic explanation. A decaying shell of a building is certainly a dramatic symbol of Argentina’s rapid economic demise in 2001. Unfortunately however the economic crash does not always represent a reasonable explanation. The dates quite simply do not add up.

Poor financial management is a frequently speculated explanation, as is financial and political corruption. Some have even suggested that Argentine culture is to blame, saying that the laid back, unrestrained nature of society is partly responsible for the premature abandonment of these projects.

This argument, although popular, has been described by sociologist Adrian Krupnik as ‘risky’. Indeed, as fellow sociologist Guillermo Jajanovich puts it: “To refer to the mentality of a nation in the hour of explanation of unfinished projects is not constructive or accurate.”

So what really lies behind this phenomenon? Even if for no other reason than pride, you would think that to be in charge of a development and then leave it unfinished, would seem like an unattractive idea. Money and politics certainly have some part to play in it and through the exploration of some bizarre and dramatic examples I hope to find a more worthy answer than ‘oh, that’s just Argentina’.

White Elephant

White elephant – ‘A supposedly valuable possession whose value is outweighed by its cost.’

The building, now known as the ‘white elephant’, that resides in the shantytown in Barrio General Belgrano had the potential to be anything but. Built during the first Perón era it was designed to be a hospital for people suffering from tuberculosis. Newspaper Clarín stated that, standing 15 storeys tall, the hospital would have been the biggest of its kind in Latin America. Instead the building was never finished; in fact it was not even adorned with windows or doors.

The White Elephant. Photo By: Kate Stanworth

Eduardo Lonardi’s ‘capture of Córdoba’ in 1955 which instigated the downfall of President Perón also signalled the end of work on the massive hospital. An understanding of why the newly empowered military was motivated to halt the construction of the hospital is a difficult thing to achieve. However, the story of the ‘white elephant’ is nonetheless extremely useful in exposing an element of Argentine politics that has played a large part in leaving so much of this city unfinished; the continuity, or rather, as Jajanovich puts it, discontinuity of political process.

Instability has never been too far away from Argentine society. Just a momentary glance around you and the results of the economic ups and downs are easily seen, but it is the political turmoil that is so significant here. From 1816 and the declaration of independence to the modern day, Argentine politics has seen a tussle between democracy and dictatorship: Yrigoyen-Uriburu, Perón-Lonadi, so on and so forth.

People living around the White Elephant building. Photo By: Kate Stanworth

In fact, between 1929 and 1976 alone there were six military coups. Even when power was not being won and lost through coups, the form of government was still changing at a rather high frequency. As Jajanovich says, there has often been ‘a lack of continuity of the democratic regime’. This historical context alone illustrates the simple fact that governments, ideologies and personnel were frequently being displaced. It is perhaps unsurprising that numerous projects have remained unfinished in the light of such political inconsistency.

Not To Plan But Not All Bad

While the hospital was never finished, and this was undoubtedly a loss to the city of Buenos Aires, it is interesting to note that 53 years later the space is being put to good use. Initially the ground floor became a home for 54 families who had been hit hard by the economic struggles that have haunted so many in Argentina in recent times. However on the 4th December 2007, the ‘white elephant’ was passed over from the porteño government into the hands of Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a human rights organisation that was started by mothers of the disappeared following the dirty war. The Madres have since made the run down building home to a health centre and two schools, including the Universidad Popular that allows people from one of the city’s most impoverished neighbourhoods to gain a higher education.

The White Elephant. Photo By: Kate Stanworth

The impact that the Madres have had should not be underestimated. One resident described her gratitude by saying: “We give thanks to the mothers because everyone passes by here saying that they are going to do things and they never do.” However on top of this it perhaps illustrates another ‘Argentine characteristic’ that is more positive than empty buildings and unfinished constructions. That is that very rarely are these unfinished projects left to decay. The ‘white elephant’ is just one example of something positive being found in the aftermath of a failed project.

The Road To Nowhere

Nestled in the corner of San Telmo near Parque Lezama is a motorway that splits into roads going in different directions. The right hand one continues happily on its way and is the well known and well used ‘Autopista 25 de Mayo’. The left hand side stops in mid air. No details are spared. The slabs of concrete, the steel cables are all there as if construction was stopped half way through a working day.

So why or how did this happen? The answer turned out to be very difficult to track down and very, very simple. Initially the Ministry of Urban Development’s explanation was straightforward:

“There is no road that stops in mid air. It doesn’t exist.”

“There is no road that stops in mid air. It doesn’t exist.” Photo By: Kate Stanworth

For obvious reasons this was not a satisfactory explanation. Before long however, the secretary to Sergio Levit, head of Urban Development, soon rang back to offer a more detailed explanation.

“The road was going to connect ‘Autopista 25 de Mayo’ with another motorway but then it was decided to be unnecessary.”

For a moment this seemed to be a normal and decent explanation. But then it began to strike me as odd. Is it normal to begin construction on a major motorway before deciding whether or not it is absolutely necessary? But there is honestly no more to the explanation. No corruption, no economic problems or financial mismanagement. Bad planning and bad planning alone is the cause of this dramatic road in San Telmo.

Or perhaps it is just a different, and it must be said less efficient, outlook on construction. The connecting road was necessary and construction began; it was then decided it was not so necessary and construction stopped: simple.

As Jajanovich pointed out, not all urban projects and developments can be explained according to strictly political causes.

A Sporting Island?

The ‘Ciudad Deportiva de Boca Juniors’ – or as it is now known ‘Ex-Ciudad’ – is another example of a project, which although did not materialise as planned, has not gone entirely to waste.

In January 1965, Boca Juniors were granted 40 hectares of the Río de la Plata in order to build a ‘sporting island’. The land was gifted to Boca Juniors although not without conditions. Law No. 16.575 stated that Boca Juniors ‘must build a stadium with a minimum capacity of 140,000, auxiliary fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, a gymnasium, swimming pools and athletic tracks.’ The decree, which was ratified by the senate and congress, went on to say that if Boca Juniors were to fail to achieve the required construction then the land would once again become public land.

Ex-Ciudad Deportiva de Boca. Photo By: Kate Stanworth

In 1979, 14 years after government decree gave the land to Boca, it was decided that Boca Juniors had ‘fallen in breach of Law No. 16.575’.

This is when things start to be handled in a manner that is less than straight forward. The land was indeed repossessed and passed back into government hands. However Boca were allowed to continue with the construction and upon completion were to receive ownership of the land once more. The previously mentioned construction obligations were changed so as not to include the stadium itself and to top it all off, the land that they would now receive was increased by 19 hectares to a total of 59.

Fast forward another three years, to 1982, and Boca have been handed legal ownership of the land despite the fact that still nothing has been finished. One representative for the Association for the Reserve, whose involvement is due to the fact the island sits next to a nature reserve, summed up the fact that the government requirements on construction were ignored by all parties when he nonchalantly said: “We already know, this type of clause is never fulfilled.”

The bottom line is that today, over 40 years later, the island is still not finished. It is the events over the last 40 years however that give insight into why it was not finished and perhaps to why other constructions have gone the same way.

Boca Juniors press department simply stated that ‘it happened ages ago, no one here remembers it now’. But what really caused this project to go unfinished? The fact that the land was obtained without charge and was sold for US$22m could certainly raise a few eyebrows as to who exactly profited. According to ‘Association for the Reserve’: “Many people who had invested in the sporting island were left empty handed.” But perhaps for some it was more profitable for the land to remain undeveloped.

Clearly, the political leniency played a major role; standards and requirements were repeatedly set and then repeatedly not met. Yet nothing was ever done in response to the constant failure to meet the demands. The fact that this was able to happen over a construction project between Boca Juniors, one of the biggest football clubs in the nation, and the national government does not bode well for smaller constructions amongst less powerful parties.

Just like with the unfinished road one must also question the merit of the original project. Put simply, the plan was to build a 40 hectare (today it is in fact 70 hectare) island and put a huge stadium along with other sporting sites on it. Apart from the fact that idea to replace the existing Bombanera stadium (a stadium described by pundits and fans alike as ‘the one and only’ or ‘irreplaceable’) was dubious, there is another question that comes to mind: who builds what would be the largest stadium in Latin America, and perhaps the world, on a man-made island? Land-based sporting arenas are difficult projects as it is, just look at Wembley in London or Slavia Prague’s stadium which took three decades to complete, one could certainly argue that the sporting island of Boca Juniors was always a plan made to fail.

Finally, there is that all familiar thread of political discontinuity running through this story throwing spanners in the works. The sporting island project was only truly killed by the arrival of a new Boca president, Martin Noel, in 1981 and it was all very simple. Noel was not as enthused by the construction of a stadium on an island as his predecessor Alberto Armando and so the dream was over.

Outside the White Elephant. Photo By: Kate Stanworth

Boca Juniors Football Club shares a political timeline with the government of Argentina, a history of chopping and changing. In the 103-year history of the football club, Boca Juniors have had 32 presidential changes giving each president an average of three years at the helm. As can been seen with government projects such as the ‘White Elephant’, things are a lot harder to finish when continuity and consistency is such a rarity.

Not To Plan But Not All Bad; Part 2

The outlook for this man-made island is not as bleak as it once was. The land has since passed hands once again, this time for US$51.5m, having been bought by the Argentine property company IRSA. They, in partnership with George Soros, have published plans to turn the island into a ‘city within a city’. With a moat of sorts already in existence, IRSA plan to make a high security, high spec community where the rich and famous can live away from the hustle, bustle and poverty of the city. The plans are controversial for obvious reasons, but once again it is an illustration of a project growing out of the ashes of another.

Ironically, to date this project has also been delayed. This time by the economic problems following the crash in 2001.

Photo By: Kate Stanworth

In the book ‘The Rest’, Ruben Szuchmacher explores the phenomenon of unfinished constructions talking about individual culpability and saying “we feel their acts, their decisions, their negligence.” It is certainly true that single people have had a great impact; plans changed or ended on the whim of individuals.

But is it that simple? The ‘spectacular crash’, as historian Blustein puts it, bought ‘social and political chaos’ which cannot be underestimated in the more recent examples. Yet it seems to be the political systems, or lack of consistency within the political systems, that has most contributed to this ‘Argentine tendency’.

Perhaps then, with the period of stability that the nation is now enjoying, empty buildings and unfinished roads will become a thing of the past.

Sabat’s Cartoon from Clarin

Kirchner began her April 1st pro-government rally in Plaza de Mayo by holding up Hermenegildo Sabat’s cartoon and railing against it for several minutes. Calling Sabat "cuasi mafioso" she declared that she would not be quieted and didn’t understand the intent of the cartoon.

Noted Argentine humorist Enrique Pinte tried to clarify the political message for Christina during En Perspectiva la Segunda Mañana . "She took it like a mafia message to shut-up. How is the president of the republic, with the power that she has, going to believe that what he is saying is to shut-up? What he is saying is every time you speak, you fuck it up. "

The following week Luis D’Elia, a militant protest leader and former member of the administration, took to the airwaves to continue the attacks on the media. Last seen physically assaulting peaceful protesters by the Obelisco, D’Elia pulled no punches against Grupo Clarin. Clarin’s 24-hour new station, Canal 13, "is aways putting a pistol to the head of democracy" declared D’Elia. "Before you used dictatorship to remove people, today the media is the dictatorship."

Luis D’Elía Confronting Anti-Kirchner Protesters

Curiously, it was Canal 13 which provided D’Elia the forum to express his views.

Even Kirchner’s son, Maximo, has taken to the streets and is leading a piquetero movement against Grupo Clarin. Maximo began his campaign during Christina’s pro-government speech by leading a group of anti-Clarin protesters. Controlling a group of 500 piqueteros who answer only to him, Maximo has since initiated several noisy protests against Grupo Clarin.

Maximo had previously expressed a desire to be a journalist himself, but with admittedly little inclination for studies his dream came to an early end. Following in his parents footsteps, Maximo is currently pursuing elected positions in Patagonia.

Argentine media outlets have not taken the recent attacks lightly. A barrage of anti-Kirchner political satire has been printed in recent days, and is sure to continue as the Kirchners try to silence their critics.

ForniCard Ad printed in Perfil – "To be the queen of an entire country, Priceless."

Related

El hijo de Néstor y Cristina armó la ofensiva anti-prensa (Perfil)

Top Kirchner Thug, D’Elía Now Attacking The Press (ATexaninArgentina)

Priceless (GoodAirs)

Luis D’Elía a los golpes (Video – Mefeedia.com)

Dr. Lector (Creator of the Priceless ad)

Construction in Plaza Matheu.
Photo From: Cronica

The construction began shortly after Easter, when “a group of people took over the public space, removed all of the playground equipment, the benches, and even the trees.” Shortly there-after “a truck brought bricks and they began to build”, the angry city residents said.

Neighbors of Matheu plaza protested to the municipal and provincial government yesterday, desperately pleading to have the builders evicted. The residents are becoming frantic as "construction is advancing quickly" and nobody is taking measures to halt it. The neighbors are hopeful that Governor Hermes Binner will act hastily; otherwise the plaza will be the new residence for two of the area’s more industrious families.

Related
Usurparon Una Plaza (Cronica)