Buenos Aires Forum

[RushHourFreak 1]

^^That is something very harsh to talk about. I don't think it is necessary to create that and reflect the poverty that almost every part of the world has.

And I think that for talking about Latin America is to talk about the development. I think everybody here know about the problems that hit this and all Latin American countries. We need to talk about something different, for at least changing the wrong impression for the community.

RHF

[bakan_vergas 0]

Well, for changing the wrong impression is enough saying that Latin America is not as undeveloped as sub-asaharian africa or south-east asia (surely many people think we are at the same level).

But surely our shanty towns are not the same as the ones of the developed countries.

[JDRCRASH 53]

The central city of Buenos Aires is actually suprisingly big, at over 10,000,000 people!

[kibblewitbit 0]

that un world developement index thing doesnt seem right for me, italy spain and japan are a little bit overrated and germany is underrated i guess argentina is a second world country but still has quite a long way to go. to stay on topic i was realy surprised that buenos aires had such diverse archeticture and i think the world really needs a kilometer high tower it would just look so cool.

[cmdp123789 710]

Well, it seems that some of u got no idea of what u are talking about. How many of u guys went to Argentina?? huh?? well let me tell u something, Buenos Aires is bigger than a lot of American cities, I must say that as a country it is not very impressive, but the city of Bs As it's much more better than a lot of European and American cities by a lot!!

[reflectification 0]

A few quick points.

First of all, the terms first, second and third world are now defunct as they refer to affiliations during the cold war. The first world was the United Sates and its affiliated countries, the second world the Soviet Union and its affiliated countries, and the third world was all the other nonaligned countries. These usually were poorer so the term third world was often used as a synonym for developing countries, which is really the proper term to be using here.

Also, I live in Santiago, Chile and have recently spent a month in Buenos Aires. There's certainly poverty in both countries, especially Argentina, but neither are nearly so underdeveloped as as most North Americans seem to think. The reasons that these countries have so much poverty are diverse and I won't get into them here. It's important to keep in mind that while it's not quite as bad there's a lot of poverty too in the United States, where I'm originally from. Especially in regards to Chile, my opinion is that it's definitely a developed country but with a really bad distribution of wealth, though this seems to be improving. The case is similar in Argentina although more complicated, for reasons I won't get into here.

Really enjoyed that photo essay posted previously. I took a lot of photos when I was in Buenos Aires and anyone who is curious is welcome to view the slideshow on my flickr site here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/reflectification/sets/72157594481554883/show/

Hope this clears some things up.

[copecopecopecope 0]

Bueno, una aclaraci

[Micah 16]

Cope, can you please provide an English translation for the reply you made? Thanks.

[copecopecopecope 0]

O.k, just because you're asking for it ;P

Originally posted by: copecopecopecope Bueno, una aclaración, y la digo en castellano porque no quiero estar horas con el Traductor virtual, que encima es una basura traduciendo (the one who wanna read this, just use the web Traducer :-P ) :

La Argentina no es un país desarrollado ni un país subdesarrollado. Es un país en "vías de desarrollo". Se regalaron infinidad de oportunidades a lo largo de todo la historia como para convertirse en una potencia, pero nunca se aprovecharon... los políticos de hoy no son más que un reflejo de lo que pasó en el siglo XIX con otros políticos (lo mismo cuenta para la sociedad).

Geoeconómicamente hablando, tampoco es muy eficiente... tiene la tercera parte de su población en una sola ciudad que encima desborda de deficiencias por todos lados. No nos pongamos a hablar de pobreza porque no terminamos más. Como todo país, tiene su lado malo y su lado bueno. La sociedad argentina tiene una cultura fuertísima, que se nota sobre todo en el Interior del país. En la Capital Federal no se nota tanto porque se la comió la globalización, pero igual algo llega a conservar.

Si yo tuviera que nombrar los problemas más importantes de mi país son: los políticos y la organización de la nación, que son deplorables.... una buena administración y mayor distribución sólo la pueden aplicar los políticos (que para eso están), pero no creo que pase, simplemente porque me guío por la Historia y no veo por qué podría llegar a cambiar. No pierdo las esperanzas igual...quote>

 

Argentina isn't a developed country, but it's growing slowly. Infinity of opportunities was given along the whole history as to turn into an important country of the world, but they never took advantage. Today politicians are not any more than a reflex from what it happened in the XIXth century with other politicians (the same for the society).

Geo-Politically speaking, isn't different... the third part of the population stays in only one big city with thousands of problems on the infraestructure and the administration. As all the countries, it has its own bad and good parts. The argentine society shows a rich culture, specially inside the country. You can't see all that kind of feeling of the culture in Buenos Aires city, cause it is nothing more than a globalizated city.

If i'd have to name the most important problems of my country, i'd say: the politicians, and the organization of the nation. Only the politicians can manage a good administration and a better distribution, but i don't think they'll change, because i am basing on premises of the History to extract conclusions of what is going to happen in the future...

[reflectification 0]

Thought I would try to offer a better tranlation of what Cope had to say since he made some interesting points.

"

Argentina isn't a developed or underdeveloped country. It's a country on the "rails of development." It's been offered countless opportunities throughout it's history to convert itself into a powerful nation, but never took advantage of those... The current politicians aren't any more than a reflection of those during the Nineteenth Century (the same goes for the society).

Geo-economically speaking, it's not very efficient either... It has a third of it's population in just one city witch is overflowing with deficiencies on all sides. Let's not talk about poverty because we'll never stop. Like all countries, it has it's good side and it's bad side. The Argentine society has a very strong culture, which is especially notable in the interior. In the Federal Capitol it's not as noticeable because globalization has eaten away at it, although some still remains.

If I had to name the most important problems of my country they are: The politicians and the organization of the nation, which are deplorable... A good administration and better distribution can only be achieved by the politicians (which they are there for), but I don't believe it's going to happen, simply because I have history to guide me and I don't see how it would be able to change. Still, I don't lose hope...

"

Hope this helps.

[JDRCRASH 53]

Whats interesting is that, like Tokyo, Buenos Aires isn't a high-rise built up metropolis....rather, it is a mid-rise city with most structures under 50 stories.

Perhaps thats one reason why the city isn't that well known architecture wise.

[cmdp123789 710]

But still, 50 stories it's a lot, I mean u r not saying 10 stories IT'S 50! the thing is that Bs As does not have any distinctive landmark such as empire state or WTC, it's got more traditional landmarks ( obelisk, etc). I still think that when a person gives its opinion, that person must have a slightly idea of what he is saying, since pictures dont say everything about a city, u have to live in it!! I'll give u couple examples: Buenos Aires is bigger than: Berlin, Houston, Madrid, Manchhester, Liverpool, Miami, Las vegas, Rio do Janeiro, Rome, Washington Dc, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, etc. And I can tell u that I say it because I went to those cities, and I can tell u that Bs As is much more bigger

[SockoJr53 51]

Those are some beautiful pictures, thanks cope. I studied a lot of Argentine history 2 yrs ago and I have always liked Buenos Aires. I think my favorite picture you posted is that of the obelisk, only because theres a giant SPRITE soda sign right in front of it, Go USA!! haha...

[crazyyaya 4]

It's kind of a shame tokyo can't build buildings that are very high because of the earthquake risk it has such a high population and could be a skyline marvel.

[hijodecordoba 74]

@ Copecopecopecope: habes nacido con buena estrella, porque vives en Buenos Aires. Thank you for the pictures of my future home city and country I mean it!

unfortunately due to that damn "economic crash" argentina has lost a lot of power (round about 2000 or 2001, don't know exactly *shame*), but it's recovering and will gain it strenght again. if i'm well informed, the peso as currency had been equal to a US Dollar once. (correct me, i'm willing to learn, especially about argentina)

in geographical terms it is considered as an emergent nation. you'll find many different version, because every list has its own indicators.

!chao!

[rollenkingston 0]

Alright, I just did an Art History paper on Argentina! This thing is sweet!

[reflectification 0]

Yeah, before the economic crash the Argentine Peso mirrored the value of the US dollar, but not anymore. The rough exchange now is something close to three pesos to the dollar.

[homeandaway 1]

beunos aires is a really cool and big city!. - wouldnt want to go there though - too big!

~alex~

[cmdp123789 710]

Last week I went to Buenos Aires, and I still think that there's one of the biggest and best cities in the world. How many cities in the world have avenues like 9 de julio? or Libertadores? huh? non, that's why every city is different and it deserves the respect of everybody. NYC is one of the biggest cities in the world, but there's nothing like 9 de julio or somethin' at NYC