Borda Hospital is the state psychiatric hospital for men in Barracas, Buenos Aires, well regarded yet run-down, with a special wing for military and naval personnel. Those committed for what they saw or carried end up there.
| Type | Place (psychiatric hospital) |
| Location | Barracas, Buenos Aires |
| Era | 1966 (Operativo Cóndor) |
| Spanish entry | Hospital Borda |
Description
Professionals say “the Borda is particularly good at this time”, yet the ward “smells of stale disinfectant”, lights flicker under peeling paint, and hospital soup is served. Inmates are kept in numbered cells; only cell 3 is named.
History
The hospital is named after its founder, the psychiatrist José Tiburcio Borda, and formally receives the name in 1967, though the institution dates back to “the late twenties”. State support has been cut “since the rationalizations came after ‘55”, yet it “had begun to open up, to have people from the UBA”, bringing in psychologists: good staff between crumbling walls.
The uniformed wing
A special wing for those connected with military or naval affairs makes the hospital a state institution, not only a medical one.
9 November
A rumor of “what happened on 9 November” disturbs the staff; its content is not told.
Surroundings
People leave someone “around the corner from the Borda”, where a transit lodging serves those who come to accompany or wait. Its female counterpart is Chabelle, the women’s hospital of the “daughters of God”, which takes in girls disillusioned with prostitution. A small hospital in the region, “a very tiny place”, is also mentioned; it is not established that it is the same institution.
Open questions
- Who was involved on 9 November is unknown.
- How many cells there are, and where the military wing lies and who is admitted, are not recorded.
- The name the institution bore between the late 1920s and 1967 is not recorded.
- Whether the “very tiny” hospital is another establishment is unknown.
- Its management, named doctors, visiting rules and cost of committal are not recorded.