“I am a bricklayer’s official,” he has the work clothes, the ones that fit him most comfortably and that allow him to withstand the cold.. Resolved and defined in what for her was a before and after. María Belén García tells her story, the story of a woman, a worker in the popular economy, who became what she never thought she would be.
For much of her life, Belén was a domestic worker. Six years ago, she began to venture into construction, under the impulse and concern to improve the housing situation.
She It belongs to the Movement of Excluded Workers (MTE) and a Work Cooperative in the works and construction sector. She is married and has two children, she lives in the Alta Barda neighborhood, in the western area of Roca in a brickyard area.
“Learning the trade was a challenge, but more challenging was inserting myself into the field of construction. I always thought it was a job for men. and that I couldn’t do the same job as them. I had to remove all these barriers because I wanted to work in the play, I knew it would give me a better income. I had to get rid of my prejudices,” he acknowledged.
Over time, national programs emerged that gave them greater employment and development opportunities.. This is how his journey in Early Works began, in the popular neighborhoods (surveyed by Renabap) with socio-urban integration works.
Three years ago, he joined an electricity project where he received training and received his qualification as an Electrician. his favorite field now. For Belén, this great step gave him the “dignity” that he sought for many years through work.
“Within masonry I have had the opportunity to make housing improvements, build a socio-community center from the base to the roof in Barrio Nuevo, where milk and support classes are currently given to children. “I have had the opportunity to paint Primary School 168, to renovate and paint the JJ Gómez retirement center,” he told Diario RIO NEGRO.
With the electrician trade, he has already worked in more than 100 houses, making connections and intra-home installations. “To improve the quality of life of the neighbors, to see that all the circuits are safe,” he said proudly.
“Working in a cooperative gave me work dignity. Working together with colleagues and that we all earn the same and work for the same thing gave me peace of mind and security.”
María Belén García, journeyman bricklayer and electrician in Roca.
Paralyzed works
His The last work was the Multipurpose Room (SUM) in the Alta Barda neighborhood. Today he steps on those foundations and suffers. Until last year, Belén prepared material, glued bricks, a little bit of everything, it was day to day and a space expected by the neighborhood was being built. But abruptly, her dreams and income began to become cloudy from December 10, 2023.
The fact is that the work cooperatives publicly denounce that for six months national disbursements for socio-urban integration works in popular neighborhoods of Roca have been stopped, which by Law 27,453 should be guaranteed.
With the new management of the Secretariat of Socio-Urban Integration (SISU) No budget allocation was made to the Provinces for the Early Works program. This, in Roca alone, caused five works to be stopped in Colonia 17 de Octubre, Quinta 25; Aeroclub expansion, Chacra Monte expansion and Fiske Menuco.
So, Belén along with 41 other people were left without work in the town. At the provincial level, there are 25,000 cooperative workers who were left without income due to this situation, according to data from the MTE.
“Seeing the works paralyzed is exasperating for me and my colleagues. “Having a job and not being able to do it because the work stopped, knowing that we were doing things well because we were audited, we had everything in order.”
María Belén García, journeyman bricklayer and electrician in Roca.
““That our works stop because we are from a social organization is sad because they are playing with our work,” Belén assured. In addition, he spoke about the stigmatization that exists towards social movements from the new National Executive.
“If I go out to march, cut off the bridge or a street, I’m not doing it as a ‘terrorist’, I’m doing it because I’m defending my labor rights and that of each person. If I have to continue doing it until they let us live with dignity, I will continue doing it.”hill.
For this reason, they ask for the urgent completion of all work to complete secure connections, so that neighbors can spend the winter heated, to have drinking water, so that children have spaces for containment and recreation.
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- Works on gas networks, electricity, and lighting in popular neighborhoods were carried out in Río Negro until now, which allowed improving the quality of life of more than 13,400 families.
