Upheaval: Millay cancels the historic benefit of the left

Argentine President Javier Millay is promoting a move that may mark the end of one of the welfare programs most identified with the Peronist movement from the historic left in Argentina. According to a report in the “Financial Times”, the right-wing government in Argentina intends to transfer to the private sector the government hotel complex Chapadamalle, which for decades provided subsidized vacations to workers and families at extremely low prices.

The Chapadamalle complex, located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, was established in the late 1940s during the time of President Juan Domingo Peron and his wife Eva Peron, known as “Evita”. The nine hotels there became one of the prominent symbols of the Peronist concept, which saw the right to vacation and leisure as an inseparable part of workers’ rights.

Until recently, citizens of Argentina could spend an entire week there, including accommodation and meals at subsidized prices. Sometimes the cost dropped to only three or four dollars a night. In the past, the complex hosted up to 5,000 vacationers at the same time, who enjoyed the beach, the sea, restaurants and cultural events that took place there.

To Millay, this model belongs to the past. The right-wing president claims that reducing the public sector is a necessary condition for dealing with Argentina’s chronic economic crises. His government left the complex closed during the last tourist season, which ended in April.

Last year Millay canceled the state’s legal obligation to provide “social tourism”, and in March the authorities announced a tender for a private 30-year concession to operate Chapadamalle. The complex itself cannot be sold due to the terms of the land purchase in the 1940s, but another government hotel complex in Córdoba is expected to be sold.

Millay has already said that state-funded social tourism is incompatible with his free market vision. In 2024, while the government reduced the activity of the complex, the plan’s budget was about 7 million dollars. The move fits into a series of other steps that Millay is leading to reduce the state model, including changes in the areas of industrial protection and labor regulations.

“Deregulation” Minister Federico Sturzenger said that it makes no sense for the state to run an activity where it has no competitive advantage or experience, and estimated that a private operator could increase the touristic value of the complex. On the other hand, the supporters of Peronism claim that this is a violation of one of the mechanisms that helped make Argentina one of the most equal countries in Latin America.

The affair is at the center of media coverage in Argentina, while support for Miley has weakened in recent months due to job losses in the industrial, retail and construction sectors, along with a slight drop in real wages, according to the Financial Times. Analysts estimate that the public is beginning to examine the price it pays for the president’s austerity policies, the report said.

Chapadamalle is located about 30 kilometers from the city of Mar del Plata and includes restaurants, a medical center, a chapel, a cinema and five theaters. According to the employees of the place, for many visitors from poor areas without access to the sea, the visit to the complex was the first time they saw the ocean.

In recent years, the complex has suffered from a decrease in the number of visitors and continuous neglect. Some of the buildings have deteriorated to a dilapidated state, although between 2019 and 2023 the government invested millions of dollars in renovations, and the number of visitors increased again before Millay’s election. This month the government fired the last 50 or so workers left in the compound.

The provincial government of Buenos Aires, which is controlled by the Peronists from the opposition, also asked Miley to hand over the management of the hotels, but according to her, she did not receive any response. In the meantime, a date for the tender has not yet been set, nor has it been decided whether the future private operators will manage the hotels as popular holiday complexes or as more prestigious complexes.