Poverty returns to Argentina

In Argentina over 10 percent of households are not connected to a clean water supply network and over 30 percent lack sanitation. Investment in water and sanitation was stable at around 2 percent of public expenditure between 2012 and 2015. It dropped to 1.4 percent in 2016 and 0.3 percent in 2017, months before President Mauricio Macri announced in May 2018 the request for an IMF emergency loan that may result in fiscal austerity with further cuts to budgets.

The alternative SDG report by CELS and FOCO registers a similar drop in public expenditure on housing and shift in how the State perceives its role “from 'builder' to 'facilitator' of private sector investment”. Yet, “Latin American experience (as studied in Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico) shows that restricting public policies to the promotion of mortgage financing, with focalized assistance in poorer areas while leaving to markets the key decisions on urban development and housing usually leads to more speculation around prices, deepens the urban gaps and social segregation.”

Source: Spotlight Report 2018.