Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, a ''ñoqui'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

gnocchi Gnocchi ( , , ; singular ''gnocco'') are a varied family of dumpling in Italian cuisine. They are made of small lumps of dough most traditionally composed of a simple combination of wheat flour, egg, salt, and potato. Variations of the dish sup ...

) is a person who is legally registered as a worker, usually for the government, and receives a monthly wage, but who performs little or no work. Such individuals are called ''ñoquis'' because many Argentines and Uruguayans traditionally eat noquis on the 29th day of every month, around the time when people receive their monthly paychecks. Additionally, it is a play on words, as the phrase is pronounced similarly to ''no aquí'', meaning 'not here' in Spanish. People may hold ''ñoqui'' positions for several reasons. Some are the recipients of political favors and/or

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

, while others work to promote partisan agendas instead of performing their nominal duties. Still others are disabled or continue to receive paychecks by mistake, such as the dead, retired, or those who have moved on to other positions. A 2015 study by

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

estimated that 5 to 7 percent of Argentine public sector employees were ''ñoquis'', which would be more than 200,000 individuals each receiving an average monthly salary of 8,000

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

History

Upon taking office as

chief of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gr ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 2007,

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previo ...

fired 2,400 city employees who he claimed were ''ñoquis''. This action led to strikes and conflict with the city's unions.

References

Corruption in Argentina Labor in Argentina {{Argentina-stub

History

See also

References