About 100 people are currently living inside an airport in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, as rising inflation rates have forced many further into poverty.

“After the pandemic, this became a total invasion,” Ángel Gómez said Thursday.

Gómez has been living in the Jorge Newbery International Airport for the past two years and says he has seen a large influx in those calling the airport home.

The airport, which is known colloquially as “Aeroparque,” has become somewhat of a makeshift homeless shelter.

As passengers arrive in the morning, some overnighters leave to spend the day at local soup kitchens while others hang around the airport begging for change. Some simply remain in the terminals, trying to blend in with travelers.

Laura Cardozo, left, sleeps with her two dogs at the Jorge Newbery international airport, commonly known as Aeroparque, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Despite the bustling activity of passengers, over 100 homeless people sleep at Aeroparque each night.

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“If I pay rent, I don’t eat. And if I pay for food, I’m on the street,” said Roxana Silva, who has lived at the airport with her husband for two years.

She receives a government pension of about 45,000 pesos, or roughly $213.

Her situation reflects that of many who are currently struggling in Argentina, where inflation hit an annual rate of 102.5% in February. That was the first time since 1991 that the rate entered the triple digits.

A homeless man sleep near his belongings at the Jorge Newbery international airport, commonly known as Aeroparque, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 6, 2023. One of the world’s highest inflation rates is making it more difficult to make ends meet in Argentina, where at the end of last year nearly four of every 10 people were poor, official figures revealed.

Inflation has been especially brutal on the poor as the cost of basic food items continues to soar. The poverty rate rose three percentage points in just the last six months of 2022, according to INDEC, Argentina’s national statistics agency.

As more and more seek refuge at the airport, the company that operates it, AA2000, said it “lacks police power” and “the authority to evict these people,” though it also pointed out the importance of “non-discrimination in the use of airport facilities.”

With News Wire Services

Evan Rosen

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