Inequality, the Other Virus. An Analysis of Argentina’s Situation

Abstract

While we are writing this paper we find ourselves in a very different world from the one we lived in a few months ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has been wreaking havoc on our daily lives, affecting our family, friends and professional relationships. It has forced us to adapt to what will undoubtedly be a new (a)normality. However, the pandemic also has effects on the macro level. States have had to adapt their structure to combat an invisible enemy, which has been expanding itself with every kiss, talk and hug. The responses were varied, -more or less successful-, but there was certainly no concrete recipe that effectively worked for dealing with the coronavirus. In this context, Argentina was not an exception. On March 19th, with a total of 97 infections, Decree 297/20 was approved, implementing the Social, Preventive and Obligatory Isolation “(...) for as long as considered necessary (...), to face the epidemiological situation and mitigate the health impact of COVID-19”. In other words, the “Quarantine” –known only through news from Asia and Europe– had arrived in our country and would last for 234 days. Within this iter temporis, numerous legal measures were taken in order to keep under control not only the health situation but also, and at one point mainly, the economic situation of the country. Furthermore, society warned that the permanence of this virus could not hinder the development of essential public policies in a State governed by the rule of law, such as gender policies, which could not be postponed forever.Nevertheless, there are some questions we must ask ourselves. How did COVID-19 and the measures adopted in response impact the population? Which were the strategies needed in order to face the virus, considering the pre-existing socio-economic differences all across our country? Did these strategies allow for the continuation of public policies initiated before that "critical date" or did they imply a brand new beginning? This paper seeks to answer these questions or, at least, to describe the existing panorama within a country characterized by its socio-economic ups and downs (which makes it difficult to provide answers that endure throughout time), but also by its incredible capacity to successfully emerge from crises, due to its resilience and ability to adapt to variable and dynamic scenarios. To this end, we will seek to analyze different issues related to historically discriminated and vulnerable groups that were particularly affected by the pandemic emergency. In this sense, this paper will be divided into three general sections that cover the biggest topics addressed within the measures taken: (1) socio-economic impacts on the elderly; (2) strategies and public policies linked to gender equality and feminism, and (3) the impacts on poverty and the role of the National Budget and resource distribution to equitably address the health emergency. Finally, we will shortly discuss the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on each of the above areas.