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在米莱的领导下，最贫穷的人的前景如何?“cartoneros”的领导人Sergio Sánchez说:“我们将不得不为不失去我们赢得的权利而战。”
Argentina has a new president, but for the most disadvantaged sections of the population the daily struggle for a dignified life is destined to remain the same. Javier Milei, the ultra-liberal leader who won 55.6% of the votes in the November 19th ballot, beating the Peronist Sergio Massa, convinced many voters by promising a drastic change in the country. “Even in the working-class neighborhoods someone voted for Milei in search of change,” admits Sergio Sánchez, president of the Federation of Argentine cardboardros, the poor who earn their living by recycling urban waste.
Sánchez, a friend of Pope Francis since the days when Bergoglio was archbishop of Buenos Aires, is a privileged observer of the conditions and moods of the most disadvantaged segment of the population. Precisely for the inhabitants of slums – the slums of Buenos Aires – the new president's program, which includes the privatization of schools and healthcare, thedollarization of the economy and the closure of the Central Bank, risks representing a serious threat.
What air you can breathe in slums after Milei's victory?
?I barrios Argentines today are calm and agitated at the same time. We don't know how it will go, we are waiting to see how the new president's promises will materialize, how the people's problems will actually be addressed, especially in the most vulnerable areas. It's true, there is an area of working-class neighborhoods that voted for Milei in search of a change. Our people have been going through a difficult time for years and have hoped to recognize in the president-elect a person who could bring some hope and give a new direction. However, we must not fall for the flattery of a false prophet: the poorest are already suffering the effects of neoliberal policies. We need to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, to have a job with rights and to live a dignified life, but this cannot be achieved with old recipes that have not worked and which have only led to hunger and unemployment."
What would cutting workers' benefits mean?
?Many rights will be lost. With the installation of the new government, which intends to destroy several public policies that have been of great help to the popular economy, the workers will be abandoned. In recent years, our achievements have given more dignity to many people and improved the quality of life in working-class neighborhoods that were in truly terrible conditions. All this, with Milei's political proposals, is in danger. The workers in our sector and those employed are fighting hard for the rights they have won. Today we are far from the Argentina we dreamed of, but we will resist so that they don't rob us of what we have achieved and so that tomorrow we can take further steps forward."
What do you fear if services such as education and healthcare were really privatised?
?If school and healthcare began to be paid for, all the sons and daughters of our comrades would be cut off. We would have more marginalization and poverty. We cannot allow today's social gap to widen: privatizing would mean that those at the bottom of the social ladder would be left to fend for themselves. Instead we should defend and expand the public model we have, correcting its defects."
Milei leans towardsdollarization. Would switching from the peso to the dollar be an advantage for an Argentinian?
?We believe thatdollarization today is clearly a disadvantage. Even though the future is uncertain, everything indicates that we are heading towards a huge devaluation. The latter first and foremost affects prices, wages and the cost of living, and this particularly affects our sector. Thinking of losing our currency means losing our rights as Argentines, our sovereignty towards other countries and with respect to the market."
Milei had been very critical of Pope Francis, then he recanted. The Pope called him to congratulate him on the victory: does he believe that the Argentine government and Bergoglio can collaborate in the future?
?The Pope was one of the first to defend our causes, those of the humblest, of the workers. I don't know to what extent the two leaders could cooperate, but I know that as long as there are "those rejected by the system", as the Pontiff calls us, we will not have better living conditions. Francis will always be consistent with his words and his thoughts: he is non-partisan and apolitical, his work and his message are very clear. He will support everything that is in favor of the poor and will not agree with policies and initiatives that exclude the neediest sectors."
The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo protested in Buenos Aires: among other things, they fear reduced sentences for those who committed crimes during the military dictatorship. Do you believe that the relationship between the country and memory can change?
?Milei said many things during the election campaign to earn the presidency, but we Argentines must not forget missing. The fight of the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo was not in vain: many grandchildren were returned to their families. The criminals who left Argentina in ruins must be brought to justice. I trust in the memory of our country and in the pride of having asserted our human rights, I am confident that this will not change. At a critical time for our nation, there are things we will not allow to happen again."
