Middle Class Revolt | Journeyman Pictures

Transcript

Argentina

Middle Class Revolt

22’35”

February 2002

Title & TC	Sync	V/O
02:00		In Buenos Aires, demonstrators protest outside the supreme court - accusing the judges of being in league with corrupt politicians. And in true to Argentinian style, the demonstration resembles a cacophonous concert played with pots and pans - it is known as the "cacerolazo" - the giant casserole. The whole of Argentine society is rising up to rebel against the politicians they see as responsible for the economic ruin of their nation. All walks of life - both rich and poor are uniting to fight for change.
Gilda Morales Unemployed teacher	We are sick and tired of them stealing our money and lying to us. There is less and less money and fewer and fewer jobs and still more poverty and hunger. And all we can do is watch the lying, corrupt politicians granting themselves even higher wages.
Gorge Roberto Natalá, Lawyer	What is this? Not one politician in jail. No one gives us our money back. People say: "Give me my money!" But they just reply by telling you something about the International Monetary Fund. As if we care about that. Give me back the money I have earned and saved.
03:27 Silvia Hiernan, unemployed accountant	My life is wasted, but I wish for my children to be able to live freely. I don't want them to be constantly exploited, like me. My children should be free. They were born here and should live here. They should not have to leave the country.
03:50 Jørgen Laurvig Buenos Aires Liria Mandini, Portrait photographer	Frustration is growing along queues in front of the consulates. Tens of thousands of Argentinians are trying to go abroad -especially to the countries from which they originate from, like Spain and Italy. Why are you standing in this queue? To get Italian citizenship for my three children. There is no future here. Isn't that a little drastic? Yes, definitely. But there is no future here. I have lived my life. I am 60 years old and I won't pack my bags, but my children should have the chance. In twenty years things might be brighter so that they may then return.
04:26 Gustavo Casaglieri Electrician	It is difficult. To leave ones family and friends. But I have no second thoughts. There is nothing else to do but leave. Things could brighten up… My father came here after the war and now I have to leave.
04:49 Carlos Daniél Guzmán, Foreman - Italian resident	I came here one month ago to settle down in Argentina. My family is here - my parents and my sisters. I didn't think it was this bad. I followed the news in Italy but thought this was normal for Argentina. When I arrived, I saw my friends and family were suffering badly. The middle-class and the lower middle-class have grown poorer. It is completely impossible for me to stay. I am trying to convince my family to go with me to Italy. There is no future here. I can't have a family here. If I bring my children here, they will inevitably suffer.
05:40		The queue in front of the Spanish embassy is even longer than the one in front of the Italian embassy.
		Spain and Italy provide citizenship to children and grandchildren of emigrants - tens of thousands of Argentinians have already taken this opportunity to return to the homeland of their parents and grandparents - and these days many more are on their way.
		In Buenos Aires, the long, fashionable, pedestrian street, La Florida is silent.
		Several shops have already closed down, whilst others are having exceptional sales
06:28 Maria del Carmen Hiriart, Shop Manager	Sales have more than halved. Compared to previous years turnover has simply plunged.
		Other shops send the shop assistants out on to the street to snatch customers.
06:41 Orlando Granblatt shop assistant	Six months ago we could already see that sales looked bad. There could easily be three-to-four days without any activity.
06:55		But there ARE places where business is booming.
		This market is in a closed-down textile factory - but it is no ordinary market. You can't buy or sell anything here with regular money - you barter. The barter market is a closed club, you can only join, if you have something to sell or if you can offer some kind of service - no one can buy their way in with money. However, Argentinians can fulfil most of their needs in these clubs, where everybody is both buyer and seller.
07:31 Osvaldo Ferral Watchmaker	I have a shop in the centre of town, but the atmosphere is better here. I also buy a lot of food-stuffs here, vegetables, fruit… Are things going better here or in the town centre? Things are better here.
07.46		There are about 4,500 barter-clubs spread over Argentina, with more than two-and-a-half million members - and now the national union of barter markets have printed their own money. This is of course illegal, but because the clubs fulfil the daily needs of millions of Argentinians, the government has turned a blind eye to this parallel currency. And it's not just for daily necessities, such as vegetables or the legendary Argentine steak - in this club, its 3,500 members can visit the doctor, have a gutter repaired, lay down on a couch at a psychiatrist, get a tattoo or a new haircut.
08.35 Joel Sánchez Hairdresser	I hope things will get better now, so there are jobs and we can earn money. But, at the moment this is all there is. Without the club you'd be unemployed? Yes, that is for sure.
08.47		The barter-club has even got its own travel agency, where members can barter for a holiday.
08.53 Mabel Coralia Travel agent	We provide what the hotels need. Some need bed sheets, others need painting or cleaning done. Could I, as an electrician, get away for the weekend? Yes, if a hotel needs an electrician then in return, they will offer accommodation.
09.12		The barter-club members are from the middle- and working-classes - like bus driver Alejandro Torrena, who, after a few months of selling herbal medicine has gained economic success.
09.25 Alejandro Torrena Bus driver, Salesman	Things were going badly, and then I was offered to join the barter-club. I wasn't much for it. They are only pieces of paper. Not real money. But, I was wrong. I'm actually happy with bartering. I'm helping others, and my self. I have a very large family.
09.50 Jørgen Laurvig Buenos Aires	For now, these markets assure the survival of thousands of Argentinian families. But, there is a larger vision for those behind these barter-clubs. They dream of a parallel economy, completely out of the politicians' hands.
10.05 Horacio Covas Barter-club Co-ordinator	Barter-clubs are a new phenomenon. It is a kind of reply to the social marginilization which follows globalisation, which has created some improvements, but creates mass-unemployment in Latin America. The barter currency shows that one can create a different, humane economy. One can include all sectors, no one is kept out. This is why barter money won't die out. It gives people freedom. Cancer sufferers, AIDS sufferers, both the old and the young are excluded by society. This was not the case before in Latin America, nor in many other countries.
10.54		It is seven years since Horacio Covas and a handful of friends started the first barter-club in a garage in Buenos Aires. Today, with 2.5 million members in Argentina alone, they hope barter-clubs can become an international phenomenon.
11.14 Horacio Covas Barter Club Co-ordinator	We will expand internationally, because in a globalised world development in one country has consequences for all the others. That is why it is no coincidence that Japan now has similar barter-clubs.
11.28		A few days later in a humble Buenos Aires neighbourhood, we visit the home of bus driver and herbal salesman, Alejandro, from the market.
11.46 Alejandro Torrena Bus driver, herbal medicine seller	You have done a lot with the kitchen. Yes. Through bartering I've got some new furniture. I got some kitchen furniture and that little cupboard for glasses. I'm trying to repair the house. It is quite old. I get the things I need by bartering. Even labour. Carpenters, plumbers. I've had new wiring. This lamp is also from the barter-club.
12.25		Alejandro Torrena is amongst the few relatively happy Argentinians. His wages from driving a bus and from the market give his family more money than the Plaul family, who live in one of the better neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. A few months ago, Daniel Plaul was forced to close his company, which distributed international newspapers and magazines. The family now survive on Alicia Plauls part-time job as a university lecturer and the money Daniel can earn from driving his own car as a taxi - this amounts to less than 400 EUROS a month.
13.03 Alicia Plaul, University lecturer	Those a little poorer were the first to be affected. One expected that it would not effect those with jobs, but after a while everyone was affected. I know many without work, or on part-time like me, who do not have enough to stay in their homes.
13.25 Daniel Plaul, Former Managing Director	Everything is uncertain. One still cannot see where Argentina is heading.
13.33		The family's savings have long since been used - so they just pull through because the house is paid for and the rest of the family help out. But, how long can this situation go on for?
13.44 Daniel Plaul, Former Managing Director	A few months… We can't be talking years. I don't think many families are able to survive like this for many years. More like for months. We are poor, but we live in a house for rich people. Yes, that is how it is right now.
14.02 Alicia Plaul University lecturer	I get so depressed about this… I've got tears in my eyes. It affects me so much, that I have begun thinking about leaving here.
14.15 Bárbara Plaul Economics student	I wouldn't want to leave. But if there is no chance of a decent living here… but there are possibilities abroad then maybe that is the right solution.
14.29		The family Plauls' economic down-turn is not a one-off in Argentina - over the past decades, millions of Argentinians from the country's large and powerful middle class have been pushed into poverty.
14.43 Eric Calgagno Economist	In 1975, Argentina had one million poor people. Today, there are 14 million – so there is a large inequality. The failure of politicians, businessmen, unions and the church to solve this problem has brought us to the current crisis.
15.04 Rosendo Fraga Analyst	This is Argentina's longest and most serious crisis. It has now lasted 44 months. In December and January the fall in the economy was over 20 percent. It's a real problem for the society. Unemployment at 23 percent is historic. In May, it could reach 30 percent.
15.24		The reasons for the crisis are not new - for decades the country's changing governments have financed the national debt by taking loans from abroad.
15.34 Elisa Carró Opposition leader, The Congress	It began in the years under President Ménem, when a massive foreign debt was accumulated. Widespread and unchecked corruption arose which led to this crisis, - a managerial crisis. Large groups in society were thrown into poverty and the middle class became the new poor.
16.01 Rosendo Fraga Analyst	The middle class has lost out, but it has also affected many more. The 60 percent of people, who are outside the banking system, - casual labourers and unemployed people are the big losers.
16.15		Geographically Argentina is a huge nation. From north to south, the country is as long as from the middle of Norway to North Africa. It is in the outlying provinces, like Jujuy (more than 1800 kilometres from Buenos Aires) that poverty is greatest. And uprisings started in towns like La Quiaca before they reached the larger cities.
17.16 Jørgen Laurvig La Quiaca	The Villazón river here marks the border between Argentina and Bolivia - between South America's richest and poorest countries. But this all appears to be changing here. It is very hard to see the difference between the town of Villazón in Bolivia and La Quiaca which lies on the Argentinian side of the border.
17.36		La Quiaca is so far from Buenos Aires, that the town has been forgotten by the government. The town's residents worked in silver and tin mines in the mountains, but after mass-sackings many survive only with help from the Catholic Church's social projects. The only real meal, many children and elderly get, is in the church's kitchens. Thousands of families only see money when one parent gets part-time work at an employment project. This includes Benita Copa, who is alone with her nine children.
18.13 Benita Copa unemployed	My husband has left me. He says he is working, but he never comes here to help with the children. I can make about 120 Pesos in three months but then I am left unemployed. I don't know how to support my children.
18.34		And the crisis also hits hard here, in the outskirts of the punaen - the plateau in the Andes mountains. 3,500 meters up, only hardy animals such as Lama and sheep can be herded. Peasants on the punaen are also hardy - they work their farms in a dry, cold and windy climate - and they only see money when they are fortunate enough to sell some meat or wool at the local market - but prices continue to plunge.
19.07 Juana Cristina Crúz Lama herder	I can't make ends meet, with these low prices. We can maybe make 1 peso or even 80 centavos for wool, but we can't live off that.
19.17 Nicolás Vilca Village leader	They don't buy anything at the market. There is no demand for meat, nor anything else, because of the country's economic crisis.
19.30		The economic crash over Christmas made the council in La Quiaca implement mass-layoffs - since then, the people have protested in the town with a cacerolazo almost every night - and the Catholic Church is foremost in the demonstrations.
19.58 Brother Manolo Priest, La Quiaca	The Church backs the people up. We feel a duty to support the poor. Now that Argentina is in a difficult situation, the people here in La Quiaca, and in the whole area, are isolated. The politicians lie and the police lock people up.
20.18		From La Quiaca to Buenos Aires Argentinians demand change. But they have trouble seeing where the change should come from - because they do not trust the established political parties.
20.42 Justin Student	First of all, they must all resign and give us back the money they stole.
20.48 Graciela Chemist	I believe in a people's Parliament, that is built up from the base, so the people can vote for those who will govern. I do not trust any politicians at the moment.
21.01 Humberto Roggero Party Chairman, Ruling party	We are a damned species. There is no way out for us. I even believe there is a danger that some of us might be killed as a result of the peoples anger. There is no way out.
21.21 Rosendo Fraga Analyst	The voter turnout was the lowest ever for the October 14^th election. We have had obligatory voter participation since 1902. Only 55 percent voted on October 14^th. 45 percent didn't vote despite the election law. They voted blank or with ruined ballot sheets.
21.42		The least unpopular politician in today's Argentina, is the leader of the opposition party, Elisa Carrió, who could be the country's next President. She believes there is a political solution to the crisis, but the result will be a different Argentina.
21.57 Elisa Carrió Opposition Leader, The Congress	We need restructuring. It will be painful but useful. I am in no doubt that after the apparent chaotic situation we will have a new country, maybe poorer, but definitely more dignified.
22.14		It will be a hard economic dressage for Argentina, where corruption must be wiped out and Argentinians must learn to pay tax instead of financing the states expenses with foreign loans.
22.28 Eric Calgagno Economist	They say the state has no funds. Then the state must get some! Taxation is the price for civilisation. And tax must be paid by the rich, not the poor. It is so logical it sounds stupid, but here it will demand a minor battle.
22.45 Rosendo Fraga Analyst	The drive of corruption is consumption. People become corrupt so that they can consume. Buy a house, a car and get a high standard of living. This, in a large part, is the explanation. When a society, such as Argentina, is so violently affected by a downturn in wealth, the grounds for a spartan society are laid. This is a very important condition for defeating corruption and I believe it is THE condition for getting rid of Argentina's corruption.
23.20		The government has devalued the Peso in an attempt to reinvigorate the country's industrial and agricultural exports. Agriculture once made Argentina one of the world's ten richest countries, which could measure itself along side the likes of Canada and Sweden. Argentina made up half of Latin America's entire economy, and many Argentines had a European standard of living. But this high living soon became reliant on corruption and debt. Now Argentines must get back to their traditional industries, such as leather and beef.
23.57 Eric Calgagno Economist	One must look at what must not happen. We must not destroy the state. If we do that, we will not be more free, but more dependent on the rich.
24.08 Rosendo Fraga Analyst 24.35 = end	Argentina must face the fact that is not a leading nation … other Latin American countries are no longer behind us. We have been living beyond our means and will now have to get used to a more modest, spartan and simple way of living. And if we do, then Argentina certainly has a future.

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