Walking through Palermo is always an experience of layered histories: tree-lined streets, new squares, ancient monuments, and, behind every space, a story that is rarely told in full. On this occasion, the journey begins at the intersection of Godoy Cruz and Santa Fe and culminates at Sarmiento and Libertador, crossing the Intendente Bullrich Linear Park and Mother Teresa of Calcutta Square.
The Intendente Bullrich Linear Park (located in the neighborhood of Palermo, in the City of Buenos Aires) was planned and started in 2005 and finally inaugurated in 2006.
The park covers an area of approximately 30,000 square meters (about 3 hectares) and runs parallel to the San Martín Railway tracks along Intendente Bullrich Avenue, connecting Santa Fe Avenue (Pacífico area) and Del Libertador Avenue. Its creation also served as a green corridor leading into the Palermo Woods (Bosques de Palermo).
The Transformation of the Space
Before becoming a park, this vast plot of public land was completely degraded and effectively privatized:
• For years, it operated as a schedule-regulation lot and a makeshift garage for eight bus lines (including lines 12, 10, 41, 57, 128, 161, and 188).
• It also housed an area used by the Federal Police as a vehicle impound lot for cars and traffic violators.
The Legal Conflict (2005)
Construction began in mid-2005 under the administration of Aníbal Ibarra. However, the works suffered a temporary halt due to an injunction (recurso de amparo) filed by a resident who demanded an environmental impact study. In June 2005, the City Court lifted the injunction, arguing that removing buses and scrap metal to plant trees had a overwhelmingly positive environmental impact, allowing construction to resume.
The Inauguration (2006)
The park was formally inaugurated in 2006. The opening ceremony was a quintessential snapshot of the era: it included a concert with electronic violins, living statues with a Greco-Roman aesthetic, and music by the Patricios Regiment Band.
Links:
• https://www.clarin.com/ediciones-anteriores/autorizan-construccion-parque-palermo_0_HkHfKvukAKe.html
• https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/comenzo-la-obra-del-parque-lineal-bullrich-nid719215/
• https://noticiasurbanas.com.ar/dfe93ef68542d0656314e997fcf98604
* A Brief Biography of Adolfo Bullrich
Adolfo Jorge Bullrich (1833 – 1904) was a prominent Argentine merchant, auctioneer, and politician who played a key role in the urban consolidation of Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century.
• The Mayor of Transformation: He was appointed Mayor (Intendente) of the City of Buenos Aires by President Julio Argentino Roca, a position he held between 1898 and 1902. During his administration, the city underwent a strong modernization effort characterized by a French-style, hygienist approach (heavily influenced by the ideas of his predecessor, Torcuato de Alvear).
• Milestones of his Administration: Under his mandate, the famous Paseo de Julio (now Avenida del Libertador) was inaugurated, the remodeling and expansion of the Palermo Woods layout was promoted, and the Buenos Aires Zoological Garden was officially opened as an autonomous space. His mayoral term was marked by the conversion of state-owned and railway lands into public walkways.
• Commercial Legacy: Outside of public service, he founded the iconic livestock auction house Adolfo Bullrich y Cía., whose historic building (Patio Bullrich) was transformed decades later into the well-known shopping mall in Retiro. The avenue in Palermo bears his name in honor of his role as the mayor who shaped that area of the city.
* Criticisms of Adolfo Bullrich
Criticisms of Adolfo Jorge Bullrich focus not only on his role as Mayor of Buenos Aires (1898-1902), but also on his central role as an auctioneer, financier, and direct beneficiary of the Conquest of the Desert (Campaña del Desierto), as well as his elitist and exclusionary vision of the urban layout.
The business behind the indigenous genocide
The primary historical criticism lies in the fact that the firm he founded and managed, Adolfo Bullrich y Cía., was the main entity responsible for auctioning off public lands seized from indigenous peoples in Patagonia and the Pampean region following the military campaigns of the late 19th century. Through these auctions, millions of hectares became concentrated in the hands of a few landowning families (the oligarchy of the Generation of '80), consolidating the Argentine latifundio (large estate) model.
Source: Historian Osvaldo Bayer extensively documented this in his research and in his opinion pieces (contratapas) for Página/12.
Elitist hygienism and the expulsion of the popular sectors
As mayor, Bullrich implemented an urbanization model heavily influenced by hygienism and the aesthetics of the high bourgeoisie. His detractors point out that he prioritized beautifying the northern part of the city (Palermo, Recoleta) for the enjoyment of the elites, while relegating basic infrastructure projects in southern neighborhoods and pushing forward regulations that displaced conventillos (tenement houses) and low-income housing from downtown Buenos Aires.
Source: Research on the history of Buenos Aires urbanism, such as studies published by the "Mario J. Buschiazzo" Institute of American Art and Aesthetic Research (FADU-UBA), analyzes how the mayoral administrations of the era (Alvear, Bullrich, Seeber) used hygienist discourse to execute a "social cleansing" and a selective real estate valuation of the city.
The green space Plaza Madre Teresa de Calcuta (Mother Teresa of Calcutta Square) is, technically, the official name given by law to the landscaped section that runs parallel to the San Martín Railway tracks along Intendente Bullrich Avenue, extending between Santa Fe Avenue and Del Libertador Avenue in the neighborhood of Palermo.
• Origin and Institutionalization: Although the linear park opened at the end of 2006, it was on September 5, 2007, that the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires passed Law No. 2,381, formally granting the name "Madre Teresa de Calcuta" to this entire stretch. The date of the law coincides with the anniversary of her passing.
• Features of the Promenade: The design of the space took advantage of the old railway embankments to create a pedestrian promenade with wide sidewalks, benches, lighting, and landscaping. It functions as an ecological and pedestrian transition corridor between the Pacífico transportation hub and the Palermo Woods area.
• Landmarks and Monuments Inside: Along its three-hectare extension, the park features several points of sculptural and historical interest:o The Monument to Juan B. Justo, located at the beginning of the grounds near Santa Fe Ave.
o The monument paying tribute to the Fallen Officers of the Police and Firefighters of the City of Buenos Aires.
o A series of artistic murals decorating the path and the sculpture "Módulos de Juegos" (Game Modules).
Links:
• https://www.weboeba.com/palermo/parques/pr-mtdecalcuta/pr-mtcalcuta.html
• https://forodebaires.com.ar/el-espacio-verde-maria-teresa-de-calcuta-se-alza-sobre-la-explanada-de-av-bullrich-segun-ley-2-381/
• https://palermonline.com.ar/wordpress/plaza-madre-teresa-de-calcuta-sobre-juan-b-justo/
* A Brief Biography of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, universally known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910 – 1997), was an Albanian Catholic nun (born in present-day North Macedonia) who became one of the world's greatest icons of humanitarian aid in the 20th century.
• Foundation of the Missionaries of Charity: In 1948, after living for years in India as a teacher, she decided to leave the convent to live directly in the slums of Calcutta. In 1950, she founded the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity, whose primary purpose was to care for "the poorest of the poor": leprosy patients, HIV/AIDS patients, orphans, and dying individuals abandoned on the streets.
• Global Expansion and Recognition: Her religious order expanded rapidly across all five continents. Her tireless work and fierce defense of human dignity led her to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
• Passing and Canonization: She died on September 5, 1997, in Calcutta. Due to her massive spiritual and social impact, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and finally canonized as a Saint by Pope Francis in September 2016. The square in Palermo commemorates her legacy of devotion, peace, and service to the helpless.
* Criticisms of Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Despite her status as a saint and her immense popularity, Mother Teresa began to face harsh criticism starting in the 1990s. Intellectuals, doctors, and former volunteers of her order questioned the quality of her humanitarian aid, her ideological stances, and the management of her finances.
The "Culture of Suffering" and medical deficiencies
The most severe criticism is that her homes for the dying (such as the Kalighat home in Calcutta) were not actual hospitals oriented toward curing patients or alleviating pain, but rather places to house death. It was documented that volunteers lacked medical training, hypodermic needles were reused after being washed only with cold water, and strong painkillers (such as opium derivatives) were denied to terminal patients because Mother Teresa believed that "the suffering of the poor is a gift from God." In contrast, she herself sought treatment at highly specialized clinics in the US and Italy when she fell ill.
Source: British journalist and author Christopher Hitchens published the book The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice in 1995, where he exposes these contradictions after interviewing doctors and visiting the facilities of the Missionaries of Charity.
Financial opacity
Over the years, the congregation received millions of dollars in donations from governments, businesspeople, and citizens around the world. However, various investigations revealed that the homes in Calcutta remained mired in extreme austerity and unsanitary conditions because the funds were not reinvested into improving medical care. Instead, they were allegedly diverted to secret accounts at the Vatican Bank or used to open new ideological convents abroad.
Source: A comprehensive academic study published in 2013 by researchers Serge Larivée, Carole Sénéchal, and Geneviève Chénard (University of Montreal and University of Ottawa) in the journal Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses analyzed the existing literature on her and concluded that the Vatican deliberately ignored reports regarding her dubious financial management and lack of hygiene to fast-track her beatification for Church marketing purposes.
Alliances with dictators and ultra-conservative stances
She is criticized for whitewashing the image of shady figures in exchange for funding. She traveled to Haiti to receive the Legion of Honor from the brutal dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier (whom she publicly praised), accepted money from Charles Keating (the notorious financial fraudster of the US savings and loan crisis), and laid flowers at the tomb of the Albanian communist dictator Enver Hoxha. Furthermore, critics point out that she used her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to declare that "abortion is the greatest threat to world peace," fiercely opposing the use of contraceptives even in areas of extreme poverty and HIV crises.
Source: The British BBC documentary titled Hell's Angel (1994), directed by Hitchens himself alongside journalist Tariq Ali, compiles footage of Mother Teresa's speeches supporting the Haitian regime and her global campaigns against women's reproductive rights.
Link to Wikiloc: https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderismo/walk-through-palermo-caba-recreational-walk-intendente-bullrich-linear-park-mother-teresa-of-calcut-270883916
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