Today we had quite the packed schedule with two lectures and a bus/walking tour of three of the neighborhoods in Buenos Aires! Our first lecture was given by the current sub secretary of health of Buenos Aires. We were lucky enough to have this talk in the Ministry of Health’s building near the Plaza de Mayo, and the room we were in had an original painting by the Argentine artist Benito Quinquela Martín. It was incredible to see such a beautiful piece of art that very few people get to see, but we also learned a lot during our lesson. This one was focused mostly on how the functions of the city’s Ministry of Health differ from the national one. After this talk, we took a bus back to Austral University for our second lecture with the leader of the commerce union in Argentina, one of the most powerful unions in the country. We were again very fortunate to be able to speak with such an influential person in Argentine politics and healthcare.

One of the major differences between the healthcare/social security system of the US and Argentina is the role of unions. In the US, unions are much less powerful than they are here and mostly serve to protect workers. On top of this function, the unions in Argentina are a very important part of providing healthcare and social benefits. Any person who is working can join a union, and they can join unions that they may not even be in the same sector as. This means that any working person will receive some sort of benefits through a union. Some of the more powerful unions, like the commerce union, have a large enough membership that they can buy their own hospitals and hire providers. However, for many of the smaller unions, this is not a viable option. Even larger unions often can’t provide coverage to all members with their own hospitals and clinics because it would be far too expensive.

To get around this, unions can subcontract private health companies to provide insurance and care to their members. To pay for both of these options, union members give a small portion of their salary (3%), and their employers contribute another 6% of their salary to either run their own union healthcare system or contract a private company. In cases where a person is self employed, they can still be part of a union, but instead of contributing a portion of their salary, they will pay a fixed rate, typically around $13.80 a month (much cheaper than the US!). These small contributions not only give union members themselves access to insurance, but family members can also be added as needed. In addition to healthcare, unions also provide social benefits such as retirement support. Because of this, unions are extremely important to the social safety net for the country, especially for the working class.

After the lectures, we went on a tour of three neighborhoods in the city. The first was the Plaza de Mayo, one of the most important historical areas in the city. Here, the Spanish governor was overthrown and the Argentine revolution took place. One of my favorite parts of the plaza was the circle of white head scarfs that honored the mothers and grandmothers who protested there during the military dictatorship. These brave women risked their lives to find their missing children who had been kidnapped by the regime and killed for their dissent. The pink building at the end of the plaza is where the president works from, and to the left there is the cathedral where Pope Francis was elected pope from. We got to see the changing of the guards there for tomb of general San Martín, who liberated Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spanish rule. The cathedral was stunning, with intricate gold embellishments and a towering ceiling. Our next stop on the tour was San Telmo, one of the older neighborhoods in the city. The architecture here was very European, and it seemed like every other store was selling antiques. We also walked through a market that used to sell meat, vegetables, and fruit, but is now mostly restaurants. After San Telmo we went to probably my favorite neighborhood so far, Boca. Boca used to be the main port (think mouth of the river) in Buenos Aires, and was the birthplace of tango. The buildings here were covered in vibrant corrugated metal, and the cobblestone streets were lined with vendors selling art, jewelry, and food. Our day of exploring the city was so much fun, and gave us a lot of places to come back to later in the trip!