Gabriel Juncos is rolling down a sidewalk in Córdoba in his wheelchair, explaining his mayoral campaign plans, when one of the wheels gets stuck in a hole in the pavement. Two pedestrians pass him in a huff. Undeterred, Juncos manoeuvres the chair out of the rut and keeps talking. He’s clearly seen much worse.
Two blocks later, one of the other candidates in Juncos’s party also runs into trouble. A ramp at the curb doesn’t extend low enough for wheelchairs. “I’m going to take the street,” Miguel Angel Marquez yells, proceeding to dodge cars and buses as he heads for the next available ramp.
“You see?” Juncos says. “This is exactly why we have to run in this election.”
With many unpaved roads, a mostly inaccessible fleet of buses and potholes galore, Córdoba is one of the most difficult cities in Argentina for people with disabilities. So Juncos and his colleagues are using a political strategy that has never been tried before in the country, and likely anywhere in the world. They have formed a political ticket made up entirely of people who are either disabled, or specialists in disabilities.
Córdoba is Argentina’s second largest city, and one that has forged a distinct identity from Buenos Aires, the country’s capital. While Buenos Aires is known for its more European culture and architecture, Córdoba has the look and feel of an outsized frontier town. Founded in 1571 and originally populated primarily by Jesuit missionaries, the city grew in the 19th and 20th centuries on the back of a booming agricultural sector.
Today, residents of Córdoba pride themselves on their unique accent, outgoing character and rowdy nightlife. Many even shun the tango, more closely associated with Buenos Aires, in favour of the city’s energetic home-grown music and dance style: cuarteto.
But despite its occasionally boisterous culture, Córdoba remains firmly rooted in its conservative religious origins. Many are resistant to challenging established social roles – which has been especially detrimental to the disabled, according to Martin Carranza Torres, president of Juncos’ Liberal Republican party. “Many people here would rather leave the disabled on the steps of the cathedral begging for money than let them take charge of their own lives,” he says.
The Liberal Republican party would seem an unlikely backer of for a disability campaign: in Argentina, the term “liberal” refers to an ideology closer to libertarianism. “Many people were surprised that a ticket like we’ve put together didn’t come from a socialist party,” says Carranza Torres. “But it makes perfect sense. What we’re proposing is an urban policy that allows disabled people to be more self sufficient, more free.”
After Córdoba’s provincial election on 5 July, Carranza Torres heard from a fellow campaigner, Horacio Magnin, who is hearing impaired. Magnin and his long-time friend Juncos were sick of lobbying the city government to little effect. They wanted to change things from the inside – and Carranza Torres convinced his party to back them. The 14 candidates will appear on a single ticket for Córdoba’s 13 September mayoral election, under the name Tenemos Mucho Para Dar (We Have Much to Give).
An attorney who was left paralysed after a swimming accident when he was 21, Juncos earned a law degree from his wheelchair, and is joined on the ticket by his fellow law student Leonor Salguero. Others include Norma Sanchez, president of Derechos Sobre Ruedas (“Rights on Wheels”) and Martin Aguirre, who made headlines when he blocked a bus with his wheelchair after the driver refused to lower the ramp. Some of the candidates share the party’s libertarian outlook, others do not. But on one thing they all agree: Córdoba’s record for disabled accessibility is dismal.
“Argentina’s government has one of the most comprehensive disability laws,” says Salguero. “But much of the law depends on the willingness of each city to comply. And in Córdoba, sadly, much of that law hasn’t been carried out.”
The group’s biggest concern is access to transportation. The mayor, Ramón Mestre, says 300 of the city’s 700 buses are accessible for the disabled; the group say that figure is misleading.
“Many aren’t low-floor buses, making them harder to access for people in motorised wheelchairs,” says Sanchez. “Others simply hang signs in the window saying their ramps are out of order.”
Other problems include frequently cracked sidewalks and buildings that often do not comply with accessibility codes. In addition, many parts of the city still do not have paved roads, making life harder for people without disabilities, but nearly impossible for the disabled.
The team promise to renovate the city’s bus fleet and rigorously enforce building accessibility. In addition, they want to ensure that a current initiative to replace sewers and sidewalks is used to remove tiled sidewalks and other surfaces that crack easily.
Critics question whether this focus on disabilities would allow them to maintain a balanced approach to city governance. Juncos counters that the group has detailed proposals in other areas, such as education, public health and policing. Some of their proposals aim to improve life for people with and without disabilities alike: for example, paving all the city’s roads, and making more of the city’s documentation procedures available online.
They also feel that being disabled would make them more effective as public servants. “So many politicians in Córdoba don’t listen to their constituents,” says Celeste Meana, one of the candidates. “We don’t think that way. We know what it’s like to rely on people. We know what it’s like to ask for help.”
Of the 13 candidates vying for mayor, incumbent Mestre is the frontrunner: his affiliation with Mauricio Macri, mayor of Buenos Aires and presidential candidate, has allowed him to draw on the vast campaign resources of Macri’s PRO party. While Mestre’s campaign for re-election calls for important reforms, such as expanding the city’s fledgling BRT system, electric trolleybus lines and bike lane network, disabled access seems to be off the agenda. Mestre’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Other candidates are taking the issue more seriously. Luis Juez, mayor from 2003 to 2007 and Mestre’s main opponent, has plans to expand the disabilities office, which he says Mestre has “virtually abandoned”. He agrees with many of Juncos’s proposals. “Only 10% of the city’s buses are low-floor buses,” he says. “We need to change that.”
Juncos is not likely to win the majority needed to become mayor, though he is hopeful he can earn the approximately 20,000 votes needed to earn a seat on the council. But, win or lose, his group remain committed to improving life in Córdoba. “A city with better access for the disabled is a fairer city, a better city,” he says. “Not just for the disabled, but for everyone.”
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