We started off our seventh day in Buenos Aires by walking over to the IES office to meet with Dr. Gabriel Novick. He gave an insightful presentation that greatly improved our understanding of how the healthcare system operates in Argentina. We learned all about the history of the system, and how it came to be the way it is today, specifically focusing on the unions. Dr. Novick went into depth explaining the organization, funding, and responsibilities of the unions, while also addressing the challenges involved in attempting to restructure certain aspects of the system. These issues are especially relevant now, as Argentina’s new president has introduced recent changes that are impacting how union healthcare is funded. Since Dr. Novick works for Swiss Medical, one of the country’s major private healthcare providers, it was valuable to hear this information from someone actively involved in the system. I was also especially appreciative of this as the presentation he gave will be extremely useful to me as I work on my final project about the Obras Sociales.

For lunch, we all ate together at the Museo Evita Restaurant before getting a guided tour of Museo Evita. The museum is dedicated to the life and legacy of Eva Perón (Evita), one of Argentina’s most influential historical figures. I didn’t know much about her going into the tour, but the museum gave me a detailed look into her early life, her rise to fame as First Lady, and her ongoing influence on Argentine society. It was intriguing to hear about how influential she was throughout her life as she made efforts to fight for the poor, advocate for women’s suffrage, and developed social welfare programs, such as a nursing school. Being able to see her personal items such as dresses, letters, and photographs made her story come to life. The museum and tour overall gave me a deeper appreciation for how complex her legacy is and why she continues to be such a powerful symbol in Argentina today.