With a different position commonly heard in these political and social sectors, the picket leader Edward Belibon It was the day of the last march of the leftist organizations: “The discussion on universal pay will prove that there is no other solution in Argentina but prosperity. The fact that Parliament is reviewing the law on universal aid means that we will have aid for years to come. They do not discuss the main problems, it is work and education“- he told Radio Miter that day.

Beyond the ideas usually offered by the political space of Belibon (it belongs to the Trotskyist Polo Obrero), his proposal roughly reflected the constant reality in the government’s efforts of the last twenty years, as the data compiled by it showed. The idea And fund Found On the evolution of official social assistance in Argentina.

Social assistance distributed through plans implemented by various governments and ministries became widespread after the 2001/2002 crisis, after the fall in convertibility, and “let everyone go.” But Since then it has not stopped growing through all the variables: the number of beneficiaries, the amounts paid and the share of these costs in GDP.

So what was believed to be a temporary aid would be to prevent or at least alleviate the suffering of many Argentines who fell into poverty and marginalization at the turn of this century. Became a constant policy of various authorities.

From 2015 to 2019 alone, according to Idesa, the number of benefits was reduced by 707,000 and the amount was reduced by 28,000 million pesos slightly more. This is not a big consolation: then the number of plans was more than ten million, and the cost was more than 960 000 million dollars.

Something similar happens Maintaining informal forms of work in the so-called. In the “popular economy”.Which ranges from cartoneros to a gang of unemployed with some trade, but in any case They depend on state aid and, even worse, on the concession of some indicator. The fundraiser’s report emphasizes that promoting workers’ cooperatives has become a “central element” of social policy.

Interestingly, in line with Belibon’s approach, the work of specialists Andres Skipan, Rodrigo Zarazaga and Lara Forlino emphasizes that public investment is focused on social assistance. “A growing policy that focuses on the popular economy and a lesser policy that seeks to integrate the most vulnerable sectors into formal employment.” The ratio is 10 to 1, against this last aspect.

As in other problematic aspects – public rates, tax distribution, pension system, deficit, inflation – Argentina has an upcoming report on social issuesWhich is difficult to solve over time.