Buenos Aires, Argentina:
President Javier Milei's “chainsaw” approach to austerity has not only caused financial pain for many Argentinians, but is also threatening the country's Oscar-winning cultural scene, industry players say.
At home and abroad, actors, directors and musicians accuse the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” leader of showing contempt for their industry as he cuts funding and rails against those who question him.
Milei himself has said that the government must choose between 'financing films that no one watches' and 'feeding people'.
He has denounced at least one artist who criticizes his cuts as a “parasite” living off taxpayers' money at the expense of hungry children.
The cultural industry in Argentina, the birthplace of tango, is responsible for some 300,000 formal jobs.
But under Milei, “they are dismantling everything that has to do with culture in general and cinema in particular,” award-winning Argentine actress Cecilia Roth, who has starred in several films by Spaniard Pedro Almodovar, said at a news conference in Mexico on Friday.
In addition to the loss of direct state support, the sector is also affected by the fact that the average Argentinian has much less money to spend on luxury items such as films or plays, as disposable income has shrunk and poverty has risen to 60 percent.
– 'A little hope' –
Argentina's film institute Incaa has laid off 170 of its 645 employees in recent months, suspended overtime pay and will not accept new projects for a period of 90 days.
Incaa is funded primarily by taxes on ticket sales and 25 percent of revenue from the National Communications Agency, which co-finances dozens of films each year, including eight Oscar nominees and two winners: “The Official Story” and “The Secret in Their Eyes.” .”
“Every day the panorama becomes darker,” Argentine production and audiovisual director Paula Orlando told AFP.
“I am considering leaving the country,” added the 31-year-old, who has 12 years of experience in the sector.
“There is little hope.”
– 'Strong prejudice' –
Concerns have also been expressed abroad, from directors such as Almodovar himself and the Finnish Aki Kaurismaki.
Earlier this month, Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, France's Claire Denis and America's Viggo Mortensen wrote an article saying Argentina's film industry was “on the brink.”
Music and literature have also suffered the consequences of Milei's cost-cutting measures, including the repeal of a law that protects independent bookstores from being undermined by major chains.
Such actions show that Milei and his government have “a strong bias against the cultural industries,” said Martin Gremmelspacher, president of the Argentine Chamber of Books.
Book sales, he said, fell 30 percent in January and February from a year earlier.
– 'Dangerous' future –
Luis Sanjurjo, professor of cultural policy at the University of Buenos Aires, said it was wrong to think that “the market can replace the state.”
“In no seriously capitalist country in the world is there an absence of the state” in the development of culture, he told AFP.
Sanjurjo previously headed a subdivision for the arts and culture industry in the now-defunct Ministry of Culture, which was demolished by Milei.
He said it appeared the ultra-liberal Milei government was “bitter” towards the industry amid the global culture wars that have increasingly pitted people against each other on issues such as gay rights, abortion, religion, women's rights and even political correctness .
Last week, famed Argentine concert pianist Martha Argerich published an open letter lamenting the government's decision to stop providing subsidies to impoverished artists under a grant named after her.
Culture Minister Leonardo Cifelli later said the decision was only the temporary result of an “administrative transition,” without saying when subsidies would resume.
“As a young girl, I received the support of the Argentine state,” Argerich wrote.
“If the state does not support and contribute to the culture, the future is really dangerous.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)