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CITY OF BUENOS AIRES. Children no longer have transportation to go to school. Centers are closing due to their inability to afford the costs. People are no longer receiving treatment. Providers have had their rates frozen since December. Payment delays of up to three months. "The situation is more critical than ever," warns the disabled activists.

For years, organizations, families, and activists have been claiming that disability is facing an emergency in Argentina. This is nothing new: no government has placed the disability agenda at the center of guaranteeing rights, they warn. But the situation today is critical. Furthermore, unlike in the past, dialogue between the Executive Branch and those demanding that their rights be heard is currently not possible.

“Although the situation of abandonment within the area has been going on for a long time, we find ourselves in a situation in which this crisis has been greatly exacerbated by the adjustment policy that this government is carrying out Rocío Librandi, therapeutic companion and social psychologist, member of the Organization of Precarious Health and Education Providers and the Tribuna Disca Struggle Front shared with Presentes .

Starting today, independent activists and activists are gathering at the National Congress because the Chamber of Deputies will address this Wednesday Javier Milei's veto of the law approved by the Senate on July 10. This comes just after the Federal Court of First Instance in Campana ruled against the decree , granting an injunction from a family claiming that the veto jeopardizes the continued treatment of children for a dignified life.

The law declares a disability emergency until December 2027. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost of its implementation is estimated at between 0.28 and 0.51 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. 

Data from the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ) recently indicated that only 20 percent of the disabled population in Argentina receives benefits . Of the 5 million people with disabilities, only 1.1 million received them. And in the first quarter of the year alone, the government canceled 28,000 benefits.

What the Disability Emergency Law proposes 

The regulations being updated have been demanded for years. Even the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in its 2023 Concluding Observations on Argentina, recommended "harmonizing its legislation and public policies on disability at the federal, provincial, and local levels with the Convention (on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), including the adoption of a new law on the rights of persons with disabilities aligned with the human rights model." This responds to a critical situation. Providers of care and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities have had their rates frozen for eight months and are receiving payments with delays of 60, 90, and even 120 days. 

-The Disability Emergency Law proposes regularizing debts with health care providers, in addition to emergency compensation. 

– Also, update the Comprehensive Basic Care Benefits System monthly and ensure adequate and sustainable financing for Non-Contributory Disability Pensions for Social Protection. 

-It also plans to improve the National Disability Agency (ANDIS) database by conducting audits to identify and resolve problems in benefits management, among other issues.

“It's truly impossible for us to maintain our jobs due to job instability, low salaries, and a lack of labor rights. The precariousness we are subjected to is truly distressing,” Librandi shared. But above all, the situation is unsustainable for people with disabilities and their families, especially those who care for children, she warned. “ They are being forced to abandon their therapies. Often, social security funds stop covering their treatments, or therapists, the professionals, stop working for what they studied and trained for so many years,” she said.

“Basic benefits are supported by workers”

“Today, the basic disability benefits system is not supported by either the State or social security. It is supported by the workers. Despite this precariousness of employment, we continue to provide the treatment that people with disabilities need. We have a commitment to these families, to the person we care for every day, and we know the importance of their continued care,” she said. However, she shared a scenario: “Many special centers and schools are closing because they can no longer sustain themselves.”

Ana María Bogarín is the director of Colegio Nuevo Día, a psychopedagogue and graduate in Educational Sciences, with 30 years of experience in special education. Speaking to this agency, she described the difficult situation facing these institutions. “At the school, we see how we can make ends meet so that other things can be sustained. There are many delays in social security payments. Most of the special school students attend full-time. This means, in addition to educational needs, providing breakfast, a snack, and lunch for approximately 400 students. And quality food is extremely important. All the cafeteria staff and custodians are not subsidized,” she shared, referring to the institution she directs. However, with effort and by decision of the school's legal representative, “not a single child has ever been left without school because of this situation.”

Among the problems she sees most frequently in families: parents' job loss, social security systems' refusal to accept people with social security contributions, difficulties attending parent-teacher conferences, and the loss of outpatient treatment due to inability to pay for it. She also acknowledged that many children are going without school transportation. 

“There are aspects that are significant to the lives of people with disabilities,” shared Laura Alcaide, a proofreader, visually impaired mother, and activist with Orgullo Disca and the Asamblea de Discas en Lucha (Assembly of Disabled People in Struggle), with respect to the law. “Among them are non-contributory pensions, because 90% of them are unemployed. Also, protected employment, although it is an absolutely precarious employment system. Now, these two are now compatible; those with protected employment can receive the non-contributory pension.” “ The emergency law requires the State to recognize that our community is in an emergency, in a profound crisis, and in a state of genocide ,” she concluded.

The Permanent Forum for the Promotion and Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and various organizations called on all of society to join Tuesday's vigil and mobilization for the Disability Emergency Law. "Won rights are not negotiable. We're in the streets!" they stated.