Crisis increases number of people living on Buenos Aires streets

According to the Buenos Aires Census Survey, the number of people on the streets is highest in the small center, followed by the neighborhoods of Balvanera, São Cristóvão, Pompeia, Parque Patricios, Barracas, La Boca, and Palermo.

The Buenos Aires government reported that it has created a special process so that people who sleep on the streets can voluntarily accept to go to shelters, known as the Social Integration Center (CIS), as well as learn about the public policies they can resort to.

In the ten years I have lived in Argentina, we have never experienced such a harsh winter, and the number of people on the streets has increased dramatically. Carolina Freitas, Brazilian doctor

For Brazilian doctor Carolina Freitas, 42, who has lived in Buenos Aires for more than 10 years, this is the first time she has noticed that the city is poorer and more unsafe. “In the 10 years I have lived in Argentina, we have never had such a harsh winter, and there are so many more people on the streets,” she says. The country is going through “difficult months,” she says, with rising living costs, the end of social support and a freeze on salaries.

Criticism of the mayor

Through the Attention Network, the city of Buenos Aires announced that by August it will increase by 120% the number of staff and vans deployed on the streets of the capital, with the aim of transporting people from the streets to shelters. The service is provided by teams of psychologists and social workers.