Since President Javier Milei took office, Argentina has been experiencing one of the most paradigmatic crises in its recent history. While promises of growth and economic freedom fill official speeches, the reality on the streets is very different: falling consumption, mass layoffs, underfunding of the public system, and an increasingly absent state.
There are demonstrations by retirees demanding decent pensions, attacks on press workers, students fighting to defend public education, and workers laid off due to company closures. There is also repression: rubber bullets, tear gas, and bloodshed. State violence is growing in parallel with social despair, and the streets are becoming an increasingly hostile environment for those who protest and defend their rights.
President Javier Milei heads toward the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires, located across from Plaza de Mayo, in his first official act as president after the inauguration ceremony. December 2023, Argentina.
A water cannon truck aims at protesters in an attempt to disperse a demonstration in front of the National Congress. As a result of the violence, more than 120 people were arrested and at least 46 were injured. Organizations such as the UN and Human Rights Watch denounced the excessive and indiscriminate use of force and urged the government to investigate the repression that day. March 2025, Argentina.
A pensioner is beaten by security forces during a demonstration at the Buenos Aires Congress organized to demand improvements in their pensions. Under the government of President Javier Milei, pensions have lost purchasing power, deepening the crisis among the elderly. September 2024, Argentina.
Photojournalist Pablo Grillo was wounded in the head by a tear gas canister fired during a crackdown in front of Congress. The impact caused multiple skull fractures, loss of brain matter, and hydrocephalus. After nearly three months in intensive care, he was discharged and continues his recovery in a rehabilitation hospital. The attack is part of a pattern of systematic harassment of the press during demonstrations. March 2025, Argentina.
Citizens gather spontaneously and bang pots and pans in front of the National Congress in protest against an emergency decree announced by Economy Minister Luis Caputo, which proposed economic deregulation. December 2023, Argentina.
President Javier Milei waves to his supporters as he leaves the Casa Rosada, the epicenter of the Argentine government. October 2024, Argentina.
Retirees confront police shields to prevent security forces from advancing on the demonstration. Every Wednesday, senior citizens march to the National Congress to demand an increase in their pensions, which currently stand at around 285,000 pesos per month—less than $250 at the official exchange rate—well below the cost of living. April 2025, Argentina.
Security forces fire bullets at protesters demonstrating near the National Congress to prevent the approval of a package of reforms aimed at cutting spending and deregulating the state, known as the “Basic Law and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines.” June 2024, Argentina.
A disabled man living on the streets rests in Plaza Constitución, Buenos Aires, next to a tray with leftover food. In the context of fiscal adjustment implemented by the current government, assistance programs for people with disabilities have been cut, while poverty affects more than 50% of the population. Social organizations warn of growing exclusion and the deterioration of state support networks. July 2025, Argentina.
Laura Pomillio, a journalist with the national news agency Télam, spends her day in a tent set up by workers in front of the newsroom building to demand reinstatement to their jobs. President Javier Milei announced the closure of the agency during his opening speech to the Legislative Assembly after taking office, and workers are still demanding the restoration of the service. June 2024, Argentina.
History student Tato Rodríguez is surrounded by desks during the occupation of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Buenos Aires. The occupation was part of a series of protests against budget cuts in public education, which threatened the functioning of universities across the country. October 2024, Argentina.
Olga, a retiree, cooks at home with vegetables she picked up on the street. Like thousands of older people in Argentina, she survives on a minimum pension that does not cover the basic basket of goods. Many retirees resort to community kitchens or the help of neighbors to feed themselves, in a context of sustained deterioration in purchasing power and a lack of comprehensive assistance policies. May 2025, Argentina.
A retiree walks away from a demonstration that turned violent in front of Congress. Security forces used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons to suppress a peaceful protest calling for higher pensions. Human rights organizations have denounced the disproportionate use of force against elderly people, unarmed protesters, and members of the press during repeated days of demonstrations. March 2025, Argentina.
A man is arrested by police during a protest by retirees near the National Congress. February 2025, Argentina.
Argentine President Javier Milei shouts to the crowd during a party rally in Buenos Aires. September 2024, Argentina.
“I need a boat, I need a boat, I want to go see my house!” The entrance to the San Cayetano neighborhood is a scene of disaster: overwhelmed people, houses under water, unrecognizable streets, screams and cries. In less than 48 hours, it rained more than it usually rains in a whole month.
During the early hours of May 17, 2025, in Campana, Buenos Aires province, water violently entered homes. Those who could, took refuge on their roofs. The others had to be completely evacuated, abandoning all their belongings.
This is not the first time this has happened, but it is the worst. The area, located between two streams and crossed by national highways, suffers frequent flooding as a result of encroachment on wetlands.
A family takes refuge on the upper floor of one of their relatives’ homes and looks out at the devastation left behind by the storm. Several of them had to abandon their own homes because they were completely flooded.
Andrés Díaz is inside his kitchen, which is completely covered in water. When it started raining, he tried to save some of his belongings by placing them on top of others.
Two young people rescue a dog that was swimming in one of the neighborhood streets, now turned into a river. Many families had to quickly evacuate their homes, leaving their pets trapped on the roofs.
Andrés Díaz has to climb out of his house window, as the door is unusable. In front of him, beneath that layer of brown water, was a garden with green grass and a swimming pool.
Gonzalo sets out in a boat to find drinking water and supplies for the rest of his family. The government has not yet sent any aid, so the neighbors have organized themselves to deal with the disaster.
Two children look out from their balcony at the street completely under water. Other neighbors drive around the neighborhood in a boat asking if people want to be evacuated.
Marta Susana Gili cries in front of a devastating scene. She lost all her medications in the flood.
A dog takes refuge on the remains of a house that was destroyed by the severe storm.
Neighbors organize themselves with boats to evacuate those who cannot leave their homes or bring supplies to those who do not want to leave.
Eduardo looks out Andrés’ window at the aftermath of the storm. He had to take refuge in his neighbor’s house because his own was destroyed.
A woman looks out from the balcony while her partner holds their baby, who is not yet one year old, inside. Due to the storm, they lost all the food and diapers they had stored.
The streets became rivers, and boats were the only means of transportation.
After working all morning to evacuate his neighbors, a man looks up at the cloudy sky. He prays that it won’t rain again.
Faced with growing concern about Pope Francis’ health, the Argentine people turned en masse to prayer. In squares, parishes, at spontaneous masses and with lit candles, thousands of faithful offered prayers for the man who had been their ecclesiastical guide, the voice of the humble, a symbol of closeness. His figure transcended religion. He was the first Latin American pope and the most humble of pontiffs. With sadness and gratitude, the people honored him as a father who knew how to represent the most human side of faith. Francis not only brought the voice of the South to the world; he knew how to look at the world through the eyes of the South. His legacy is hope, tenderness, and a living memory among those who still feel him close. That is why his faithful continue to pray for him.
Parishioners from San José Parish hold a picture of Pope Francis during a memorial mass held the day after his death at San Justo Cathedral in the province of Buenos Aires.
Two women pray with a small picture of Pope Francis during a mass in Plaza de Mayo on the Sunday following the announcement of his death.
Hundreds of residents of the San José Parish make a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of San Justo in memory of Pope Francis, who died the day before.
Faithful from Villa 21-24 gather at Caacupé Parish to bid farewell to Pope Francis, hours after his death was announced. During his tenure as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio promoted and supported the movement of “curas villeros,” priests who work in the city’s slums.
Hundreds of faithful raise their hands and pray for Pope Francis’ health during a mass organized by the “slum priests” in the Basilica of Luján. A month later, the Vatican announced the death of the Supreme Pontiff.
Consecrated women pray the Rosary in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires following the announcement of Pope Francis’ death.
A balloon bearing the face of Pope Francis is raised during a mass at the Basilica of Luján to pray for Jorge Bergoglio’s health. A month later, the Vatican announces his death.
The faithful pray at the parish church of Our Lady of Miracles in Caacupé during a Mass celebrated after the announcement of Pope Francis’ death.
Hands await communion during a mass organized by the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to pray for the health of Pope Francis, who was already frail two months before his death.
Women pray during an outdoor mass organized by the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to pray for the health of Pope Francis, who was already weak two months before his death.
What the Jury Said About the Finalist, Cristina Sille · Photographer of the Year 2025
The following text is drawn —from the public transcript of the POY Latam 2025 judging— from the reflections of the jurors on the portfolio of Cristina Sille, finalist for Photographer of the Year. Individual names are not cited, but the spirit of their interventions has been preserved.
“This portfolio offers a close, honest, and profoundly human look at contemporary Argentina. The strength of these images lies in their ability to place us inside the events, without grandiosity, but with a clarity that makes both the hope and the disillusionment of a country in crisis visible.”
The judges particularly highlighted the way in which the series interact with each other: from floods that expose the vulnerability of communities, to collective rituals such as the farewell to the Pope in his homeland. “What we see here is a photographer who knows how to be in the right place, read the social pulse, and build images that both document and move. There is craft and sensitivity, but also a narrative coherence that sustains the entire portfolio.”
Overall, the judges agreed that this work powerfully conveys the spirit of an era in Argentina, capturing moments where the political, the social, and the intimate intertwine. “This portfolio is not just testimony: it is visual memory that will remain to help us understand what we are living today.”
