The city of Buenos Aires has decided to postpone a structural part of the social welfare committee. After completing the first full audit of more than 500 soup kitchens, the Department of Human Development and Habitat found a series of irregularities that had flown under the radar for years: spaces that were registered to receive food but failed to deliver it to their supposed beneficiaries. The discovery led to the closure of 40 “ghost” cafeterias and the discontinuation of more than 5,000 daily rations that could not be justified. A direct blow to political mediation, which has historically revolved around urban poverty.
According to official sources, most of the “ghost” canteens came from the popular movement La Dignidad, led by Rafael Klejzer, enrolled at Juan Grabois’ UTEP.
In Parque Patricios, where the headquarters of the municipal government is located, they also point out the lack of follow-up that corresponded to the years of the former Minister of Social Development of Buenos Aires between 2019 and 2023, María Migliore, who last week defended policies in the cities during her term in office.
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The audit that the city administration presented yesterday began, strictly speaking, last year, but the Ministry of Human Development, led by Gabriel Mraida, did not want to rush: the idea was to have the irregularities fully verified before closing an actually functioning dining room.
In numbers, the study showed the following:
* 250,000 people in the city receive food aid every day.
* More than 500 canteens were audited for the first time with daily controls.
* 40 “ghost” dining rooms were closed after irregularities were discovered.
* More than 5,000 unjustified rations were immediately suspended.
In this framework, the government of Buenos Aires promoted “a food model based on traceability, articulated through an app that allows identifying each beneficiary, registering specific needs and reporting irregularities in real time,” they described in Parque Patricios.
“Every court is documented in the system and every beneficiary has a digital file,” official sources said.
In this sense, the Ciudadanía Porteña program has deepened this break: virtual registration, digital payment through the Buepp wallet and a network of companies that will expand until 2026 to ensure that the aid reaches directly to those who need it, without notices or organizations that filter or condition the aid, comment official sources. Prime Minister Jorge Macri summed it up in one sentence: “No social movement will again use necessity to do its business.”
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