Yesterday we published the article Argentine And The Bureaucratic Quest To Identify You, where we outlined several lessons we could learn from a person we called Juana in her dealings with the bureaucratic Argentine ID process. During our research of this topic we stumbled across several pieces of information which we did not add to the original article but that are quite revealing and important for our quest. We are remedying this oversight now.
BRAINWASHED AND PROUD!
We will begin with the article titled "The children without DNI [Argentine ID document]: the most visible face of poverty" by the newspaper La Nacion - Argentina. The subtitle reads "As they are not registered, they cannot finish high schools, receive state help, vote, travel through the country, belong to a socialized health care organization or open a bank account". In the body of the article we find a revealing statement "Who is more vulnerable than those who can't even demand the fulfilling of their fundamental rights as having a healthy life, being able to participate in the processes of formative education and not having to perform child labour?"
This is quite a mouthful and depicts in no uncertain terms the level of willing suspension of healthy criticism to which Argentine citizens were and are expected abide by. It also depicts the level of absolute control that the Argentine government exerts over their citizens. This is, of course, nothing new or out of the ordinary as about 50% of all world countries have compulsory ID cards (i.e. you must have the card on you at all times) and about 7% non-compulsory ones but without which you are unable to access basic government services.
Non-registration
As yet another control-obsessed government, the Argentine state forces people to register newborns within the first 40 days of the birth. Obviously this is critical and necessary because otherwise who knows what those newborn children may do. They may, you know, gang on people, create criminal enterprises or plan to overthrow the "duly elected" government. We can already see a terrorist organization in the making with a standard communist name of Newborn Liberation Army! Join now! The struggle to overthrow the capitalist nurse dictatorship is here! It is obvious that it is absolutely critical for "national security" reasons (as well as "social justice") to have everybody catalogued and labeled as soon as they are born. Non-registration is not an option. Get with the program.
School attendance
As with any "good" socialist country, Argentine exhibits the standard and classic compulsory primary and secondary laws. Adults are compelled by law to send their children to schools but due to the pathetic and perennial economic catastrophe that Argentine is, only "free" government schools are a realistic option for most people. However, there is a catch. A child cannot attend school without a DNI, nevermind the blatant contradiction in law. But where there are two laws creating an artificial mess there is always a third one. This third law, the "Children's Law" allows children to enter primary education and continue into high school but it is silent regarding graduation. And so children can obtain all the "benefits" of state education but without an enabling degree which is nowadays critical to secure a job. You see, it does not matter what you know or what you are capable of; what matters is that you have a piece of paper demonstrating and certifying that you have been properly indoctrinated by the state.
And the question is, of course, why? Even from a twisted socialist standpoint, why would anybody prevent children from graduating just because they don't have a DNI.
It is bad enough that children are forced into state schools to be brainwashed, but on top of that being denied a simple (but critical) enabling document is downright insulting. Of course, the whole point is that the government wants to have absolute control over who goes to school and where and what does this person go and do afterwards. But in order to do so, they must force this person to get the DNI. In other words, the DNI is nothing but a control tool.
State help & votes
In Argentina state help is critical, again, due to the constant, perpetual and self-inflicted prevalent economic conditions. Should there not be an Argentine government everything would go back to normal, economy-wise. This condition would enable most people to become economically self-sustainable hence ending all future possible government dependence. But this cannot be tolerated as all "duly elected" Argentine governments since 1911, have come to understand that elections are won through sustained promises of state help to the poorest layers of society (i.e. the cheapest to buy during elections). But there is a problem. The giving of help entails an unspoken transaction; I (the politician) give you food and you give me your vote. But in order for this to work, you must be able to vote. But in order to do so, you must have your DNI. Presto! No DNI no state help.
The interesting piece of this puzzle is how low successive Argentine governments have sunk in this process. As of late the most common process to achieve success in an electoral race is to encourage (by any means necessary) the immigration of the absolutely poorest people from all neighbouring countries with the promise of "government support". Nevermind that "support" is already insufficient for existing citizens. Once immigrants enter Argentina, they are indeed bribed very cheap therefore making them dependent from the government. Beyond this point, they are rushed through the "nationalization" process to ensure they can vote just in time for the next election. Presto! Instant win!
In this case, voting does not operate as a so-called "right" but simply as a bargaining chip. I vote for you and you give me money. Otherwise, I will vote for somebody else. You have been warned.
Anybody who has spent sufficient time in Argentina "knows" how the system works. It is not a mystery nor a secret. As a matter of fact, this is so routine that it does not even merit a comment. It is standard life in Argentina. Argentina would not be Argentina without this or similar vote-buying processes and the big enabler of all of them is the DNI. No wonder the government want to have as many people on it!
Traveling
Although technically speaking Argentina is a free country and no internal passports are necessary (e.g. the infamous "Propiska" in the USSR) in reality the situation is vastly different. To begin with, you cannot use any credit card without your DNI and you cannot transact with any bank without your DNI (this is by law). Secondly, you must present your DNI at any and all places you may rent housing (public or private). Also, you cannot drive, rent or buy any car without your DNI. This means no transportation, no places to stay and not food (supermarket or otherwise). Effectively, you cannot travel. But if you somehow insist in so doing, then we have…
The police. Sooner or later you will be stopped. This could be simply because you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, because you are a suspect of being a suspect, because they have not yet filled-in their quota, they need a bribe or because they are bored out of their skulls. No matter the reason you will be asked for your DNI and here is where all troubles begin. Should you not produce the magic document you will be thrown in jail. That simple. This is so because in Argentina it is mandatory since 1911 to carry identification. It is compulsory. Once in jail they will treat you as a common criminal; fingerprinting, photo and all the fun stuff. Essentially, you are screwed.
And the question is why? Why would you need to carry a DNI at all times? Simple. Because in 1911 they decided that the military needed cannon fodder for their wars and this meant that they required a process to catch deserters, hence the need to be able to ID yourself at their satisfaction at all times.
Contrary to what the article says, it is not the lack of ID that is stopping you from traveling, but all the artificial regulations that the Argentine government has attached to the DNI. It is the government through the imposition of the DNI that it is preventing people without one from traveling. The DNI (or any other ID) is absolutely superfluous and unnecessary for traveling…except where governments artificially so require. So the solution is not getting a DNI, the solution is to remove all artificial government impositions through the removal of all governments.
Socialized health care
This is yet another one of those artificial government impositions. Every Argentine citizen knows that the so-called "social health care" in Argentina is a symphony in dichotomy. At the highest levels of such organizations (oftentimes above them), greedy and ruthless politicians inhabit. However, as you go down through the hierarchy you find genuinely good willed people with a true sense of service for the poorest segments of the population. They are the ones that provide the best service they can with the ridiculously scarce resources the state provides them with.
However, as all politicians know, almost every middle-classed Argentine citizen has some type of health insurance thus making it cost-ineffective attempting to buy votes through the improvement of social healthcare. Therefore any and all cents spent in this area are political waste and must be minimized. This is even truer considering that due to government action through the last few decades, health care costs have skyrocketed. In other words, to maintain socialized medicine is expensive and therefore an entry barrier must be created. Enter the DNI. No DNI, no service. Presto! Cost savings. However, should you get a DNI you will have access to socialized medicine, however low quality it may be (which is better than nothing). Again, we have a deal. You get your DNI and vote for me (the politician) and in return I'll let you receive some minimum health care.
It is not the lack of DNI that prevents people from receiving socialized health care, but the fact that this system was manipulated by government politicians which creates the problem in the first place.
Not to mention the fact, again, that the consistent and ultra-low economic levels are self-imposed and self-inflicted by politicians hence preventing people from becoming health-care self-sustainable.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.