BLOOMBERG FEATURES - Pueblos Fantasmas, ghost towns in Argentina
Argentina's Ruined Railways Will Force Milei to Confront Poverty - Those living off state subsidies in ghost towns abandoned by the once-robust train service fear the pain of the new president's spending cuts will be acute.
Text by Patrick Gillespie
The former train garage in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
A photo shows Oswaldo Curtis, 88, (left) on the train in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. Osvaldo was the last mechanic of the town. Trains have been his passion and when the station closed was a very sad moment in his life. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Carlos Tomas Giuotto, mayor of the village, sits for a portrait in the former rail station in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Andrea Gastaminza, Maria Gastaminza’s daughter, leaves the family’s’ house, part of the former office next to the train garage in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Lists of wagons in the former rail station in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Maria Gastaminza sits for a portrait in her home, a former train garage office, in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. Maria has 10 children and has raised them mainly on her own, surviving on temporary jobs like raising young cows and governmental plans. The family used to live in a wooden cottage next to the garage and now lives in the former office. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Cows graze now on demolished buildings in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Maria Gastaminza, her youngest son (middle) and daughter Andrea stand for a portrait in front of the former train garage, while Andrea’s daughter sits next to them in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. Maria has 10 children and has raised them mainly on her own, surviving on temporary jobs like raising young cows and governmental plans. The family used to live in a wooden cottage next to the garage and now lives in the former office. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
The former train transfer station and train garage in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Oswaldo Curtis, 88, stands for a portrait in the workshop of his house in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. Osvaldo was the last mechanic of the town. Trains have been his passion and when the station closed was a very sad moment in his life. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Abandoned rails are covered with grass in the former rail station in Patricios, Argentina, on Tuesday, December 6, 2023. The village used to have around 4000 habitants, that dropped to roughly 750, transforming it into a so-called pueblo fantasma, a ghost town. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg