Argentina and the wonders of the global economy

[Karmadillo]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_kennedy/20040719.html

A large section of Buenos Aires' primary waterway, the Rio de la Plata, is lined with a heart-wrenching shantytown, unlike anything I have ever witnessed. It has thousands of inhabitants and stretches as far along the river as the eye can see. Driving past it as we entered the dense city core, my taxi driver, particularly animated at a chance to practise his English, noted with a hint of sad irony in his voice that "this is how the other 50 per cent live."

It wasn't just an off-the-cuff remark, but rather a chilling reminder of the reality of current day Argentina. In the past two months, I have seen that Buenos Aires, the capital, reflects this unique reality in an ongoing dichotomy. The city is like many European capitals, where the rich and beautiful shop, dine, party, and seem to live the high life, immune to economic circumstance.

The capital boasts streets lined with Armani, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton boutiques, great theatres and concert halls that support a vibrant arts community, beautiful architecture and a seemingly infinite number of dining establishments that always seem to be full, no matter the time of day or night. People pay others to walk their dogs for them. There are endless avenues of shops and stores for eccentric clothing, accessories and furniture; consumerism is not only fashionable, it's a way of life.

But the contrast between this excessive, flamboyant wealth and utter, destitute poverty is striking and moving… and it's on literally every corner. What's remarkable is that the rich and powerful appear oblivious to the blatant injustice that it brings to the fore.

Along these very same streets, only a stone's throw away from the riverside ramshackle huts, children too young to be faced with begging for survival, dressed in rags and filthy in appearance, relentlessly ask for food or money. They open your taxi door as you get out, then hold out their hand for a payment, or push and shove other children out of their "performance space" in front of cars at busy intersections where they juggle or do cartwheels, visiting the car windows afterwards for their commission.

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[Ganja Ninja]

1. Meet your future America.

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