lo-de-alla.org

Voters also chose members of newly formed communal councils

[Translation of an article from La Jornada of Mexico City for July 11. See original here. Buenos Aires is an autonomous city ruled by a Chief of Government, a Deputy Chief of Government and a 60-member Legislature. All elected official serve four-year terms. The Communal Councils, discussed in the article, are a new feature.]

By Stella Calloni

Buenos Aires – As predicted in the polls, the current head of government of this city, Mauricio Macri, of the rightist Propuesta Republicana (PRO) party, won the election tonight but is to stand in a runoff on July 31 in which he will compete with former Education Minister Daniel Filmus, candidate of the country’s ruling Frente para la Victoria (FPV), as occurred in 2007 but with a stronger challenge by the latter this time. Most important was the election of comuneros to the communal councils in Buenos Aires.

Initial data from the 26 percent of polling places counted show more than 45 percent for Macri, 30 percent for Filmus and, in third place, Fernando Pino Solana of Proyecto Sur, who received 13 percent of the vote, half of what he received in 2007. (more…)

Timerman faults Macri for accepting US anti-terrorism training for city police without federal approval

[Translation of an article from Diario Hoy of La Plata, Argentina, for February 6. See original here.]

Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman today accused Mauricio Macri [head of government of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires] of turning into “a feudal lord” within the city and repeated his criticism of Buenos Aires management for accepting financing from the United States for training of city police without notifying the federal government.

“I am a firm opponent of having the security forces trained by other countries,” declared the Kirchner administration’s head of diplomacy, who also said of recent statements by national and provincial authorities concerning the conflict, “The only thing they do is verify that my criticism was correct.”

In the same vein, he pointed out that he had always rejected that “the United States finance courses for Argentine security forces because that is a violation of national sovereignty.” (more…)

The housing problem and the controversy over immigration

[Translation of an article from La Nación of Buenos Aires for December 10. See original here.]

by Maia Jastreblansky

The origins of the conflict. The violent incidents in Villa Soldati, which have resulted in three deaths so far, have their origins in the serious housing shortage, which has worsened in the southern area of the national capital.

According to the Instituto de la Vivienda de la Ciudad (IVC – City Housing Institute), some 500,000 people in the city are in need of housing assistance. There is a housing emergency resulting from the marked growth of makeshift dwellings.

In the area surrounding the Indoamericano Park, an important green area for the city and the epicenter of the occupations, are Villa 20 and Los Piletones. It is in the context of a housing crisis that the residents of those surrounding areas decided to cross over into the park and begin dividing it up into lots for the construction of new dwellings. (more…)