Some 3,000 homeless people sat down for a charity Christmas dinner on Tuesday in central Buenos Aires, at a time when more than half of Argentina's population has been affected by poverty, one year into the ultra-liberal Javier Milei's term in office.
“I came because I feel alone and it hurts,” said Walter Villagra, a 54-year-old man who lives by collecting cans after losing his job as an electrician four years ago.
Titled “There's No Family Without Christmas,” the event before the National Convention was held for the eighth consecutive year, and Tuesday's vote exceeded organizers' expectations.
“To say that it is a special year because of the increase in poverty is sad, but it is true,” said Mariana Gonzalez, spokesperson for the Movement of Excluded Workers, one of the organizers of the event, told AFP. “More and more people are sleeping on the street and more and more people are coming to soup kitchens because they don't have a plate to eat, it's a very difficult year.
Long tables covered with tablecloths were laid out on the street in front of the Congress and the atmosphere was full of joy with floating balloons, music and clowns walking on stilts.
Visitors ranging from single adults to elderly couples and families with children greeted the arrival of each food truck with shouts and applause.
Before dinner, about a hundred people could bathe and get their hair cut or shaved in tents set up around the square.
According to the government statistics agency INDEC, in the first half of the year poverty increased by 11 points and reached 52.9 percent, 18.1 percent of which are homeless.
Meanwhile, child poverty has reached 66 percent, affecting seven million children under the age of 14.
“This dinner shows that there is a lot of unity, but not enough,” said Gonzalez.
Sitting at one of the tables, Juan Carlos Benitez, a 59-year-old homeless man, said he was grateful for the opportunity to have a plate of food and “have a little laugh and talk to someone” this Christmas.
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