New Neighbors- Casas Tomadas en Buenos Aires

It was a lazy Sunday. Football was being played, the weather was fairly windy, and my roommates and I were participating in a camera obscura light workshop done by our other roommate Patricio. It was a quiet and relaxed atmosphere as we watched cool images project from a small pin hole of light entering the room. It was somewhere in between staring in amazement at buses, cars, and people walking around upside down on the ceiling when I though I heard some pounding on the wall of the house next store. Well a few of us had heard it, but we didn't make anything of it.

Monday morning proved to be a slow but very eventful morning. I didn't have to get up at the break of dawn because I my English classes had been canceled, yet I woke up somewhat early to a phone called from my Japanese roommate Yasuko calling me to inform me that a large group of police officers were outside the front door of our place. The news sent an immediate what is going on reaction in my mind as I recalled a flashback from college when police surrounded our house only to storm the house next door for a group of drug dealing college students.

Well unlike this college flashback, the police in front of the house were numerous, but all standing around staring at each other about what should be done about the situation. This is Argentina remember, and I wasn't quite sure what it was they seemed so interested in until I peered down from my room balcony to the neighboring balcony just below to see three young women, and four little kids of different ages grasping on to their legs.

Huh?? I thought, this house had been abandoned for the last three months, and slow demolition and construction efforts on the real estate's part had virtually left this house unprotected and a perfect target for a desperate family takeover. Well takeover is much too strong a word, but occupation might be more accurate.

A fairly common situation taking place all around the city of Buenos Aires, many people from lower economic backgrounds have been protesting, and taking whatever land they can find in order to protest the lack of housing, in the Argentina capital city.

The problem stems from the decades long issue of urban migration from all sectors of society towards the more industrialized, commercial and developed centers of the country. The phenomenon can be seen in most Latin American from Mexico City, and São Paulo to Buenos Aires.

Most migrants from middle to upper class backgrounds are able to find some work, and monetary support in order to find shelter, but those moving to the city with little money, find themselves either being taken advantaged of in small rural towns working as slaves to agricultural companies, living in slums, favelas or ¨villas¨as they are called in Argentina, or inserting themselves in any place they seem livable such as abandoned houses, warehouses, buildings and parks.

As the day went on I realized that there were more people in the house than I had expected. I also noticed that the police had slowly dispersed except for one lone car which waited out in front of my door. Our house landlord came by to check out the situation. He told us this was a common instance in Argentina, especially with uncared for houses. He even said that it becomes complicated, because according to Argentinian law, the police cannot lawfully break the door down enter and take out the women because they have young children with them. In fact, as long as they are in the house they can occupy the place as long as they want. But once they step a foot outside they can be arrested.

Uncertain about what would take place I randomly went out to the balcony sporadically during the day to see what was happening. At one point I noticed a couple of young men as well. These were entire families that sneaked into the house, and were going to negotiate a deal with the real estate company before they came out.

In the end the negotiation was made. No police forcefully entered and tried to cause a neighborhood uproar because they know better, and in Argentina the police walk a fine line between order and causing angry riots. The real estate complied with the tall order of 14,000 pesos or 3,500 dollars for the families to leave the property. Not too bad for a days work or occupation. But who knows how far it will go between the families. Just another day living to get by in Argentina.