“Children, are you hungry? Come one by one. “I will write down their identity, their names, where they are from, and they will receive individual help,” he said. Argentina, Sandra PettovelloWhen they reprimanded him for almost abandoning 50,000 soup kitchens And picnic areas It spread throughout the territory of Argentina. Javier Milei’s far-right government considered social justice an “aberration”. Milei called for the elimination of the idea that “where there is a need, there is a right” that the state should take care of. But hunger is a big problem in this South American country: Affects 10 million people and almost 60% of minors. The minister’s suggestion that starving people should go to his office “one by one” does not seem to suit today’s needs. If those under food emergency took his words literally, they would consist of: 100 kilometers of lineAccording to calculations made by sociologist Alex Roig, former head of the National Institute of Associationism and Social Economy (INAES).
The fight that took place this Monday in the brutal heat at Pettovello’s suggestion was smaller but no less impressive: more than two kilometers. There is a queue from the Constitución train station to the ministry he commands. “The line against hunger” they called out. “We invited everyone who came to our dining rooms and the socio-community leaders of our dining rooms and picnic areas to listen to us. He wanted to serve us individually. Here we are and we want an answer,” said Celeste Ortiz, community care secretary for the Union of Popular Economy Workers (UTEP).
Minister’s rejection
The minister, a former television producer with no experience in social issues and no particular sensitivity, remained in office this time. “I didn’t quote people. When I saw them at the door of the ministry the other day, I went down to help them due to a special situation. But this time I won’t take them because I didn’t call them. “Leaders use people and keep them lined up under the sun.”
The official response did not come as a surprise. “We see that public food policy by this Government is inadequate. They do not know how to manage this situation or what kind of policy to plan. We request that you declare. food emergency act“. Leader of the Movement of Excluded Workers (MTE), Juan Grabois, A legal complaint was filed against Pettovello for his “failure to guarantee food to those in extreme poverty” and his “failure to fulfill his obligations as a minister with direct jurisdiction over the matter”. Grabois assures that in Argentina, the five dogs whom the anarcho-capitalist president treats like sultans in his board of directors are fed much better than the poor children of this country.
empty pockets
The 118 percent devaluation of the currency that ushered in the Milei era caused a strong price stamp. Inflation in December stood at 25% and a similar rate is expected for the month ending. According to the Mariano Moreno Center for Popular Sovereignty Studies, the price of vinegar increased by 64.2 percent, the price of oil by 45 percent, the price of flour by 43.5 percent and the price of milk by 41.4 percent. Retail sales fell 28.5% in January, according to a report by the Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME). Food and beverages saw a larger decline, at 37.1%. “Everything was expensive for the average consumer, leading to more careful selection of purchases and prioritizing the most pressing needs for income preservation.”
A restriction for the middle class has an impact of another nature on society. 45% Argentinians poor. Some of it went in procession to the Ministry of Human Capital. Some people did this on Friday when they received an interesting offer of personal attention from Pettovello, only to return home 72 hours later with documents in their pockets with nothing.
Catholic Church’s response
“Food cannot be an adjustment variable“, the Episcopal Conference said, asking that it “reach without delay” to those in need. Social movements ensure that the Government does not send money or food to the public kitchens, whose influx has increased as a result of the shock program. This failed until the Congress approved this despite social resistance. Over the last decade, these organizations became a wall of containment for anger, and at the same time administrators of a public food policy that Milei decided to implement for political reasons, except for the increase in currency called the Alimentar Card, which is a program that covers benefits for minors up to the age of 14.
Pettovello’s reluctance to donate to social movements also has an ideological basis. A few hours after the President’s reception Pope FranciscoThe Minister signed an agreement with the Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches of the Argentine Republic (Aciera) for the purchase of food for 36,150 people at 723 distribution points. Pentecostal temples promise to be means of communication between the State and the needy, who have hitherto been part of contingents leading Peronist or left-wing organizations out of survival or identity. Pettovello also signed an agreement with the Collaborative Foundation for Child Nutrition (CONIN), run by pediatrician Abel Albino, known for his extreme positions. ““Women should strive to offer their virginity to men, both physically and morally.”.