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Is Argentina closer to saying #ByeTransFats?

On March 14 and 15, the National Food Commission (CONAL) held its ordinary meeting No. 144. There, among other topics, it worked on improving the regulation of trans fats based on the proposals presented by civil society and the Ministry of Health.

Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.

CONAL, at its first meeting in 2022, put the update of art. 155 tris of the Argentine Food Code (CAA), referring to the maximum percentage of trans fats allowed in food products. For this, it used two proposals: one that civil society organizations presented in September 2021 and another, by the National Ministry of Health, whose presentation took place this year.

Both proposals state:

  • Establish a maximum limit of 2% of industrially produced trans fats on total fats in all food products. Including those used as ingredients and/or raw materials.
  • Ban the use of partially hydrogenated oil (main source of trans fatty acids).

It is important to highlight that these proposals are aligned with the best standards of public health protection, as well as with the recommendations of international expert organizations.

 

What’s coming

According to the minutes issued after the last meeting of CONAL, the National Food Institute (INAL) has the duty to prepare the so-called “joint resolution project” (PRC). This project is a document, where, taking into account both the proposal of civil society and that of the Ministry, the effective proposal to modify art. 155 tris.

After its preparation, the PRC must be sent for a period of 20 calendar days to all CONAL representatives and if no substantial comments are received, it must be submitted simultaneously to CONASE -Advisory Council- and to Public Consultation -open stage to the community-, for a period not exceeding 30 calendar days.

However, neither the statements made by members of CONASE or those that may arise in the framework of the public consultation, are binding. In other words, CONAL is not obliged to follow the positions that result from both instances, but they will be an important input to be assessed by the Commission when modifying the Food Code.

Subsequently, a new meeting of the CONAL will take place and if the modification proposal is approved, it will go to the administrative process so that the joint resolution between the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and the Secretary of the Ministry of Health is issued, acquiring thus its character and rigor of the norm after being published in the Official Gazette.

 

Why is it important for civil society to participate?

Participation will be key to driving the proposal forward, as well as countering possible interference from the food industry. In general terms, the discussions raised within the scope of CONAL, given its institutional and operational scheme, are behind closed doors and quite far from citizen participation. Therefore, it is transcendental that civil society organizations begin to take part in this space, bringing the perspective of public health, human rights and, above all, prevention of non-communicable diseases.

Argentina is behind in terms of trans fat policies, so it is necessary to redirect efforts again to ensure the right to health of citizens.

We are getting closer to saying #ByeTransFats!

 

More information:

We present a proposal to eliminate trans fats in Argentina

Contact:

Maga Merlo Vijarra, magamerlov@fundeps.org

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Public Hearings of the Public Defender’s Office: “The media and information in the pandemic”

During the year 2021, faced with a pandemic context, we participated in the first Public Hearings of the Public Defender’s Office in virtual mode, through a videoconference platform and, at the beginning of this year, the reports resulting from the process were published.

Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.

Communication during the pandemic

The Public Hearings of the Public Defender’s Office have been held every year since 2013, with the exception of the 2019-2020 period, fulfilling the mandate of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law to evaluate the functioning of the body through citizen participation.

The theme that governed the conversations of the last Hearing was “The media and information in the pandemic”. The meetings that were held were of the utmost importance since it was an issue that has affected not only the country but also the world in a transversal way. Approaching communication from a rights and gender approach implies conceiving all citizens as subjects of law and commits the State to guarantee their participation and incidence in political decisions. This becomes urgent in a context in which information is a fundamental human right for survival, which is why this Hearing allowed the Public Defender’s Office to internalize the needs and claims of the different actors in society regarding this issue. and all those who touch us as communicational citizens.

The thematic axes that were debated were: right to communication and Law 26,522 of Audiovisual Communication Services; access to audiovisual communication services in coverage of the pandemic; information and disinformation in the audiovisual media about the Covid-19 pandemic; specific considerations in the audiovisual coverage of the pandemic on historically marginalized sectors; State and public communication policies linked to the operation of audiovisual communication services in a pandemic; situation of the workers of the press, regulation and organization of work; proposals, suggestions and requests addressed to the Public Defender’s Office in relation to audiovisual media in a pandemic.

Our intervention

Organized by regions, the first virtual audience was that of the Central Region, which includes the provinces of Córdoba, Santa Fé and Entre Ríos, divided into two days due to the large call. Through the participation of Mayca Balaguer, coordinator of the areas of Legal Affairs and Gender and Sexual Diversity, we participated in this Public Hearing contributing from a human rights and gender perspective.

In reference to the aspects that we consider positive and negative in the media coverage of the pandemic, we highlight that the media served and had a fundamental role as a channel for transmitting information related to Covid-19 and health measures. However, we express our concern about some cases of fake news, disinformation and even bad examples.

Likewise, regarding media and symbolic gender violence, we state that during the pandemic we observed that in many cases the media reinforced gender stereotypes, fundamentally through a strong stigmatization of fat bodies, motivated by changes in habits in diet and sedentary lifestyle caused by isolation. Far from promoting healthy habits in a way that respects body diversity, we noticed that many media outlets fell into fat-phobic and stereotyping discourses.

Regarding the role of the State, we highlight the need to develop visibility strategies for alternative, self-managed, community media from different parts of the country, which are dedicated to reporting from the territories. We believe that the contribution of these media is key to recovering the voices and perspectives of non-hegemonic sectors from a perspective that respects human rights, especially those that are made up of women and dissidents, people with disabilities, racialized, fat, etc. At this point, a more equitable distribution of the official guideline may be a key factor in sustaining these media, which, due to the socioeconomic consequences derived from social isolation, may cease to exist, fueling the monopolization of information in the hands of hegemonic media.

The importance of citizen participation in communication policies

The Public Defender’s Office’s main objective is to promote and guarantee the rights of audiences in pursuit of democratic communication throughout the country. To achieve this, it holds public hearings that seek to actively participate and involve citizens in decision-making so that these are made in a transparent manner and, ultimately, a more informed and participatory society is generated that has access to its right to communication.

In these public hearings, they function as a mechanism for the State to carry out an updated diagnosis on the operation of the audiovisual media, recovering different points of view, opinions, experiences and studies provided by citizens. This makes it possible to inform, design and implement public policies aimed at the recognition and exercise of the rights of the audience.

For this reason, we celebrate this space for citizen participation in which we participate, since it is essential to guarantee equal access to information and to expand the diversity of voices in the government decision-making process. This promotes the construction of informed, inclusive, more democratic, fair and equitable public policies that incorporate a rights approach.

Autor

Irene Aguirre

Contact

Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org

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STRENGTHENING OTHER ECONOMY(S): Guide for self-managing organizations

We launched a guide that offers steps and tools for self-managed organizations and enterprises to review their internal management processes and implement good practices with a view to achieving economic sustainability, from the sustainability of life approach.

Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.

The Feminist Economy, together with the Ecological, Popular, Social and Solidarity Economy (the so-called Other economies) allow us to account for the unsustainability of the logics of inequality and looting that characterize the dominant capitalist and heterocis-patriarchal model. Also, it provides us with tools to identify, make visible and strengthen those that are committed to the sustainability of life.

Based on this position, during the year 2021, together with the Latin American Feminist Incubator and with the support of the Heinrich Böll Cono Sur Foundation, we carried out organizational and economic strengthening work aimed at 7 self-managed organizations and ventures from the Other economies of the province of Cordoba.

The goal was to help strengthen various self-managed experiences in our province through the design, implementation and collective evaluation of strategies and tools for economic sustainability. And thus promote the productive and reproductive processes and activities that they carry out and that aim, in a broader sense, at the sustainability of life.

In the different stages of this strengthening process, we used tools for the diagnosis, planning and management of resources (money, goods, services, time, contacts and networks, etc.) that could be adapted to the needs and forms of organization, and be useful for the evaluation and improvement of the management processes of self-managed organizations. Throughout this experience, we not only tested the proposed strategies and tools, but we were also able to identify interests and needs that require attention.

From this place we reaffirm our commitment to the transformation of situations of inequality through the strengthening of the various self-managed experiences made up mostly of femininity and dissidence and that are part of the Other Economies, in this case, providing resources for that purpose.

We have prepared this guide with tools aimed at self-managed spaces in Other Economies, so that they can review their forms of organization and internal management processes in order to achieve economic sustainability from the perspective of a Feminist Economy that is committed to the sustainability of life. . This material is proposed as a second booklet of resources that we have been making since 2020 in order to strengthen practices and reflections on the Other economies.

The guide is a proposal, a working hypothesis, not an imposition or a rigid structure. They are tools made available for each space to discuss, transform and adapt to their own needs.

An integral and sequenced process was thought of, although not necessarily linear. This allows each organization to choose where to start and what steps to follow, to advance in what they consider relevant or more adjusted to their needs.

We hope it will serve you.

Read resourcer

 

More information:

To access the first issue with administrative, tax and legal resources for self-managed organizations, read: Tools for self-management from a perspective of the sustainability of life.
Report “Other economies: self-management from a Life Sustainability perspective”.
Cycle Virtual meetings on Feminist Economy.
Audiovisual short films on Feminist Economy and Self-management.

Contact

Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org

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What does joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank imply for Argentina?

Since 2021, Argentina officially integrates the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. For our country, the AIIB represents a new multilateral source of financing for strategic sectors such as infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and transportation, among others. However, the AIIB is a little-known bank. How does it work and what are the implications for the country of joining this institution promoted mainly by China? We present a new report with the analysis.

Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.

On March 30, 2021, Argentina’s membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was made official. The AIIB officially began its activity in October 2014. It is a new multilateral development bank promoted mainly by China with a focus on investments in infrastructure, especially aimed at emerging countries. Its Asian origin does not limit its actions to a single region, since the Bank has a large number of member countries in other continents and projects financed in South America, Africa and Europe.

The model proposed by China has distinctive features. The dominant feature is that the investments are focused on infrastructure, connectivity and industrialization, marking an important difference with Western development financing entities that, in recent times, have oriented their loans mainly to institutional reforms, health projects, education or fighting against poverty, among others.
In this way, it postulates an interesting alternative for the financing of an infrastructure that is largely in deficit in Latin America and, particularly, in Argentina. For our country, the AIIB represents a new multilateral source of financing for strategic sectors and opens an opportunity to help solve its historical deficits in terms of infrastructure and connectivity. For its part, with still little participation from Latin America, the Asian Bank is consolidating itself as a viable option for the region in light of development goals. To date, five effective Latin American members are reported: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador and Chile.

From its origins, the AIIB was presented as a different option to the historical Western multilateral development institutions such as the World Bank, the IDB or the International Finance Corporation (IFC). However, the AIIB has implemented a regulatory and operational framework very similar to that of those institutions, including policies for access to information, accountability, and environmental and social regulation to authorize disbursements. In turn, it contemplates cooperation and co-financing with other multilateral banks, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, adhering to their regulatory frameworks.

Despite this, since its entry into operations the Bank has received criticism from various sectors of civil society and affected communities that have questioned its actions in different development projects and even certain weaknesses in its regulatory framework.

In this sense, the implications that admission to the AIIB may have for Argentina depend largely on the type of relationship that the country establishes with the institution and the way in which it manages to take advantage of the potential financing resources for infrastructure that the Bank can provide. . Likewise, it is necessary to avoid repeating the problems related to public participation, access to information and socio-environmental impacts that have historically been associated with development projects financed by multilateral banks.

Given the general ignorance that exists in the country about this institution, it is important to analyze in depth what the Bank consists of, how it works and what the true implications of Argentine membership may be. To contribute to this objective, from Fundeps we present a report that analyzes part of these questions.

Read full review

 

More information

The incorporation of Argentina to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – Fundeps was approved
Argentina, one step away from becoming a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – Fundeps
Are the brothers united? Profiling of the Sino-Argentine relationship in the government of Alberto Fernández – Fundeps
The role of the AIIB in the New Green Silk Road – Fundeps

Author

Camila Victoria Bocco

Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

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Labeling Law: we demand transparent regulation

Together with Sanar, on Thursday, January 20, we sent a letter to the Nation’s Minister of Health (Dr. Carla Vizzotti), to the Secretary of Access to Health (Dr. Sandra Tirado) and to the Director of the National Food Institute (Lic. Monica Lopez). We request that the regulation of the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Food, sanctioned on October 26, be regulated in terms of transparency, free of conflicts of interest and with the participation of civil society.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

While the bill was discussed in the different chambers of the National Congress, attempts by the food industry to reduce its rigor became visible. Without success, now that it is time for its regulation, we fear the possible interference of the industry with orders aimed at hindering and delaying the process. For example, the shifting of the terms of the application of the law and the attempt to avoid the correct labeling in certain forms of presentation of drinkable and edible products.

To give rise to these possible interferences, other regulations that make up the regulations could be weakened; especially those that are intended to protect groups in a situation of vulnerability, such as children, adolescents, and low-income families.

It is due to this, that from the different civil society organizations we carry out different actions that demonstrate our interest in participating in the processes related to the regulation of the law; Since we do not have any type of conflict of interest, we can guarantee that it is regulated in a transparent manner and in accordance with the rights acquired at the time of sanction.

The health care of the Argentine population is still not certain, and we need the ministerial and competent entities to guarantee processes that respect that the regulation of the law will be based on the existing scientific evidence on the subject, in a clear and transparent.

Author
Lourdes Aparicio

Contact
Maga Merlo Vijarra, magamerlov@fundeps.org

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Explosions in La Calera Natural Defense Reserve: a brief analysis

Throughout the month of January, the Explosives Brigade of the Police of the province of Córdoba will detonate eight tons of explosives in the La Calera Natural Defense Reserve. According to reports, the explosions were ordered by a federal court as part of a legal case.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The La Calera reserve is a Natural Defense Reserve. This category of protected area is not exclusively intended for conservation, such as national parks. However, due to its high value for the conservation of biodiversity, the preservation and protection of its natural characteristics is sought. These are properties that belong to the Argentine Army, used for defense purposes, but due to their ecosystem importance, cultural or natural heritage, they enter into a protection regime.

These areas are administered by a Mixed Local Committee, made up of representatives of the National Parks Administration and the Armed Forces. Two functions are fulfilled in these territories. On the one hand, those associated with military tasks, and on the other, those linked to the conservation of biodiversity. Military activities have priority over the latter, according to the regulatory framework that regulates these areas. It is important to clarify that although these areas belong to the National State for the development of its functions, they are not exempt from compliance with environmental regulations of both national and provincial minimum budgets. Let us remember that the powers of regulation, authorization and control in environmental matters within the provincial territory, belong to the province, even in those places that are of national utility, as long as the functions of these establishments are not affected by the exercise of those faculties.

However, the General Environmental Law No. 25,675 requires that any activity that may degrade the environment, any of its components or affect the quality of life of the population, must undergo the environmental impact assessment procedure prior to its execution.

For its part, Provincial Law 10,208, makes this procedure mandatory for those activities that are included in its ANNEX I, among which is any activity to be carried out within a territorial portion included in the regime of the Law of Areas Provincial Natural Areas or those with similar or equivalent national regulations, or areas with assets of archaeological or historical-cultural value (as in the La Calera Reserve).

Based on this analysis, it is possible to note that any activity carried out in the La Calera Defense Reserve must undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment before the provincial authority, as long as this does not interfere with the military functions carried out there.

The detonation of 8 tons of explosives by the Provincial Police, without a doubt, is not part of the military function of the Armed Forces.

Given this scenario, it is possible to conclude that the explosions should have been subjected to the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure prior to their realization, and obtain the corresponding authorization from the local authority. Well, it is an activity subject to this procedure by provincial regulations, which would not interfere with the military function, since the detonation is not due to an activity of the Armed Forces, but rather responds to the activity of the provincial police force.

It should be noted that the communities that live in the area did not have the opportunity to access information on the detonations, nor provide their opinion on the matter, as guaranteed by the Escazú Agreement and local laws.

The most striking aspect of the case is that the National Parks Administration itself, which is involved in the management of the Reserve, seems to have made no reservations about the detonations and their possible negative impacts, nor have the provincial authorities -Secretariat of the Environment, Police Environmental-. It is also possible to question the judicial origin of the measure and the obligation to analyze the possible impacts of its actions. In this regard, it should be remembered that environmental regulations are mandatory for all State authorities and it is their duty to preserve the environment, as well as to apply the rules of minimum environmental budgets.

In short, the Calera Reserve has fundamental ecosystem functions. Its flora regulates rainfall, guarantees the recharge of the Suquía River, prevents the impact of rains on outlying neighborhoods, constitutes a green corridor between the Quebrada del Condorito National Park and the Pampa de Achala Reserve, in addition to guarding archaeological heritage and a large cluster of species of flora and fauna (325 native species, 7 threatened). Not evaluating the potential environmental impact of the detonations not only violates local environmental regulations, but also puts the communities that live nearby at risk and, above all, seriously affects the environmental services that the Reserve provides.

Due to the importance of this type of area, it is a priority for the State to guarantee the application of current regulations on environmental matters. In addition, this category of protected areas must be institutionalized through the sanction of a law that accurately outlines the applicable regime and the restrictions on its use, for the efficient achievement of conservation objectives, as many current bills intend. parliamentary status in the National Congress.

 

Links of interest:

Cooperation Framework Agreement

Protocol for the creation of the La Calera Defense Reserve

 

Contact:

juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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The rights of women in Argentina in times of Covid-19

Situation during the first year of the pandemic and recommendations to promote measures with a gender perspective.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

During 2020, together with other organizations, we worked on the preparation of a report that presents a monitoring of the responses given by the Argentine State to address the pandemic and the impact of these responses on women’s rights. This monitoring seeks to report on the status of women’s rights in Argentina in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic during its first year, contribute to the fulfillment of women’s rights and gender justice and urge the State to take the necessary measures to guarantee and protect rights from a gender perspective.

Within this Gender Roundtable, a working group has been created that has prepared this report made up of Lawyers from the Argentine Northwest in Human Rights and Social Studies (ANDHES), Amnesty International Argentina (AIAR), Center for the Implementation of Constitutional Rights (CIDC), Ombudsman’s Office of the Province of Buenos Aires, Latin American Justice and Gender Team (ELA), Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS), Observatory of Adolescents and Young People / Gino Germani Research Institute (OAJ / IIGG ), La Hoguera Feminist Organization, Network for the Rights of People with Disabilities (REDI) and Xumek, AC for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

The report describes the initiatives and approaches adopted by the Argentine government to protect the rights of women and diversities during the first year of the pandemic from March 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 in the country was reported, until the end of 2020. The following priority issues are addressed: political participation and gender perspective in the measures; gender-based violence; the right to care; and access to sexual and (non) reproductive health.

Download Executive Summary

Download full report

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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Exhibition of animals in stained glass: a prohibited but current practice

Despite the fact that the sale and exhibition of animals in stained glass windows is a prohibited practice in Córdoba, it is still common to see them exhibited in some veterinarians in the city.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The ban began to take effect after municipal ordinance No. 9575 was unanimously approved in September 2019 by the Public Health Commission. It began to be applied in March 2020 and the veterinarians had a period of 180 days to adapt to the regulations.

The ordinance in its article 6 bis clarifies that the prohibition includes any type of exhibition, either for sale or adoption. Regarding the conditions of the premises authorized for the commercialization of domestic animals, it establishes that these must be isolated, with suitable ventilation, and must comply with the general requirements and ensure sufficient conditions for their containment in an optimal hygienic-sanitary state. Article 8 determines that the cages used to contain them must be specific to each species, with sanitary trays, drinkers and feeders in perfect cleanliness.

In addition, in a novel way, it contains an article that allows businesses dedicated to the sale of pets to collaborate with the animal adoption activities carried out by the Municipality, thus encouraging the adoption of “street” animals.

Unfortunately, although more than two years have passed since its entry into force, there are still premises that do not comply with the regulations, thus configuring a violation and, eventually, a crime. Faced with non-compliance, in addition to the application of the Municipal Code of Misconduct, as determined by ordinance 9575, we have national law 14,346 (known as Sarmiento Law) sanctioned in 1954. It establishes a penalty of 15 days to 1 year for those who mistreat or make victims of acts of cruelty to animals.

It is possible to think that if the conditions, established by the municipal ordinance, guarantee the physical and psychological well-being of the animals protected by the regulations, their non-compliance constitutes a serious indication that conditions other than those required will seriously harm animal welfare. ; which would place the conduct in a case of commission of the crime of animal abuse (Art. 3, inc. 7 of National Law 14,346).

It is important to make visible and be aware that these types of behaviors are intolerable. In addition, current regulations provide tools so that, if necessary, the corresponding criminal complaints are made. It is possible to formulate them in any judicial unit, in front of the judicial police or, failing that, in Courts II in the prosecutor’s office on duty.

Authors

Carla Bisoglio

Brenda Cuello

Ananda Lavayén

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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Feminist economics as a tool for change: life at the center

On December 1, we presented the report “Other economies: self-management from a perspective of Sustainability of Life” together with the Feminist Economy Space of Córdoba and with the support of the Heinrich Böll Southern Cone Foundation. It was a year-end meeting in which we reflected on feminist economics and self-management together with various organizations.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In the world in which we live, unjust logics of production, work organization and distribution of wealth predominate. They are founded on a neoliberal, colonial and hetero-patriarchal capitalism that legitimizes and sustains inequalities that benefit a few: a male, white, adult, bourgeois, Western, hetorosexual, cisgender around which the entire economy has been organized.Faced with this model that prioritizes markets and the unlimited accumulation of wealth in a few hands, the Other Economies arise. These are constituted, in different measure and form, in real alternatives, and are visible in self-managed organizations of the Feminist, Popular, Ecological, Social and Solidarity Economy. They are characterized by having practices based on mutual support; solidarity and sisterhood; collective support and cooperation; the valuation not only of productive work but also of the work of social reproduction and of life, the recognition of its indivisibility and of its historical feminization and invisibility; the inclusion and care of the life of its members and of nature, avoiding individualistic, selfish and competitive logics that threaten life.

With this north, as of 2020 we have carried out different activities together with organizations and spaces that are committed to a socioeconomic transformation.

2020 was a year of hard work, together with the Córdoba Feminist Economy Space, focused on the production of knowledge based on self-managed experiences and content aimed at making them visible. As a result, we produced the report “Other economies: self-management from a perspective of Sustainability of Life”. We also carry out a cycle of virtual meetings on Feminist Economics in which we reflect, together with organizations and specialists, on the obstacles and possibilities of carrying out and strengthening other logics of production, distribution, consumption and organization of work that are more equitable and focused on persons.

In addition, we built a resource with legal, administrative and tax tools for self-management and four audiovisual shorts. This year, together with the Latin American Feminist Incubator, we carried out a process of internal strengthening of 7 self-managed organizations of the Other Economies of the province of Córdoba, in order to build tools that serve them to advance towards their economic sustainability from a perspective of the Feminist Economics. This implies thinking, building and planning strategies so that, with the available resources, the spaces can carry out sustainable economic processes in the medium and long term, considering and respecting the times of nature as well as the times and needs of its members and of the communities in which they are found.

The event

On December 1, we met to present the aforementioned report “Other economies: self-management from a perspective of the sustainability of life.” This report is the product of a year of research carried out in the middle of the pandemic. Its objective is to begin to know and make visible a small part of the diverse universe of self-managed and community experiences of Córdoba, from the critical perspective that the Feminist Economy offers us, in dialogue with the Popular Economy, Ecological Economy and the Social and Solidarity Economy. That is, from a perspective that aims to subvert the economy and build another that guarantees the provision of everything that is needed for the sustainability of human and non-human life, through economic processes that preserve the planet and are respectful of dignity. human. This approach is that of the Sustainability of Life and we adopt it because it is multidimensional, holistic since it integrates all sustainability: economic, social, ecological, human and the complex and dynamic interrelationships that occur between all of them over time and in specific territories and experiences.

We believe that this perspective has transformative power by allowing us to identify, on the one hand, unequal relations, such as gender, class, racialization processes, among others, which are sustained from biocidal and androcentric logics. But on the other hand, it also helps us to recognize other types of experiences that carry out practices different from those of the dominant economy and that respond to logics typical of Other Economies.

From this place, we understand that the Feminist Economy appears to us as a necessary perspective to think, develop and strengthen alternatives in favor of the sustainability of life since:

  • It opens the debate around what are the limits of what we understand by economy, the role of gender in it and the consequent inequalities.
  • It broadens the concept of work and recognizes the importance of the works that make up the social and life reproduction, In this way it makes visible and puts at the center of the scene the care that makes life possible, proposes its fair distribution, at the same time that conceives us as interdependent people with each other.
  • It questions the foundations of the sexual division of labor.

The report that we present is a synthesis that includes our positioning and also the lines of action in relation to the Feminist Economy agenda that we are building. Agenda that we conceive as strategic and transversal to all of Fundeps since it touches and problematizes all aspects of our life; and from which we generate and strengthen alliances and joint work networks.

The sustainability of life as a path of transformation

We believe that this type of self-managed experiences can provide us with tools and practices to resolve in a more equitable way the inequalities that are sustained at the cost of the invisibility and exploitation of bodies and lives, mainly of feminized identities and sex-generic dissidences, which are deepened in this context of crisis that we are experiencing: climate, health, social, economic, civilizational and care crisis.

Its existence, strategies and forms of organization, production and consumption, have acquired essential importance in local economies, and are presented to a greater or lesser extent and in different ways, as a real alternative to a system based on violence, oppression , impoverishment and in gender, class, ethnic-racial, age, etc. inequalities.

This does not happen without tensions or nuances since there are different positions and actions taken by these spaces in relation to the State and the predominant capitalist logic. The universe of self-management is extremely broad and heterogeneous. These spaces, like any other, are not exempt from the logic of structural inequality that can even be reproduced inside. However, they have favorable conditions to carry out various practices oriented to the Sustainability of Life, by subverting these situations of looting and inequality.

If we want a democratic and more equitable solution, a transformation, a paradigm shift and a system change that recognizes and strengthens self-managed spaces with the logic of Other Economies that undertake feminized identities and dissidents is urgent and necessary, so that their lives and of their communities are dignified and sustainable. This implies a commitment to profoundly transformative proposals that commit all social actors.

For this, the articulation of local and regional initiatives that aim to this end, and that allow the generation of data, information gathering, visibility, organization, articulation and enhancement of their activities is relevant. We know that what sustains us are networks, so let’s expand, enhance and strengthen them.

Contact

Cecilia Bustos Moreschi, cecilia.bustos.moreschi@fundeps.org

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The demands and challenges in accessing public environmental information

During the months of October and November, together with the participation of professionals and specialists in On the matter, three synchronous virtual meetings were held where different points related to access to public environmental information and the tools provided by the Escazú Agreement were addressed. Having finished and culminated the project, thanks to the information provided by the participants, the exchanges and debates that took place, we made a series of reflections and questions about the effective fulfillment and exercise of this right.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The first of the three workshops featured a lecture by María Laura Foradori, lawyer and specialist in Environmental Education, the second with Ana Di Pangracio, lawyer and Executive Director of Farn, and the third, eminently practical, was directed and accompanied by members from the Fundeps team.

During the meetings, by virtue of the expressions and comments that were given, it was possible to notice a great unsatisfied demand from groups of people and civil society organizations that seek to access information associated with numerous environmental problems. Also, indirectly, there is an escalation in socio-environmental conflict, a growing awareness in relation to the importance of caring for the environment and the need to get involved in its protection.

Those demands, in part, are consolidated from the ignorance of the tools and instruments that allow access to public information in general, and environmental information in particular. On the other hand, they can also originate from disbelief in institutional functioning, based on experiences with a high degree of non-compliance when receiving responses. In addition, the need to resort most of the time to legal claims has repercussions on the will of the citizenry, thereby delegitimizing the institutional design that guarantees access to environmental information.

Faced with this scenario, we believe that it is necessary to make institutional adjustments through public policies that make known and bring the tools for access to environmental information to the public. Likewise, it is imperative that improvements be made to ensure that the State complies with its obligation to provide responses.

To make this possible, we propose a series of recommendations and suggestions to the authorities, including updating the Law on Access to Public Information in the province of Córdoba, the creation of an Agency or Office with competence in the matter, improvements in the information request mechanisms so that they are easy to understand and access for citizens, improvement in the response rate to requests for information that are made, training authorities on access to public information as a human right and the implementation of specialized agencies and entities in environmental matters for the monitoring and inspection of all requests for information.

In turn, it is necessary to adapt the regulations for minimum environmental budgets in terms of access to information to the standards of the Escazú Agreement since this reaffirms and reinforces the rights of people to access and participate in environmental matters, environmental democracy and commits the international responsibility of the Argentine State in the event of any breaches.

Finally, we must also highlight the fundamental role assumed by organized civil society and citizens in the exercise of this right. On the one hand, in continuing to provide tools and get involved in exercising this right responsibly and, at the same time, offering alternative solutions to the authorities so that they guarantee the rights contemplated in the Escazú Agreement.

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Autor

Ananda Lavayén

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

 

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Declaration of interest for criminal prosecution of a doctor who carried out an ILE in Salta

Civil society organizations Catholics for the Right to Decide Argentina (CDD), the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (Fundeps) and the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) accompanied today
legal considerations in the framework of the criminal process of a doctor resident of Salta who carried out an ILE within the framework of Law 27.610 on Access to the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy, as part of the health team of the Juan Domingo Perón Hospital in the city of Tartagal.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The practice had been requested by a patient of legal age, in full exercise of her autonomy. When she was received at the health center, she was cared for by an interdisciplinary team, who, with the endorsement of the director of the
hospital, they found that it was the causal health and that it was duly justified. It is about the possibility of interrupting the pregnancy when the life or health of the pregnant person is at risk.

The procedures performed by the medical team are within the law and each step was recorded in the medical record. The doctor who is currently going through a criminal process is the only non-objector professional, who guarantees the right to comprehensive health for women and other people with the ability to gestate in the area.

It is essential that this case be analyzed in the light of local norms and in line with international human rights instruments. A pregnancy can be legally interrupted when any dimension of health is at risk, be it physical, mental or social health.

Likewise, particular consideration must be given to the social interest that governs this matter, as well as the impact that any judicial decision has in relation to the implementation of a public policy that provides for access to a fundamental human right such as access to Legal and Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy.

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Public budget: the debate and approval stage began in the Legislature

Each year budget laws are enacted that will guide the development of public policies for the following year, both at the national and provincial levels and in all the municipalities of the country. Through these laws, management priorities are set, and it is determined how much will be collected and invested in public policies.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In Córdoba, this process began on November 15 when the provincial executive sent the provincial public budget bill to the Legislature, and with the presentation made by the Minister of Finance, Osvaldo Giordano, to the legislative body two days later. The project must be accompanied by a “Message from the Executive” which is a reflection of the government plan that the provincial government is in charge of to guide economic activities.

After this, a period of debate and review begins in several of the Legislative Commissions. Of these, the one that plays a major role in this process is the Economy, Budget, Public Management and Innovation Commission, since it is in charge of preparing the opinion (or two, one by majority and one by minority) that is incorporated into the order. of the day of the Legislature to be dealt with in Sessions.

 

How is the budget law approved in Córdoba?

The budget law is approved through the “double reading” mechanism, provided for by the Constitution of the province for certain important cases (such as the declaration of constitutional reform, borrowing, among others), which involves the debate in two legislative sessions. This arrangement was foreseen once the Legislature of Córdoba became unicameral, as of 2001. In addition, the possibility of holding a public hearing, between sessions, is foreseen, which in the case of the approval of the budget law it is mandatory.

In other words, it is approved in two legislative sessions, between which no more than 15 days can elapse, and a hearing is held in between. Entities representing various social, economic, productive, professional sectors, as well as citizens in general, usually participate in this.

This Hearing must be convened by the presidency of the Legislature, that is, the vice-government, once the bill has been approved in first reading. In addition, the call must be published both in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of circulation of the province, for two days and one day respectively. The Legislature’s outreach channels are also used, such as its own website.

Any person, association or organization that wishes to give their opinion, comments or observations to the budget bill may participate in the hearing. You can participate by speaking or as a “simple assistant” as a listener. A Minute and a stenographic version are drawn up of each hearing, where everything said is reflected, material that is made available to the legislative body for its consideration in the face of the second reading session. Once the bill is approved or rejected, the versions of the hearings are available to the public on the Legislature’s Open Data Portal (Commissions section).

 

We leave you this information so that you can follow the debate process of the budget law 2022 in Córdoba

Contact

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org

 

Related note

ABC of the Public Budget in the provinces of Córdoba, Mendoza, Salta and Tucumán