The Americas | Slum dunk

Argentina’s slum policy is a rare bright spot in the country

One mayor who oversaw the integration of a shantytown wants to become president

A couple remains in their house in Villa 31 shantytown in downtown Buenos Aires, on May 9, 2020 during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic. - Villa 31, the oldest shantytown in Buenos Aires, is separated only by an avenue from exclusive neighbourhoods of the capital. Crowded, hungry and suffering water services faults, residents of the slum now face the menace of COVID-19. (Photo by Ronaldo SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
|Buenos Aires

A visitor strolling down Arroyo, a street in Retiro, one of the poshest neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires, can buy a bag of coffee beans for $22 and order a kale pesto salad at a hip restaurant. But a few streets away is the city’s oldest slum, known as Villa 31, which sprawls across 72 hectares (178 acres) and is home to over 40,000 people. A three-bedroom flat on Arroyo will rent for around $3,000 a month; a family in Villa 31 might pay $150-250 for their lodging. Rather than fancy coffee, street vendors there hawk used trainers and bags of cereal.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Slum dunk”

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