Roxana Badaloni
08/23/2021 12:02
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 08/23/2021 12:02
Once again, the Argentine middle class is traversed by the dilemma of
emigrating or trying to survive in Argentina
.
It is a regular talk of every family meeting, barbecue with friends or study colleagues and work.
"Are we too old to try our luck in another country?" Parents in their 50s ask themselves. Their children, just entering the world of work, want to
try
.
Is there a way to avoid it?
From an idealistic point of view, it will depend on how we vote in the next elections.
That was the proposal that the doctor Gerardo Fuentes Bonthoux (54) made to his children: “Don't go away.
I'm going to try to change something by
getting involved in politics. "
He is not affiliated with any party, but he is running for
a senator's seat
in the Mendoza Legislature.
The ophthalmologist lives in the municipality of General Alvear, in the south of the province of Mendoza.
His children study and work in the city of Mendoza, the provincial capital.
Franco (28), the oldest, is an
architect
.
And Carolina (24), the youngest, has just finished her
medical
degree
and is considering emigrating to carry out her internships and a specialization abroad.
Mendoza.
Carolina Fuentes and her father, the ophthalmologist Gerardo Fuentes Bonthoux.
The doctor, who was widowed two years ago, is convinced that this choice is
crucial to prevent the exodus of young people
.
"Countries do not die for a Cristina who governs," he says as a synthesis of his ideological position and the conviction that a nation can always be rebuilt.
With a group of friends, professionals and entrepreneurs, they
created a political party
and will compete on September 12 in Cambia Mendoza, the front between the UCR and the Pro that governs the province.
In his own family, the doctor experiences the dilemma faced by many young people.
His daughter plans to do her professional practice at the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia, in
Spain
.
You already got an acceptance letter from the hospital.
Last August 11, the young woman was
about to get on a plane
to Europe but, from Aerolineas Argentinas, they suggested that being Argentine and without a European passport, it was risky to travel.
They told him that he could be refused entry to Spain –although he has two doses of AstraZeneca placed and had a negative PCR- if he did not have a consular authorization to go to carry out his professional practice.
He was left with the armed suitcases and almost one foot on the plane: "They recommended me at the Mendoza airport counter not to travel," says the young doctor.
Anyway, he
wants to get to Spain
.
He started the consular procedures to be able to travel.
Mendoza.
General Alvear's ophthalmologist, Gerardo Fuentes Bonthoux and his daughter Carolina, recently received from a doctor.
His father, the now candidate for senator, believes he has one more chance to show Carolina that the situation in the country can still be transformed.
"It is a hinge choice, we risk the future of an entire generation," he says.
From the office to ask for votes
His history in politics started between roasts and after-dinner talks.
"With my friends we always talked about the same thing: how can Argentina get out of its economic crisis, its serious
employment and educational problems
, lack of infrastructure, poor productivity, insecurity, among others," he recalls.
The dangerous disenchantment of politics often causes these derivations.
A year ago, with 15 friends, they created a WhatsApp group that they called PAP (anti-political party) and between message and message, they came up with occupying positions in the Deliberative Council of Alvear and in the Mendoza Legislature.
The doctor's only experience in political office had been the Mendoza Ophthalmology Association.
Others of his friends also participated in business chambers.
That professional militancy was the access to be part of the Liberal Productivist Front Change Ya, which leads the winemaker Rodolfo Vargas Arizu and Josefina Canale, as candidates for Congress.
Professional flight
In 1995 Fuentes Bonthoux obtained the specialty of ophthalmologist.
He graduated from the National University of Córdoba and completed his medical residency in that province.
But, he decided to go back to working as a doctor in his town.
“General Alvear gave me everything, my great-grandfather was one of the first settlers.
I was able to return with my title and open the first ophthalmology clinic in town ”, he highlights.
His daughter, who also studied at a
public university
, assures that the moments cannot be compared.
"Those of us who are close to receiving us think about homologate the title to be able to practice in another country where they recognize your work and it
is well paid,
" says Carolina.
The uprooting of Alvear is important.
It has 49,650 inhabitants and the population growth in recent decades has been
barely 6%
;
meanwhile, the neighboring city of Malargüe, increased its population by 20%.
The doctor says that the main reason that led him to run for legislative office is the tiredness of seeing the reality of Alvarado, Mendoza and Argentina.
"Institutional deterioration happens and I see it daily, we decided to get involved to see if
it changes from within
."
Carolina's position appears again in the talk: “I would love to say I choose Mendoza to live and start a family but it is difficult.
The vast majority of people my age
today plan to leave
, although the uprooting is very hard ”.
The daughter insists on her position: "I feel that the country is throwing us out."
"I would like young professionals to be encouraged. I studied in a public faculty, the country has given me a lot. But, thinking about my future, I have to go to a place with more solid foundations, where I can grow professionally and specialize, "he laments.
The doctor says that his best survey is his patients, although he also started with the
door-to-door
campaign
.
“The neighbors tell me: 'Doctor, don't promise me anything.
Just be what it is. "
And he insists with his position: "Politics is a disvalue."
He asks his children for an opportunity to show that Argentina can come out of this decadence "I am not going to betray my people, because later I want to return to my town and continue to be the doctor who works every day."
Mendoza. Correspondent
$
Look also
Spain lifts the ten-day quarantine for Argentines who can travel
According to the Government, companies are leaving due to the global crisis