Hey Dublin,
Thanks for the good question, I didn't want to make my last post too long by going into the specifics, but since you asked...
No, I would never dislike anyone on ideological grounds. For example, while I do generally dislike Macri, there are things I do like: I think the recycling bins are a great idea, and I also am glad that alot of needed infrastructure work is getting done.
That said, the basic reason why I would rate the Macri administration as horrible is because they have had the largest budget in CABA history but have not only managed to cut vital services like education and hospitals, but have even managed to get the city into debt doing so.
Let me pick a few examples:
1. Subways: Macri has the dubious record of being the intendente that constructed the least KM of subway in his first term. So far in his second term he has finally made some improvements, but has only continued the work that was left unfinished by Ibarra in 2007. Previous administrations assumed the subte would have reached General Paz by 2012, instead Macri isnt even half way there. As I see it, this to me looks a lot like what Thatcher did to the railway system in the UK: 1st you defund it, so that 2nd people complain about and then3rd its easy to further privatisation. Through all of this you'll note the cost of a ride has tripled the rate of inflation, and the number of passengers has gone down by 20%.
2. Hospitals. Macri was elected on a promise to increase spending on hospital infrastructure by $1.2 billion. In fact he has done the opposite. He cut the city's healthcare infrastructure budget in half in 2008, and then in half again in 2010. Add on top of this that the medical staff barely gets paid a living wage. But what does Macri care, he goes to a private hospital because the public ones are in such rotten shape.
3. Education. In 2008 Macri vowed to triple education spending. Yet the PRO has actually reduced the amount actually being spent every year to the point where the CABA now spends half as much on school infrastructure as it did in 2008. The teachers striking last year were asking for $4500 for crissakes.
4. North vs South: It's nice to see alot of the infrastructure improvements that have been made: the idea of lining Cabildo with trees, the much needed train overpasses at Libertador... But the fact is you see these projects prominently in Palermo, Recoleta, Belgrano, etc. But if you go to Soldati, Barracas, Bajo Flores... there are people without sewers, no sidewalks, no flood protection. In BA there has always been a bias toward certain neighbourhoods, but under this government it is clearly getting worse, not better.
I would repeat with all of this, they have had the biggest budget (in real dollars) in history, so it's not a lack of funds; it's a lack of priorities. There are plenty of other examples I can give, but as I see it the Macri administration is a failure, and I can only hope they don't someday miraculously win the presidency.
