Law 341 in the City of Buenos Aires, 2000 − 2007

HOUSING POLICY AND PARTICIPATION: LAW 341 IN THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES, 2000 − 2007 A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Government of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Development Management and Policy By Allison Anne Lasser, B.A. Washington, DC September 30, 2008 Copyright 2008 by Allison Anne Lasser All Rights Reserved ii The research and writing for this thesis are dedicated to the numerous housing advocates in the City of Buenos Aires in hopes that my small contribution somehow contributes to their honorable work, and to las fuboleras in la Villa 31 for teaching me the real value of a home. Special thanks to: The interviewees and Comedor Los Pibes, the MTL, and the MOI The interviewees from the City My thesis director, Gabriela Ippolito-O’Donnell for critical support and direction, much needed enthusiasm, and prompt replies and professionalism from day one My thesis committee/ Professors who gave me a strong foundation for interpreting what I learned. In addition, Professor Mujal-León for encouraging my interest in slums and development, with support and honest conversation, and Professor Guillermo Alonso for thinking with me and for feedback at key junctures Peer readers and editors Leah Aylward, Pamina Firchow and Alicia Hogan and My family and friends who have redefined “support”. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface........................................................................................................................................1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 3 Outline of the study ................................................................................................14 Literature review ....................................................................................................15 Methodology..........................................................................................................20 Chapter I: Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................24 Democratic participation ........................................................................................30 The Interactive Approach to pro-poor reform..........................................................38 Political opportunity structures ...............................................................................40 Chapter II: Contextual Background.........................................................................................47 Popular housing policies in mainstream donor literature .........................................47 Popular housing in the City of Buenos Aires (pre-1989) .........................................60 Chapter III: The Emergence and Implementation of Law 341/ 964 ......................................68 Examples of organizations from the squatter movement .........................................68 Chapter IV: Law 341 and the Territorial Liberation Movement ……...…………………... 108 Chapter V: Results and Findings............................................................................................134 Law 341 in international perspective: the influence of international donors............135 Law 341 in local perspective: local political opportunity structures……………… 146 Success of the MTL’s Monteagudo Street complex explained…………………….151 Conclusions............................................................................................................................165 Appendices............................................................................................................................ 169 Appendix A: List of acronyms………………………………………..………………….... 169 Appendix B: The evolution of housing policies by mainstream donors……...……....... .…171 Appendix C: Semi-structured interview guide… ………………..…………………. ... .... .172 Appendix D: Photographs by author......................................................................................173 iv Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………..181 List of Tables Table 1: Construction summary.............................................................................................. 10 Table 2: Poverty rates in Grand Buenos Aires 1988 - 2005.................................................... 65 Table 3: Unemployment rates in Grand Buenos Aires 1988 - 2006........................................83 Table 4: Article 31, Constitution of the City of Buenos Aires…….…………........................94 Table 5: Summary of events leading up to Law 341..........................................................106 Table 6: The MTL’s Monteagudo Street complex and Law 341.........................................163 v PREFACE The inspiration for this research stems from my interest in popular housing policy as an integrated social and political phenomenon. This approach to the topic is based on a range of personal experience and research such as policy and affordable housing advocacy work in the United States, research on alarming trends in both public housing and slum proliferation in Argentina and other developing countries, my initiating a development project in a slum in the City of Buenos Aires, and attendance at a United Nations World Urban Forum in 2006. The intention behind this current study is three-fold: 1. To contribute to the ongoing discussion of housing the poor in Argentina in a new way; 2. To establish a framework for analyzing Law 341, a local, pro-poor housing policy, that is focused in political and interactive approaches to social change rather than a strictly sociological perspective; and 3. To develop an approach for analyzing a local housing policy that accounts for Argentina’s close ties to the international donor community. This research focuses primarily on the role of pro-poor civil society organizations (CSOs) while accounting for state actors’ critical influence in bringing about partial housing reform in Buenos Aires. It is my interest to highlight the protagonism of the pro-poor cooperatives and reformists from within the state involved in Law 341. By stressing what actually works, I am restricted in my ability to also assess the Law in and of itself, including its shortcomings or possible paths to improvement. This worthy task will hopefully be adopted by another researcher. As a student of public policy in Latin America, I feel it is imperative to shed light on positive expressions of social change in the region – even if not fully realized. Anyone privy to development is familiar with the extensive, well-documented list of concerns on developing nations’ political realities. These reports tend to paint a dismal picture of possibilities for reform and healthy participation between CSOs and the state. While many of the concerns are well-supported, a parallel struggle for public expression and influence is taking place on a number of levels by civil society actors and state officials in the 1 region. The situation deserves as much, if not more, attention in order to make sense of the efforts on a more macro level in the future. It is my hope that this research illuminates the renewed optimism in a different light – by accounting for civil society and state actors’ overlapping priorities in housing reform. 2 “[Buenos Aires] was not a city conceived of for the poor. By consolidating Law [341], it would allow poor people to stay and live here. It’s a threat to a model [that] allows just a few to get rich off real estate.” Carlos Chili, Director Territorial Liberation Movement INTRODUCTION Housing the poor in Argentina has always been a highly contentious matter. This is because the need for affordable housing routinely exceeds both the supply and the political will necessary for adequate solutions. Furthermore, the politics and economics related to housing involve a range of stakeholders with conflicting interests. A number of these stakeholders wield tremendous power, either locally and/or internationally. In the City of Buenos Aires (Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires—CABA), the federal capital of Argentina, access to social housing has long been highly restricted and influenced by the government, the international development community, and powerful land owners. Despite an overall paternalistic housing tradition, the poor – together with a number of grassroots organizations1 – have routinely figured as one of the principal forces in the struggle for increased and improved housing access. Even under authoritarian rule, activists joined together in defense of shantytown residents’ efforts at housing themselves. With the nation’s return to democracy in 1983, and the granting of civil liberties and political freedoms, citizens’ chances of influencing the political agenda improved. A number of CSOs, including squatter groups, emerged to lend support to pent-up housing demands and to build a social base for popular housing interests. A few groups managed to work closely 1 Not all grassroots groups necessarily represent the housing interests of the poor. Other organizations or interest-groups that tend to support the needs of the poor may include political activists, neighbourhood associations, social movements, NGOs, etc. The specific pro-poor civil society groups involved in this research will be made explicit later in the study, and I will use all of these terms interchangeably unless specificied. 3 with reformists within the state to develop new initiatives. By

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