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housing for the masses: casa colectiva valentín alsina, 1919

Casa Colectiva Valentín Alsina, 1919 • Parque Patricios
Avenida Caseros & 24 de Noviembre

Inspired by the action of Azucena Butteler, numerous private & public schemes were proposed to acquire funds needed for housing projects. Some of the proposals were: government allocations directly controlled by Congress, a direct tax on Jockey Club members, or loans for low-income government employees underwritten by the Central Bank. It was finally decided that 75% of the Jockey Club’s profits from Thursday horse races were to be donated to a general housing construction fund. Money began to flow in, but how should the government use it?

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housing for the masses: microbarrio san vicente de paul, 1912

Buenos Aires, Microbarrio San Vicente de Paul, 1912, Nueva Pompeya

Microbarrio San Vicente de Paul, 1912 • Nueva Pompeya Cachí & Traful

Social assistance in Argentina was not limited to private donations like that of Azucena Butteler. One important group did as much as all other organizations combined —the Catholic church. Under the guidance of the Unión Popular Católica Argentina, nationwide fundraising drives gave Catholic organizations lots of cash to assist the poor. The government highly valued their contribution, mainly administered by women’s groups.

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housing for the masses: barrio butteler, 1910

One of the things that has always impressed me about Argentina is their commitment to social welfare. Before the onslaught of comments to the contrary, hear me out. Without question, you can find lots of examples of the oligarchy looking out for itself, plenty of internal conflicts that jeopardized social welfare, & certainly a lot of work left to be done at present. But the average citizen’s standard of living was often a big concern during 20th-century in Argentina.

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