Submitted by Elizabeth Fleming on the 2018 fall semester program in Buenos Aires, Argentina…
Last weekend, I had the opportunity of touring the National Congress building. As an International Relations major who takes primarily political science classes, and a self-described politics nerd, I immediately signed up for this tour after we found out about it. The building itself is old and grand, and reminded me in some ways of our own U.S. Capitol Building. We learned a lot about the architecture of the building and talked about the various visible influences of Spanish and French architecture. We also got to see the rooms where the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies meet to vote on legislation and various other areas in the building where speeches are given and important world leaders have been received.
It was especially interesting to be in the place where laws are passed and the future of the country is determined since, on Wednesday, the Senate will vote on a law that would allow access to legal and safe abortion in Argentina. Right now, abortion is illegal. Buenos Aires and the country in general is very divided between two camps. On one hand, there are pro-choice advocates who wear green bandanas and are vocally and passionately supporting the right to legal and safe abortion for Argentinian women. On the other side, Argentina’s deep-rooted Catholic history and some existing traditional values have created a strong pro-life camp as well. When we were touring the Congress building, there was a group of pro-life protestors waving huge flags and vocally sharing their opposition to the bill that will be voted on. Since this is such a huge topic for so many people in Argentina, it was really interesting to be able to see the division that exists in the country firsthand. On Wednesday, the Senate will vote in the very chamber that I stood in this weekend, and the nation could be forever changed.