Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area Research Articles

Norita is the first of many self-managed community neighbourhoods to come: A conversation with organizers and residents of Barrio Norita Cortiñas in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (Part II)

These two conversations with organizers and residents of Barrio Norita Cortiñas in Buenos Aires reflect the ongoing struggle for housing rights in Argentina. The discussions detail the development of the self-managed community, which emerged from land occupations in Guernica during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants highlight the collective efforts to secure land through self-organization and assembly-based decision-making, ultimately purchasing land to establish a neighbourhood for 62 families. The conversations explore the obstacles faced, including government repression, real estate speculation, and economic challenges, while also emphasizing the critical role of feminist leadership and multisectoral collaboration in their fight for land and housing rights. Additionally, the residents connect their local struggle to broader national and international movements for land reclamation and workers' rights. This underscores the urgency of solidarity and collective action in confronting neoliberal policies and housing precarity.

Norita is the first of many self-managed community neighbourhoods to come: A conversation with organizers and residents of Barrio Norita Cortiñas in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (Part II)

These two conversations with organizers and residents of Barrio Norita Cortiñas in Buenos Aires reflect the ongoing struggle for housing rights in Argentina. The discussions detail the development of the self-managed community, which emerged from land occupations in Guernica during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants highlight the collective efforts to secure land through self-organization and assembly-based decision-making, ultimately purchasing land to establish a neighbourhood for 62 families. The conversations explore the obstacles faced, including government repression, real estate speculation, and economic challenges, while also emphasizing the critical role of feminist leadership and multisectoral collaboration in their fight for land and housing rights. Additionally, the residents connect their local struggle to broader national and international movements for land reclamation and workers' rights. This underscores the urgency of solidarity and collective action in confronting neoliberal policies and housing precarity.

Audiovisual Storytelling in Secondary Schools Located in the Slums of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region

Abstract School in postmedia society falls prey to “systemic stupidity” (Stiegler, 2011), while the teacher-cum-coach heeds what is considered the new divine calling for education. In this framework, this video-article looks to elements from research that the author believes might serve as a roadmap for work with words and images in schools that lie beyond that stupidity. Through the audiovisual narratives of students in secondary schools located in a slum in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, the author explores possible approaches to the question of the audiovisual narrative in school and how school is or, rather, can continue to be the repository of the hopes that critical thought harbors. More specifically, the author asks whether audiovisual narratives can contribute to more complex conceptions of the world that help us go beyond the binary logics and infantilization.

Ensembles maquiniques en fugue: féminismes et performativité dans deux groupes de musique andine d'Argentine

ABSTRACT In this article we describe and comparatively analyze the performances of two community Andean music ensembles that represent two regions of Argentina with contrasting characteristics, and that constitute the two most important referents of groups of women and dissidents in Argentina. In this opportunity, we will focus on the performative practices of the women's Band from Tilcara Nuestra Señora de Fátima, Jujuy, and the Mama Quilla Community, from the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. The objective is to understand the relationship between the experience-in-the-world understood as a projection oriented towards a cosmogony with Andean roots and the aesthetic-political qualities that reinstate the question of the scope of dissident feminism to produce other modes of action and political consciousness.

The care crisis at firsthand. A study of female working-class caregivers living in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA), Argentina

La pandemia visibilizó la crisis de los cuidados, que se manifestaba en la falta de políticas de cuidado para la primera infancia, para ancianos y personas con discapacidad. En este trabajo se explora la crisis de los cuidados desde la perspectiva de las mujeres que cuidan, utilizando el enfoque biográfico con entrevistas que reconstruyen sus experiencias de cuidar a otros durante la pandemia. Se elaboró la narrativa de cuatro mujeres de sectores populares que trabajan como cuidadoras de niños/as y/o ancianos (y que además realizan tareas de cuidado en sus hogares). En el análisis destacamos el impacto de la pandemia en sus trayectorias laborales, las formas del cuidado durante el aislamiento y las dificultades que tuvieron que enfrentar. La situación informal en el trabajo se revela como un agravante de las condiciones vulnerables de estas mujeres.

Use of screens, sedentary lifestyle, and physical activity in children under six years of age, during the period of preventive and compulsory social isolation in AMBA: online survey

Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, children were confined to their homes. The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) region has the highest urban density in Argentina and has been the epicenter of COVID-19 infections and deaths. The objectives of this study are to characterize the habits of screen use, sedentary lifestyle and physical activity and describe their associations, in children under six years of age from AMBA, Argentina. analytical and cross-sectional study, in which data from the online survey (Google Forms®) were used. Through a non-probabilistic convenience sampling, fathers, mothers, legal guardians, and caregivers of children under six years of age were invited to participate. The survey was available during four months of the quarantine period and was made up of 31 questions about screen use, physical activity, and sedentary lifestyle of children. 256 surveys were answered, the majority (79.6%) were female and 50.8% in the age range of 31-40 years. The television is the most used and children begin to use touch screens from one year. The play time of adults with children and the time that they usually carry out activities such as reading a book or drawing is one to two hours per day. There was an association between owning the screen and using it for more hours. The lower the income level, the more time adults play with their children.

Historical evolution of intergenerational class mobility and educational effects in urban Argentina: 1960–2017

The Argentinean case –given an early modernization and the singularity of its reversal of development- is instructive about the role of education on intergenerational class mobility. We propose a wide historical analysis of time variations in intergenerational class mobility and the role of education over different periods in urban Argentina –specifically in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, from 1960 to 2017. This is the first time a long-term social mobility study has been conducted in Argentina. We analyse intergenerational social mobility according to EGP class scheme, using absolute rates, log-linear models, and long-term counterfactual analysis. Results show a social fluidity process for men but not for women. The counterfactual analysis exhibits that most social fluidity among men was due to a reduction in the direct class origin-class destination effect. No evidence of effects of educational expansion or educational equalization is observed. This presence of moderate social fluidity has not been linked to a modernization process which expands vertical upward mobility. Instead, it took place in a context of deindustrialization and the decline of the skilled working class.

Platform labour in contexts of high informality: Any improvement for workers? A critical assessment based on the case of Argentina

AbstractThe article analyses the effects of digital labour platforms in a context characterised by high informality, exploring the way platforms may or may not imply a disruption in this respect. To do so, it examines the labour transitions that lead to platform labour, taking into account the formal status of workers before and after joining platforms, as well as their evaluation of resulting labour conditions. The article relies on a quantitative survey and in depth interviews for three on‐demand occupations in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, ride‐hailing, home repairs and domestic service. Results show that a platform's influence on the formal status of workers (and their assessment of it) is highly contingent upon: the platform's business model, including the legal status that may be used to integrate the workforce, the pre‐existing formal/informal dynamics within the occupation and the general labour market situation.

Impact of Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation in the control of type I diabetes in adults in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area

Introduction: the measures taken by the Argentine government to avoid contagion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus consisted in what was called Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation (Aislamiento Social Preventivo y Obligatorio, ASPO), which was established on March 20th of 2020. The disposition restricted medical checkups and physical activity for several months and modified the population’s eating habits. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a high incidence and prevalence pathology worldwide. While the majority of the patients suffer from DM II, the percentage of DM I and its peculiarities make worth an analysis regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: assessing the impact of ASPO on the metabolic control of patients who live in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) during the period March-December 2020. Results: of the 45 subjects involved in the study, 42,2 % saw an increase in their HbA1c level, did not know the value, or did not get tested. This is a situation of clinical interest for a more exhaustive follow-up. In addition, 60 % of the total gained weight and 38 % decreased the frequency of physical activity, while 35 % did not perform any activity at all. Furthermore, 73,3 % reported having experienced anxiety, 64,4 % apathy, and 60 %, sadness. Conclusion: the impossibility of carrying out ordinary activities, the suspension or reduction of frequency of physical exercise, and the increase and modification of the quality of meals with the resulting weight gain had an impact on the rising of HbA1c levels during the Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation

Patient identification and gender identity: knowledge and attitudes toward trans patient care from the perspective of nurses

Introduction: compliance with the Gender Identity Law (No. 26,743) introduces a series of challenges and tensions that require the adaptation of patient identification processes in need of hospital care. Objective: to describe the knowledge and attitudes of nursing professionals in healthcare institutions in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) regarding the Gender Identity Law and the patient identification process, as well as the characteristics of the undergraduate training received in relation to healthcare and the nursing profession from a gender perspective. Methods: descriptive cross-sectional observational study in which 111 nurses engaged in patient care tasks in public and private healthcare facilities with inpatient services were surveyed. An electronic survey with closed and open-ended questions was used. Descriptive statistical analysis tools were used for data analysis. Results: 45 % of the respondents work in an institution with a Patient Quality and Safety department, and 73,9 % have guidelines for patient identification. 72,1 % are familiar with the Gender Identity Law, but 43,2 % believe they can refuse to use the name provided by the patient to avoid identification errors during hospitalization. 92,8 % expressed a positive attitude towards the care of transgender/transvestite individuals, but 66,7 % did not receive training on gender identity. Conclusions: the nursing team faces difficulties in implementing patient safety guidelines in accordance with gender identity legislation due to institutional requirements

Detección de SARS-CoV-2 en aguas residuales como alerta temprana en el Área Metropolitana de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (BAMA)

RESUMEN Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. (AySA) brinda servicios esenciales que abarcan la producción de agua potable y el tratamiento de aguas residuales para una población que supera los 14,5 millones de habitantes en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA), Argentina. En respuesta a la declaración de pandemia por COVID-19 por parte de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), AySA desarrolló una metodología para evaluar la carga genética viral del SARS-CoV-2 en aguas residuales sin tratar. Este enfoque tenía como objetivo aprovechar el potencial de la vigilancia epidemiológica basada en aguas residuales, basándose en experiencias internacionales. Para monitorear la carga viral en las secciones representativas del sistema de recolección de aguas residuales, empleamos una técnica de ultracentrifugación adaptada para concentrar muestras. Después de esto, se realizaron la extracción de ARN y RT-qPCR para cuantificar el gen Orf1ab del SARS-CoV-2. Este estudio se realizó de diciembre de 2020 a junio de 2021, para anticipar la segunda ola de la pandemia. Al analizar los datos de cuatro grandes plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales, identificamos asociaciones estadísticamente significativas entre la carga genómica viral log10 y los casos positivos log10 informados una o dos semanas después. En base a los resultados obtenidos, concluimos que los niveles de virus del alcantarillado podrían ser un buen predictor de futuros casos clínicos a ser diagnosticados en un futuro inmediato.

Comprehensive Phenotyping in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Search for Biomarker Algorithms in the Transkingdom Interactions Context.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the most common form of intestinal inflammation associated with a dysregulated immune system response to the commensal microbiota in a genetically susceptible host. IBD includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), both of which are remarkably heterogeneous in their clinical presentation and response to treatment. This translates into a notable diagnostic challenge, especially in underdeveloped countries where IBD is on the rise and access to diagnosis or treatment is not always accessible for chronic diseases. The present work characterized, for the first time in our region, epigenetic biomarkers and gut microbial profiles associated with UC and CD patients in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan area and revealed differences between non-IBD controls and IBD patients. General metabolic functions associated with the gut microbiota, as well as core microorganisms within groups, were also analyzed. Additionally, the gut microbiota analysis was integrated with relevant clinical, biochemical and epigenetic markers considered in the follow-up of patients with IBD, with the aim of generating more powerful diagnostic tools to discriminate phenotypes. Overall, our study provides new insights into data analysis algorithms to promote comprehensive phenotyping tools using quantitative and qualitative analysis in a transkingdom interactions network context.

Cadenas migratorias en la diáspora de las travestis/trans sudamericanas residentesdel Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires

The article analyzes the migratory chains that constitute South American transvestites and trans women who reside in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area during the period 2017-2019, paying special attention to the role of godmothers. The migratory projects of these people are produced becauseof the hostility and vulnerability they experience in their surroundings and have different instances. One of them is the migratory chains that refer to the social capital necessary to be able to leave the sending society and settle in the receiving society. In this way, South American transvestites/trans women constitute diverse migratory chains that can be characterized as horizontal and vertical, being the godmothers key actors in their diasporas. The focus of the article is qualitative and the method used is grounded theory. According to a theoretical sample consisting of 41 interviews, the information was analyzed usingAtlas.Ti.

Aggressions suffered and determinants of physical and non-physical violence towards nursing staff by patients and accompanying persons

Introduction: the relationship between healthcare personnel and those accompanying patients can give rise to cases of aggressiveness in relation to an accumulation of misunderstandings, resentments or fears, which should be detected and defused before they could give rise to aggression. Objective: to analyze the determinants of physical and non-physical violence towards health personnel by patients and accompanying persons. Methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out. The scope of the study included the nursing staff working in the pediatric critical areas of a hospital in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The study included a sample of 63 units of analysis. Results: the sample was predominantly female (76,2 %), with an average age of 45,3 years and a predominance of 66,7 % of the personnel with a degree in nursing. A total of 90,5 % had a history of violence by patients and/or companions. The most frequent type of violence was insults (73,7 %). The result of the application of the model based on Cronbach's alpha in our sample was 0,863. Conclusions: a considerable number of nursing staff experience verbal abuse, threats and physical abuse. This study contributes to the general understanding of violence in the nursing field in the Argentine context; however, more knowledge is needed on the consequences of workplace violence and its implications through the development of multicenter studies or with larger populations

Influence of emission inventory resolution on the modeled spatio-temporal distribution of air pollutants in Buenos Aires, Argentina, using WRF-Chem

The temporal and spatial resolution of the emission inventory included into an air quality model plays a key role in the appropriate representation of air pollution events and background atmospheric chemistry. Here, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem v4.0) model to perform high-resolution air quality simulations over the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, with two different anthropogenic emissions datasets: the High-resolution Emissions Inventory of Argentina (GEAA-AEI) and the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research - Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (EDGAR-HTAP). A local optimized configuration considering 3 nested domains with a horizontal grid size of 20 × 20 km, 4 × 4 km, and 1.3 × 1.3 km and the MOZART chemical scheme was used. The model performance for NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and O3 concentrations was validated against measurements from the existing air quality monitoring stations in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) during austral fall 2018. Our results show that the daytime concentrations of air pollutants are influenced by the shape and shift of the hourly emissions profile, especially for NO2 where the reduction in nighttime emissions decreased the mean model bias by ∼50%. PM10 and PM2.5 generally satisfied the model performance criteria, but underestimation tended to occur in the GEAA-AEI simulations and overestimation for the EDGAR-HTAP case. Comparison with TROPOMI-derived tropospheric NO2 columns showed a high positive correlation (r > 0.75) and a positive bias. We found large discrepancies between the spatial distribution patterns of the simulations within the innermost high-resolution domain centered on AMBA, mostly in suburban areas where no observations are available. We propose additional monitoring sites to address such differences and determine the size and shape of the main pollutant plume. We conclude that high-resolution air quality modeling is important within underdeveloped or developing South American cities that lack continuous air quality measurements, as it represents a powerful tool in supporting the design of governmental monitoring networks and air pollution mitigation policies.

"Breaking Down": Afflictions and Treatments During Times of Crisis in Buenos Aires.

Based on the ethnographic research carried out on speech-based therapies at health centers in marginalized areas of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, this article problematizes the "breaking down" or "being broken" as a local language of afflictions that emerges from the rapidly deteriorating material living conditions related to downward social mobility. Specifically, I analyze how these discomforts turn into narrative in terms of economic and political subjective and collective crises, which combine and hybridize personal experiences with mainstream discourses of the country's recent history. Based on a brief analysis of the changing relationships between psychoanalysis and poverty in the Buenos Aires area, I also examine how speech-based approaches classify these afflictions as "social issues," external to their logic, as they resist to be entirely subdued to current psychological knowledge, categories, and techniques.

Caracterización de viveros de plantas nativas y su posible aporte a la restauración de los talares bonaerenses

The talares represent the main native forest of the Buenos Aires province; however, they are in danger. Given their extreme vulnerability, it is not only necessary to promote their conservation, but also their restoration. The native plant nurseries represent a key link in restoration projects. In this work, the first survey of native plant nurseries in the distribution area of talares of Buenos Aires was carried out to characterize and evaluate them as possible restoration nodes. During 2019, surveys to these nurseries were carried out either in person or online. More than 70% of the nurseries were concentrated in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area and their objectives comprise commercialization, conservation/restoration or education. More than 60% of the nurseries were less than 5 years old and less than 500 m2 in size, and they do not control humidity, temperature and/or light; however, they have greenhouses. These characteristics seem to reflect an increase in society’s interest on native plants in recent years, which would have led to the development of new nurseries at small scale. The main plant species of the talares were cultivated in these nurseries, so they could be very important actors when planning restoration projects of these forests. We emphasize the importance of consolidating a network of collaboration between nurseries, scientists, protected areas, and government agencies in order to restore this ecosystem. In this way, it is necessary to expand the scope of this study in order to know the native plant nurseries in the rest of the country, associated with other endangered ecosystems, and to be able to evaluate if Argentina is in a position to meet its internal goals and international restoration commitments. We hope that the results of this work will promote joint collaborations to restore the talares of Buenos Aires and other ecosystems in Argentina.

Interplay between climate, pollution and COVID-19 on ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a large metropolitan region.

Collective risk factors such as climate and pollution impact on the risk of acute cardiovascular events, including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). There is limited data however on the precise temporal and independent association between these factors and STEMI, and the potentially interacting role of government policies against Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially for Latin America. We retrospectively collected aggregate data on daily STEMI admissions at 10 tertiary care centers in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Argentina, from January 1, 2017 to November 30, 2020. Daily measurements for temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind direction, wind speed, and rainfall, as well as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter <10 µm (PM10), were retrieved. Exploratory analyses focused on key COVID-19-related periods (e.g. first case, first lockdown), and Stringency Index quantifying the intensity of government policy response against COVID-19. A total of 1498 STEMI occurred over 1430 days, for an average of 0.12 STEMI per center (decreasing from 0.130 in 2018 to 0.102 in 2020, P=0.016). Time series analysis showed that lower temperature and higher concentration of CO and PM10 were all significantly associated with an increased rate of STEMI (all P<0.05), whereas COVID-19 outbreak, lockdown, and stringency of government policies were all inversely associated with STEMI (all P<0.05). Notably, environmental features impacted as early as 28 days before the event (all P<0.05), even if same or prior day associations proved stronger (all P<0.05). Multivariable analysis suggested that maximum temperature (P=0.001) and PM10 (P=0.033) were the strongest predictor of STEMI, even after accounting for COVID-19-related countermeasures (P=0.043). Lower temperature and higher concentrations of CO and PM10 are associated with significant increases in the rate of STEMI in a large Latin American metropolitan area. The reduction in STEMI cases seen during the COVID-19 pandemic is at least in part mediated by improvements in pollution, especially reductions in PM10.

Concentración y diversificación de universidades en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. Algunas consideraciones de su dinámica contemporánea

The present article aims to revisit universities´ concentration in Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Argentina, since 1989 until the present. First, we will review the dynamics which characterize the Argentinian higher education system from a geographic analysis, emphasizing the role of Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area and its relationship with university hierarchy. Second, we will comment on four aspects that characterize this concentration, from an analysis of the official statistics and the location of the educational establishments. Third, we will present some distinctive elements of university diversification and segmentation within the metropolitan urban area. Finally, the article presents summary comments and conclusions.

Imaginarios geográficos y desigualdad urbana en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

The present article aims to address geographical representations (also called urban imaginaries) of Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area´s inhabitants, about their urban region. In order to accomplish this goal, interviews were carried out with neighbors that reside in different types of housing (popular settlements, social dwellings both in height and single-family, low density middle-class neighborhoods, high density buildings and closed urbanizations). These interviews were analyzed and gave as result the predominance of urban imaginaries that naturalize metropolitan inequalities. Furthermore, it was possible to distinguish a system of social hierarchies (or socio-spatial order) between neighborhoods and differentiated geographical representations within neighborhood spaces, within the urban experience of its inhabitants.