On a Saturday morning at the beginning of July, Leandro Bertazzo arrived at the flight school in Coronel Olmedo, Córdoba, where he worked as a flight instructor, greeting his colleagues warmly, as usual.
He then took his first flight of the day with a student completing a refresher course.
After landing safely, the 42-year-old pilot began his second flight, accompanying a female student who was close to obtaining her pilot’s license.
According to the young woman, after they had been airborne for some time, Bertazzo told her: “You know what you have to do.” He then removed his headphones, set his cellphone aside, unfastened his seat belt, opened the cockpit door and jumped to his death.
She alerted the authorities and managed to land the aircraft safely on her own.
Bertazzo’s colleagues were left stunned. They said he had shown no signs of depression or suicidal intent. His father later revealed, however, that he had been “going through a hard time” and had recently visited a neuropsychiatric institute to enquire about getting help.
Although most suicides do not make front-page news as this case did, self-inflicted deaths have become alarmingly more common in Argentina.
The latest official figures show that 5,209 people took their own life in 2025, the highest number on record. That represents a 21.6% increase compared with the previous year.
The trend has been building for several years. According to official statistics compiled by the Security Ministry, the suicide rate has risen steadily over the past six years, from 7.8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020 to 11.8 in 2025.
The figures reveal a striking paradox. While many Argentines cite violent crime as one of their biggest concerns, intentional homicides have fallen to a record low of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025.
Meanwhile, suicides — which receive far less public attention — are not only more common than homicides, as is the case in most countries, but occur in Argentina at roughly three times the rate of intentional killings, an unusually wide gap.
Since 2023, the number of suicides has also exceeded road fatalities, which had until then been the leading cause of violent death in the country.
What’s behind the phenomenon
Psychiatrist Demián Rodante, head of service at the Moyano psychiatric hospital and vice-president of the Suicidology chapter of the Association of Psychiatrists of Argentina (APSA), told the Herald it is no coincidence that suicide rates began rising after the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.
Although many feared the mental health effects of lockdowns, suicide rates actually declined during that period, Rodante explained.
“When there is a global crisis — whether a health emergency, a financial crisis or an armed conflict — suicide rates generally decrease because certain protective factors emerge,” he said.
He pointed to the pandemic as an example, recalling how many people made an effort to check on elderly neighbours and support members of their communities.
“That stopped after the crisis,” he said.
For Rodante, this illustrates one of the strongest risk factors for suicide: “the feeling of not belonging to the community.”
That sense of social isolation helps explain why the highest suicide rates, both in Argentina and globally, are among people over 70, followed by teenagers.
“Those are the two most vulnerable age groups,” he detailed.
Rodante also highlighted another striking pattern: while most people who attempt suicide are women, nearly 80% of those who die by suicide are men, according to national statistics.
“That is because men tend to use more lethal methods,” he said.
Access to firearms, he added, is one of the main reasons suicide rates have risen across the Americas while they declined in much of the rest of the world, according to the latest United Nations data.
Better records
Rodante believes a second factor has contributed to the sharp increase in Argentina’s suicide figures — and, paradoxically, it is positive news.
“Record-keeping has improved and now gives us a more realistic picture,” he said.
In 2020, the Security Ministry created the Early Suicide Warning System (SAT, by its Spanish acronym), allowing all suspected suicides to be reported and investigated.
As a result, deaths by self-inflicted wounds that were previously recorded simply as “severe trauma” are now more likely to be correctly classified as suicides.
Even so, Rodante stressed that improved reporting alone cannot account for the increase.
“We have better record-keeping, which naturally produces higher numbers, but we are also seeing more suicidal behavior. That’s a fact.”
He sees that trend daily at the Moyano hospital, where around one-third of admissions are now related to suicidal behavior.
“It used to be a quarter,” he said.
Official figures show that appointments for mental healthcare in the City of Buenos Aires public health system increased by 92.3% this year compared with 2023.
So far in 2026, the system recorded an average of 2,715 consultations per day, up from 1,412 in 2023.
Meanwhile, in March, the Buenos Aires Province government — which oversees the country’s most populous district — published a report showing that hospitalizations for mental health reasons increased by an average of 77% between 2019 and 2025.
Despite those trends, national spending on mental healthcare has declined since President Javier Milei took office in December 2023, chainsaw in hand.
According to an analysis by the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ, by its Spanish acronym), investment in the sector fell by nearly 42% between then and 2025.
Based on the national budget, the organization estimated that this year just 1.42% of total health spending will be allocated to mental health, well below the 10% required under Argentina’s mental health law.
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Prevention
Rodante is reluctant to speculate about all the reasons behind the rise in suicides. While he believes the growing influence of social media and other addictive technologies — often linked to behavioral problems among children and adolescents — “plays a role,” he says it is “not the cause of the increase.”
What he is certain of, however, is that the situation has been exacerbated by a lack of investment in treatment, professional training and prevention programs.
“We have more and more cases and fewer resources. Many professionals are leaving the public system,” he warned.
But, he argues, funding is only part of the problem.
“There is an almost complete absence of public policies addressing mental health.”
As a result, many people working in healthcare and education “don’t know what to do” when faced with someone at risk.
“One concrete measure that would make a huge difference is prevention programs in schools to develop socio-emotional skills,” he said. “Yet experts tend to talk to teachers instead of students.”
According to Rodante, suicide remains a taboo subject for many people. There is still a widespread fear that discussing it with vulnerable groups, particularly teenagers, could encourage self-harm. Evidence suggests the opposite.
“Talking to teenagers about suicide reduces teenage suicide rates,” he said.
Similarly, he argues that asking someone who appears depressed whether they are thinking about taking their own life does not plant the idea. On the contrary, it could save their life.
In his 2024 book Interview with consultants with suicidal behaviors, Rodante outlines what he considers the best approach to this difficult conversation: ask directly whether the person is thinking about suicide; listen carefully to what problem they believe their death would solve; respond with empathy while making clear there are alternatives, even in the most difficult circumstances; and help them access specialized support, ensuring they follow through with treatment.
“The key to preventing suicide is talking,” he said. “A conversation with a mother, a teacher, a friend or even a colleague could save a life.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, immediate help is available. In Argentina, people can contact the Suicide Prevention Center on 0800-345-1435 or seek assistance through local emergency health services
