Politics of Buenos Aires

An Autonomous City

Buenos Aires is one of Latin America’s largest cities, Argentina’s biggest port, and an important social, cultural, and now medical tourism center in the region. Often referred to as the “Paris of South America,” this glamorous metropolis is strongly influenced by centuries of European colonization and wealth. It is easily Latin America’s most sophisticated city, and for a while enjoyed an exalted status as one of the richest and most robust cities in the world. In the 19^th century, a process of federalization separated the city from the Buenos Aires province and placed it under the control of the national government. The federalization process was completed in 1880, although it had begun 60 years earlier. The city limits were expanded to include the neighboring smaller towns of Belgrado and Flores which were embraced into the folds of the new national capital.

Buenos Aires was granted autonomous status in 1996, as per the reforms of the 1994 amendment to the Argentine constitution. That same year, the city’s first mayoral elections were held, although the title “mayor” was changed to “chief of government.” Today the Mayor who heads a legislature consisting of 60 popularly elected representatives rules this sprawling city. The city is located inside the larger Buenos Aires province but has complete autonomy, and is not part of the hugely populated province of the same name. Buenos Aires is directly under the jurisdiction of the federal government much like Washington D.C. in the US.

City of Barrios

Buenos Aires is divided into barrios or neighborhoods, 48 to be exact, for administrative purposes. This division was originally based on the Catholic parish system but has undergone a series of changes since the 1940s. More recently, the city has been divided into communas. The older barrios like La Boca with its colorful tin houses are exciting to walk through and should be included in every medical tourism visitor’s itinerary.

Buenos Aires has had a dizzying ride by any standards, from being one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in the world to enduring financial collapse in the early 21^st century. Today, it enjoys relative stability and renewed economic growth fueled, in some measure, by the booming medical tourism sector.