Politics in Urban Art

From WolfWikis

Contents 1 Argentina's Economic Crisis- 1.1 Background 1.2 Statistics of the Economic Crisis of Argentina: 2 Graffiti- 2.1 Background 2.2 Political Graffiti 2.3 First Hand Account of the Economic Crisis of Argentina 3 Bibliography

Argentina's Economic Crisis-

Background

In the year 1991, under the rule of President Carlos Menem, the Argentine government decided it was time to "peg(3.)" the current peso to the US dollar. This change was made in order to help avoid inflation and boost economic confidence. This "peg" from the peso to the US dollar was to be made "under an exchange-rate mechanism widely known as "convertibility.(4.)"" This mechanism would create a fixed one to one ratio between the peso and the US dollar. "Convertibility", was a neo-liberal idea that would protect and promote the Argentine economy. Convertibility was not feasible for Argentina to support on its own so, the economic minister, Cavallo, suggested the aid of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In order to receive effective aid from the Fiscal Policy the nation must keep a low debt, as well as a low unemployment rate. In attempt to salvage the Argentine economy, the Economic Minister of Argentina, Carvallo administered raises, tax cuts, and spending reductions. These changes resulted in loaning another US$8 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Even though the unemployment rate had increased to 17.4%, the IMF made an exception. Now not only had the unemployment rate increased, but also the external debts.

By December of 2001 the economy of Argentina had crashed, reaching a world record deficit of a US$150 billion. Failure to pay this debt left the country of Argentina in a state of default. By the late 1990s, the external debts of Argentina created an ever-increasing interest rate changing fiscal surpluses into fiscal deficits. This resulted in riots, looting, unemployment, and poverty for the middle class. The ideas of convertibility and neo-liberal consent were discarded, diminishing the peso value to 3.6 pesos to one dollar. President Fernando de La Rua resigned at the height of the economic crisis, placing Argentina in an even bigger dilemma.

Argentina was in the middle of an economic crisis, banks, ATMs, and factories shut down. Teachers, dentists, and professionals of the lower and middle classes had no money, and no food. Argentineans were only allowed to withdraw 250.000 pesos a week. This economic crisis created an even bigger gap between the elite class and the lower class. Due to the fact that many of the elites kept their money in foreign accounts where it was not affected by the economic disaster, unlike the common people of Argentina.

Once unemployment reached an all-time high, the protesting began. One group of protesters went further than marching, they were the piqueteros. The piqueteros began an organization of the unemployed (El Movimiento Territorial Liberación). Riots resulted in 22 dead, and many injured. In the year of 2001 the piqueteros lead 900 road blocks. Police often times used tear gas, rubber bullets, and during extreme cases, live ammunition.

Statistics of the Economic Crisis of Argentina:

1. GDP shrunk approximately 4.5% in 2001
2. 53% of population living below poverty line
3. No bank money available - savings accounts and fixed term deposits frozen
4. Severe devaluation of the peso (lost 70% of its value)
5. 22% rate of unemployment
6. 112,500 small businesses closed from Jan 02 to Aug 02

During the Argentine economic crisis the attitudes of the people were expressed through protests and graffiti.

Graffiti-

Background

Graffiti means little scratchings. It comes from the Italian word graffiare, meaning to scratch. Deciphering graffiti is key to understanding different culture groups. Graffiti can help to interpret feelings, attitudes, thoughts, and opinions of the lesser known groups. Groups that are masked by the dominant culture. Graffiti is used to communicate and to express feelings that otherwise will not be heard. Graffiti permits free expression, free from the dominant culture, and free from outside influences.

Political Graffiti

There are five different types of graffiti, existential, tagging, piercing, political, and gang. The focus in this case is on the political type of graffiti. Political graffiti is written so that anyone who reads it is able to understand what the artist wanted to portray. Political graffiti artists often times place their work in popular places. The artists want their message to be seen and heard and therefore the artists would chose a busy subway or street over an empty parking lot. Political graffiti targets the general public in order to communicate attitudes or thoughts about the government, institutions, or considerable individuals. Graffiti is so popular do to its effectiveness, affordability, and anonymity.

Political graffiti usually includes facts dealing with labor conditions, wages, job opportunities, political power, religion, equality, etc. Political graffiti is often times used in order to illustrate the demands of the common people. Graffiti can be so effective, targeting the masses that it is seen as unsettling and often times covered or erased. All types of graffiti, including political graffiti can be found in every part of the world today.

Political graffiti was used during the economic crisis in Buenos Aires, Argentina to communicate the attitudes of the common people. This picture shows a monument covered in graffiti. It reads, "FMI OUT!" in rejection to the International Monetary Fund that Argentina was in such debt to during the economic crisis.

Other political graffiti includes this building capturing the negative attitude toward the Economic Minister during the economic crisis, Domingo Cavallo, "Cavallo preso." Illustrating the desire for the imprisonment of Domingo Cavallo.

First Hand Account of the Economic Crisis of Argentina

"The rustle of shopping bags is drowned out by a deafening racket. A crowd of about 200 people are beating the steel sheet metal that protects the entrance of a bank. They bang with hammers, ladles, monkey wrenches, one woman even removes her shoe to use as a tool. The entire facade of the building shudders under the fury of the raining vibration of the blows. The force of some of the tools manages to punch gaping holes straight through the metal, agile gloved hands prise the sheets apart. Suddenly the armor falls away and the crowd cheers. A handful of people split off and invade a bank lobby across the street. Within a fraction of a second all six ATM machines are systematically smashed, shattered glass flies, and a woman sprays the word "chorros," or crooks, in huge letters on the marble wall. Nervous bank employees watch the scene from behind a glass doo;, an egg sails through the air and breaks against it. The bankers flinch, then turn away. The crowd repeats the accusatory chant, "Ladrones, ladrones," or thieves, and then join in a longer chant, while jumping ecstatically up and down, waving portfolios and briefcases around. The chant translates loosely as "Whoever is not jumping is a banker, whoever is not jumping is a thief...." When this dies down, everyone casually exits the lobby and moves on to the next bank, less than fifty yards up the street. These kind of tactics have become archetypes of contemporary protest: the shattered glass, graffiti smeared across bank walls, the corporate symbols of capital destroyed." (Se Vayan Todos: Argentine's Popular Uprising)

Bibliography

1. Urban Graffiti on the City Landscape. Alonso A. Alejandro. February 1998. University of Southern California. 25 September 2007 <http://www.streetgangs.com/academic/alonsograffiti.pdf > This site, which was actually an academic journal on graffiti was very useful information. The academic journal provided basic information on understanding and interpreting the art of graffiti. It also explained the different types of graffiti including the criteria for political graffiti.

2. Buenos Aires: Political Graffiti. Kotler, Mitch. September 2004. 27 September 2007. <http://www.pbase.com/mkotler/graffiti> This site provided valuable photographs of graffiti in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the aftermath of the economic crisis.

3. Q & A: Argentina’s Economic Crisis. February 2003. BBC News. 28 September 2007. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1721061.stm> This news article provided essential information on Argentine’s economic crisis. It provided causes for the downfall as well as basic background information on the economic status of Argentina.

4. Argentina was Devastated by Free Market Policies. March 2006. School of Comparative American Studies. 24 September 2007. < http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/jkahn/tag/argentina/> This site provided vital information on the idea of convertibility and its consequences, or its effects on the Argentine Economic system.

5. Argentine Economic Crisis. CTA Central de los Trabajadores Argentinos. 22 September 2007. <http://www.caw.ca/whatwedo/socialjusticefund/reports/argentina.asp> This site provided statistics from the Argentine Economic Crisis, as well as photographs of monuments and banks covered in political graffiti. The site also provided information about the piqueteros, and El Movimiento Territorial Liberación.

6. Protest and Resentment. 2007. Simon Fraser University. 29 September 2007. <http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/61/4/297> This site presented examples of protests and political graffiti during the economic crisis in Argentine accompanied by helpful photographs.

7. Se Vayan Todos: Argentine’s Popular Uprising. 2002. 27 September 2007. <http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/new/argentina/argentina1.pdf> This site was useful for its first hand experience, it is a journal written during the time of the economic crisis.

8.Estación de Darío y Maxi. Dobin-Bernstein, Noah. The Yale Hippolytic. 28 September 2007. <http://www.hippolytic.com/0109/estacion_dario_y_maxi.html> This site provided information on the piqueteros of Argentina during the economic crisis. It offered first hand accounts of the death of Darío and Maxi, two protesters involved in a piquetero movement killed by the police.

9.Journal of Economic Literature. 2002. Alejandro Cuñat. 29 September 2007. <http://www.lib.ncsu.edu:2072/view/00220515/sp050006/05x0372h/0?searchUrl=http%3a//www.jstor.org/search/BasicResults%3fhp%3d25%26si%3d1%26gw%3djtx%26jtxsi%3d1%26jcpsi%3d1%26artsi%3d1%26Query%3dargentina%2527s%2beconomic%2bcrisis%2bof%2b2001%26wc%3don&frame=noframe&currentResult=00220515%2bsp050006%2b05x0372h%2b0%2c0F&userID=98014f68@ncsu.edu/01c054500c005017d0b&dpi=3&config=jstor> This journal of Economic Literature provided vital information on the background information of the economic crisis of Argentina. The journal also provided excerpts from of Michael Mussa’s book Argentina and the Fund: From Triumph to Tragedy.