Today was interesting. We started out with a trip to Austral’s downtown campus to listen to a lecture given by Dr. Guillermo Williams, a former employee for the Ministry of Health. We learned about the federal structure of the Argentinian government and what kind of effects it has on the country and their healthcare system. Like the United States, Argentina has various provinces with their own individual governments who together fall under one general government in a single political system.

In some ways, this structure can be very beneficial. Allowing each individual region to have the ability to somewhat self-govern allows provinces with different people and problems to cater exactly to their specific needs. While the federal government creates regulations for these provinces, it is ultimately up to these regional governments to implement them. I can see this being successful in certain circumstances, as the opinions of one province may differ from the opinions of another, and what may work for one region may not be the appropriate approach the other regions of Argentina.

However, I can see this also posing a challenge for the country and it’s healthcare system. With so little power in the hands of the central government and their ability to impose federal regulations, it’s easier to understand why the healthcare system in Argentina is so fragmented, and why the levels in the quality of healthcare provided to Argentinians can differ so much. In some ways, the structure creates varying standards throughout the country, further complicating the country’s healthcare system.

It has been slightly difficult to understand the role of the Ministry of Health in the Argentinian healthcare system so far. Dr. William’s lecture provided some clarification, but I’m still curious about many aspects of this system. I am hoping this can be cleared up in future lectures.

As for the rest of the day, we listened to another lecture, this time on the history of Argentina. It was great to have the opportunity to better understand the country through this lecture, but I am also looking forward to actually going out and experiencing it’s history and culture firsthand. Hopefully, our trip to Palermo tomorrow will provide this.

Lastly, we visited the Immigration Museum. It was interesting to see this aspect of Argentina’s history, and how welcoming they seemed to be towards immigrants who came to this country. Like the United States, many of the citizens of Argentina are immigrants who picked up their lives in their home countries to seek a better living situation here. It’s interesting how many similarities the two countries share.

That’s all for now, talk soon!