If three decades ago Argentine society was generally in denial about the tragedy of the missing (as emerged eloquently in Tuesday’s City Legislature ceremony honouring this newspaper’s former editor Robert Cox as an “illustrious citizen” for being a shining exception to that rule), today this country is in denial at various levels over the problem of poverty — a scourge which goes far beyond whether or not the 9 de Julio thoroughfare is being blockaded by picket pockets. The scale of poverty in Argentina transcends the meagre throngs barely blocking the vast avenue this week, which would hardly inspire the traditional chant of “If this isn’t the people, where is the people?” — nobody could seriously argue that the impoverished masses numbering an estimated three of every eight Argentines were out in force. And yet picket-bashing and extending deserved sympathy to hapless commuters does not solve the problem of poverty either.

As their scant numbers clearly betray, the picket activists represent a sordid scramble for state funds rather than any genuine representation of poverty and yet they are far from alone in that scramble. On the contrary, the trio of anti-Kirchner picket organizations behind the blockade on Monday and Tuesday (although not yesterday’s pro-government demonstration) are quite justified in protesting the abuse of social relief funds for the purposes of political patronage although few enough people would find their chosen method of registering this protest acceptable. The Cristina Fernández de Kirchner administration has just followed up an ambitious 1.5-billion-peso plan to create 100,000 “co-operative” jobs with a 180-peso child benefit — the latter in particular is an extremely solid initiative against poverty but it all risks being frittered away if it is converted into a continuation of electioneering by other means. The handling of these subsidies by Greater Buenos Aires mayors is dubious enough but more often than not, they fall into the hands of presidential cronies — in either case the relief is channelled through neighbourhood political activists who charge beneficiaries commissions of 15-40 percent, thus combining political dependence with personal gain at the expense of social welfare.

Poverty is thus everywhere and nowhere at the same time — much like the plight of the missing and their families three decades ago, if less poignant (but also far more widespread). Pickets argue that their tactics are the only way to bring attention to the plight of the poor but they only make society see itself as the victim and even less inclined to end its denial of poverty.