Statistics and Programs
According to July 2004 estimates, there are about 640 "precarious neighborhoods" in suburban Buenos Aires, comprising 690,000 residents and 111,000 households. The population of the villas miseria in the city of Buenos Aires proper doubled during the 1990s, reaching about 120,000 as of 2005.
Attempting to address this problem, President Alejandro Lanusse had the National Housing Fund (FONAVI) established in 1972. An amalgam of long-standing national housing programs and lending facilities previously managed by the National Mortgage Bank, FONAVI helped coordinate slum-clearance efforts and, since then, has put up over 25,000 housing units a year (both single-family and multi-family types).
Granting deeds on a lease-to-own basis, the fund mostly provides for households in Argentina's lowest income bracket and, thus, has historically tolerated a collection rate of less than five per cent. The fund, one of Latin America's most significant, is underwritten largely by national fuel and other excise taxes.
Read more about this topic: Villa Miseria
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