- Title: 'We have to make do'. Almost half of Argentines in shadow of poverty
- Date: 29th September 2021
- Summary: LOMAS DE ZAMORA, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF IMPOVERISHED NEIGHBOURHOOD VARIOUS OF EDUARDO DAVID RODRIGUEZ, GETTING OUT OF BED, PUTTING ON HIS SHOES, AND WASHING HIS FACE IN A BUCKET OF WATER VARIOUS OF RODRIGUEZ DRINKING MATE (TEA) WITH HIS WIFE AND LEAVING FOR WORK TAPIALES, BUENOS AIRES BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 29, 2021) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF FRESH PRODUCE MARKET VARIOUS OF RODRIGUEZ, STARTING WORK AT MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WORKER AT FRESH PRODUCE MARKET, EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, SAYING: "I come twice a week from 2 a.m. to 12 p.m. I come on Tuesdays and Fridays and I spend an entire week's salary to feed my family. There are four of us, with my wife it's five. There are a few little things that the stallholders give me, like onions and potatoes, so that there is enough food at home." VARIOUS OF RODRIGUEZ AT WORK (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WORKER AT FRESH PRODUCE MARKET, EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, SAYING: "Work here has suffered. The truth is that it's hard, but we have to make do, there's no other option than to come here and be the breadwinner for my family." CIUDADELA, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS OF THE MARGINALISED NEIGHBOURHOOD LOCAL PULLING A TROLLEY WITH GARBAGE INSIDE LOMAS DE ZAMORA, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS) RODRIGUEZ DRINKING MATE WITH HIS FAMILY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RODRIGUEZ' PARTNER, EUGENIA GONZALEZ, SAYING: "Sometimes it (food and salary) is enough and sometimes it's not. Sometimes we make it with what we have at home and that's how we get by until we get paid and can buy again. If we can save (money) then it is gone in a week or two, until he can work and we go buy things on a day-to-day basis." TAPIALES, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS) RODRIGUEZ AT WORK IN MARKET LOMAS DE ZAMORA, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 28, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RODRIGUEZ' PARTNER, EUGENIA GONZALEZ, SAYING: "To eat, sometimes we have enough just to get by. We don't indulge in luxuries but thank God we don't starve. But to buy clothes for the children is very hard for us." VARIOUS OF RODRIGUEZ ENTERING FOOTBALL PITCH WITH CHILDREN VARIOUS OF CHILDREN DURING TRAINING WITH RODRIGUEZ (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WORKER AT FRESH PRODUCE MARKET, EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, SAYING: "I love being with the kids and I do it without any obligation and without any salary. I do it out of because the truth is that this is what keeps me going every day." VARIOUS NIGHT SHOTS OF AT-RISK TEENAGERS TRAINED BY RODRIGUEZ
- Embargoed: 13th October 2021 23:52
- Keywords: Argentina Buenos Aires Province economy pandemic poverty
- Location: LOMAS DE ZAMORA + TAPIALES + CIUDADELA, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA
- City: LOMAS DE ZAMORA + TAPIALES + CIUDADELA, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: South America / Central America,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001EWWTLXJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Four in ten Argentines are living below the poverty line, a rate which has climbed during the coronavirus pandemic that exacerbated three years of economic recession.
Eduardo David Rodriguez is one of the Argentines who struggle to survive every day. He is 40 years old and lives with his wife and two of their four children in a small house in the suburbs outside the capital.
There's no bathroom, running water, or gas to cook with. Twice a week he is working at a fresh produce market in Buenos Aires to make ends meet for his family.
He earns about 12,000 pesos a month, equivalent to some $60.
With his wife's income of 14,000 pesos and a state subsidy of 13,000 pesos, the monthly family income normally reaches around 39,000 pesos ($195), well short of the 67,000 pesos under which a family of four is considered in poverty in Argentina.
In his spare time, Rodriguez teaches soccer to kids and youths from poor households, so that they can aspire to a professional career that he once dreamed of as an escape from poverty.
"I love being with the kids and I do it without any obligation and without any salary. I do it out of because the truth is that this is what keeps me going every day," he told Reuters.
(Production: Claudia Martini, Miguel Lo Bianco, Eva Weininger, Paul Vieira) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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