Social mobilization and politics in Argentina: peak and crisis of the left turn (original) (raw)

NEW FORMS OF SOCIAL MOBILIZATION IN DEMOCRATIC ARGENTINA

Despite consistently democratic elections since 1983, Argentina has experienced severe political crises, in particular the economic crisis of 1989 and of 2001, both of which featured extensive social mobilization. Existing repertoires of collective action (Tilly), centered on labor struggles, proved resilient and were updated in post-1983 crises. New forms of modular collective action (Tarrow) emerged out of the more recent mobilizations and have become integrated in the repertoire. The article examines two paradigmatic new forms: piquetes (road and street blockades) and “social outbreaks” (estallidos sociales). The analysis is based on secondary sources as well as the author’s own fieldwork. In English, extensive summary in Russian.

Trends of the Social Protests In Argentina From 1989 to 2003

iigg.fsoc.uba.ar

This paper presents the general results of a research carried out by the Study Group on Social Protest and Collective Action (Gino Germani Research Institute, School of Social Sciences, UBA). Based on the notion of “social protest”, the general goal of this study was to carry out an empirical research project which, by comprising an extensive period of time, would allow examining the changes of social protest in Argentina. The data base built and used for this study includes every protest event registered by two main national newspapers, Clarín and La Nación, from January 1st 1989 until May 25th 2003. This research material aims at contributing to a more detailed and comprehensive discussion on social protest transformations over those thirteen years, by thoroughly considering the relationships among different types of organizations, demands and forms of intervention in the public space, which were distinctive in social mobilization in our country within a context of structural changes of the government political regime as well as the accumulation social regime.

Trends of Social Protest in Argentina: 1989–2007

Handbook of Social Movements across Latin America, 2015

This chapter presents the results of empirical research supported by the notion of social protest as beyond the study of specific organizations or episodes of contention, and extending over a period of time long enough to interrogate the transformations of social mobilization in Argentina.

Opportunities and challenges for the left in Argentina

Last month Heike Schaumberg looked at Argentina's 2001 neoliberal crisis and the uprising that followed it. With a general election approaching and a Trotskyist on the presidential ballot, she asks whether the far left can make electoral gains and how that relates to the wider social movements.

“It’s the economy, stupid”; Or is it? The role of political crisis in mass-mobilization: The case of Argentina in 2001

The Political Causes Of The Argentine MassCMobilization During The Economic Crisis Of 2001, 2014

I argue that contextual factors such as an economic crisis, or an austerity policy like the Corralito can exacerbate pre-existing conditions and foster ‘new’ relationships between and within the politico-economic elite and opposition activists, as well as between the politico-economic elite, activists and ‘ordinary’ citizens. This chapter thus opposes the interpretation of economic crises as causes or explanatory triggers, but rather sees them as intervening variables that can make mass-mobilization more likely. Thus, the main argument is that ‘ordinary’ Argentines came out to protest on 19 December, with the purpose of defending their political rights, and not solely to voice their grievances against an on-going economic crisis.

The Mobilization and Demobilization of Middle-Class Revolt Comparative Insights from Argentina

2019

Adopting Argentina’s popular uprisings against neoliberalism including the 2001-02 rebellion and subsequent mass protests as a case study, The Mobilization and Demobilization of Middle-Class Revolt analyzes two decades of longitudinal research (1995-2018), including World Bank and Latinobarómeter household survey data, along with participant interviews, to explore why nonpolitically active middle-class citizens engage in radical protest movements, and why they eventually demobilize. In particular it asks, how do they become politicized and resist economic and political crises, along with their own hardship? Theoretically informed by Gramsci’s notions of hegemony, ideology and class consciousness, Ozarow posits that to affect profound and lasting social change, multisectoral alliances and sustainable mobilizing vehicles are required to maintain radical progressive movements beyond periods of crisis. With the Argentinian revolt understood to be the ideological forbearer to the autonomist-inspired uprisings which later emerged, comparisons are drawn with experiences in the USA, Spain, Greece UK, Iceland and the Middle East, as well as 1990s contexts in South Africa and Russia. Such a comparative analysis helps understand how contextual factors shape distinctive struggling middle-class citizen responses to external shocks. This book will be of immense value to students, activists and theorists of social change in North America, in Europe and globally.

In Argentina, a "Right Turn" That Wasn't and Left- Peronism's Unlikely Comeback

NACLA, 2019

Latin America’s “left turn,” which started in 1998 with the election of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, is not over, even though its obituary has been written several times. Rather than turning in any clear direction, political winds in the region appear to be blowing in all sorts of directions, with no discernable underlying pattern. In particular, the victory of left-Peronism in Sunday’s elections in Argentina suggests that writing an obituary on the Left may have been premature. The winning formula, which includes former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner as vice-presidential candidate and her hand-picked running-mate Alberto Fernández as presidential candidate, obtained 48.1 percent of the votes, well above the 40.3 percent of incumbent Mauricio Macri, who was running for reelection. With two antagonistic camps capturing almost 90 percent of the vote, Sunday’s elections were probably the most polarized elections since Argentina entered its democratic transition in 1983—a polarization that is likely to stay. In light of Macri’s defeat and the comeback of a left-center coalition led by the Peronists, and backed by progressive parties and movements, it is useful to reflect on the factors that impeded the consolidation of a “right turn” in the country. What explains the failure of Macri’s first experience of government and the weakening of his support coalition? What are the reasons behind the strengthening of opposition forces on the left? And finally, what are the relevant domestic and regional implications of these trends?