The number of people living on the streets of Buenos Aires has reached record levels, with at least 4,522 recorded in May—a 38% increase since November 2023, according to municipal data. Aid workers say the true figure may be higher, as the city has installed warning signs on rubbish containers after people began sheltering inside them to sleep and search for food.
Since President Javier Milei took office in December 2023 and implemented his 'chainsaw' austerity plan, inflation has fallen from over 200% to around 30%, but more than 200,000 formal jobs have been lost, 18,000 businesses have closed, and household debt has risen sharply. The poverty rate initially soared above 50% before dropping to just over 30%, though analysts dispute the methodology behind that decline.
Juan Nuñez of the NGO Hogar de Cristo said: 'As the crisis deepens, poverty increases and so does homelessness. We’re preparing ourselves mentally to understand that this will continue in the coming years, with even more economic tightening that always hits those with the least the hardest.'
Pensioners and people with disabilities have been particularly affected by cuts. The government suspended benefits for disabled people and froze payments for essential services like therapy and transport. Activist Laura Alcaide, who has a visual impairment, said: 'We don’t have enough to eat, to live. People with disabilities already struggle to find jobs, and now many have lost their pensions.'
Hernán Letcher of the Centre for Argentine Political Economy noted that cuts to disability benefits are not significant for deficit reduction, suggesting they are intended to send a message: 'that he is willing to do whatever it takes to maintain the fiscal surplus.' With Milei's party set to form the largest bloc in the new congress from 10 December, organisations fear further austerity measures.
