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Small Towns on the 'Endangered' List |
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By Marcela Valente*
More
than 600 of Argentina's small towns are in danger of disappearing,
despite being in the country's most prosperous agricultural areas,
where soy is king.
BUENOS AIRES, Mar 12 (Tierramérica) - Hundreds
of small towns in Argentina's richest agricultural region are taking
their last breaths as a result of the unregulated expansion of soybean
fields, their growing isolation, and the government's indifference.
At risk of disappearing are 602 towns of fewer than 2,000 residents,
another 124 that haven't seen population growth in a decade, and
90 that no longer figure in official statistics, says the Responde
Association, a group dedicated to the social recovery of endangered
towns.
Although a total of about 270,000 people still live in those towns,
there is a steady flow of migration to more urban areas, where they
face marginalization and poverty.
Responde's executive director, geographer Marcela Benítez, explained
to Tierramérica that 60 percent of the towns affected are located
on the Argentina Pampa, in the country's east-central region, which,
paradoxically, is the richest agricultural zone. This year 90 million
tons of grain will be harvested there.
But high-tech farming requires little manual labor.
Jorge Rulli, head of the non-governmental Rural Reflection Group,
says the main cause of rural depopulation is soybean cultivation.
The small towns "are drowning" because of soy, he told Tierramérica.
"There are no longer any small farmers, small farms or green belts
around the towns. There are a lot of people who are gone because
of this."
He explained that soy needs only one post for every 500 hectares.
"In big towns the prosperity remains in the center, but in its periphery
they live in extreme poverty," he said.
Responde's Benítez believes that soy farms, which occupy 16 million
of the 30 million cultivated hectares in Argentina, play a role
in the depopulation process, but are not the main cause.
The phenomenon is related to the closing of train stations, the
lack of public investment, and the absence of alternative job sources,
she said.
In her opinion, the rural populations are now "like forgotten blots,
without connection to opportunities."
"The ones responsible are the governments, who cut off the trains
and didn't plan for alternative modes of transportation. Nor did
they provide education or training," said the expert.
Benítez sounded the alarm about the extinction of Argentine towns
in the 1990s, when, she noted, the number of towns facing the process
of depopulation was 403.
That inspired the foundation of Responde in 1999, a group with a
variety of development programs aimed at reversing the phenomenon.
However, achieving that goal has proved difficult, as evidenced
by the fact that the number of disappearing towns continues to rise.
Godoy, a town in Santa Fe province, is one of the clearest examples
of the scope of the problem.
"This town was founded 120 years ago, and 40 years ago we were 5,000"
but now there are just 1,500 remaining, the town's top official,
Nora Mendoza, told Tierramérica.
"The town used to have its passenger train station -- now it's only
cargo. It had shops, mechanics, and foundries," said Mendoza. The
countryside was "totally inhabited", and now "it's a sea of green.
There is soy everywhere, but everything is done by machines," she
said.
In order to survive, the townspeople sought alternatives, and Responde
contributed by helping with a tourism project centered on the Oratorio
Morante, where there is a church dating to 1770 with Jesuit images,
a cemetery and an old ranch school.
Similar initiatives are taking root in other towns in other provinces,
but resources are always scarce.
In 2003 the government stepped in with two new programs: "Mi Pueblo"
(My Town), of the Ministry of Interior, and "Volver" (Return), of
the Buenos Aires provincial government.
The first focuses on improving infrastructure, while the second
aims at repopulation -- if possible, with the same people who left
-- and provide financial and technical support for relaunching economic
activities that were interrupted, or to start new ones.
"Volver" is under way in eight towns in the district, with an investment
of one million dollars. There are families in the periphery of Buenos
Aires who, under this plan, moved to Pardo, a town that once had
a population of 2,400, and today just 240.
Responde believes these programs should not be limited to financing,
but should also provide follow-up to ensure their sustainability.
Benítez said that while the group doesn't always work closely with
the government, it has helped townspeople to present projects that
qualified for the "Volver" plan on several occasions.
In any case, "investing in local development is cheaper than subsidizing
with handouts to people who emigrate to the city periphery where
they are condemned to marginalization," Benítez said.
* Marcela Valente is an IPS correspondent. |
