Of the 40 million people living in Argentina, about 50% live in the province of Buenos Aires alone and thus generate a very dense concentration. During the 20th century, millions of people migrated from rural areas around the country to work in the industrialising capital. In 1994, the outskirts of Buenos Aires counted 340 major industries that each employed at least 500 employees. 20 years later, most of these industries have closed and moved to Asia and now leave the region with only 2 industries remaining and over 2 million work places less. The ever growing population of Buenos Aires and this disappearance of work places has thus created huge suburbs that are no longer able to respond to the needs of the people living there and Buenos Aires today has over 40% of it’s population living in poverty. One of these regions is La Matanza, counting about 2.5 million inhabitants and located 50 kilometers from the center.
In this region, a local NGO called Identidad Vecinal was created 9 years ago. More than just an organisation, it is a big family and a local community that strives to increase living conditions for all the people living there. They count over 70 members and work in various fields of work. As the government does not officially help most of these regions around Buenos Aires, they have to manage all of the daily challenges themselves.
