Trends of the social protests in Argentina from 1989 to 2003 (original) (raw)

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.

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.

Social mobilization and politics in Argentina: peak and crisis of the left turn

LASA, 2019

In 2015, the FPV lost the national elections to the right-wing coalition Let’s Change by a narrow margin of 51.40 per cent to 48.60 per cent. This result has been interpreted as the end of the left turn in Argentina, which had begun with the inauguration of Néstor Kirchner as president in May 2003 after the period of political destabilization which followed the 2001 crisis. After 2012, the political situation changed in several ways, and a new mobilization cycle was activated headed by popular and middle sectors with different demands (Natalucci, 2019). This paper discusses the characteristics and meanings of the social protests within this cycle and their effects on the political regimen in relation to the crisis of the left turn. The main argument is that the political field and the mobilization field did not follow the same logic. While the political arena was signed by a logic of polarization, expressed in terms of “Populism” versus “Republic” or “Kirchnerist” versus “anti-Kirchnerist”, the dynamic of the mobilization field was heterogeneous in terms of actors, demands and repertoires of contention. In this line, the mobilization cycle had two main consequences which anticipated the crisis of the left turn: First, the emergence of an anti-Kirchnerist space among the middle sectors created the conditions for a new opposition party; second, the loss of Kirchnerism’s capacity for political articulation and innovation weakened the government’s strategic alliances with some popular sectors. Both factors were decisive for the victory of right-wing Let’s Change coalition in the presidential elections of 2015. This paper is based on the chapter “Social Mobilization and Politics in Argentina. Peak and Crisis of the Left Turn” included in the book The Socio-Political Dynamics within the Crisis of the Left Turn: Argentina and Brazil, co-edited with Juan Pablo Ferrero and Luciana Tatagiba, of next appearance. The methodological approach is mainly descriptive based on quantitative data of protest events collected during the research project “The end of the left turn in Latin America? New actors and discourses shaping the political arena of the post-transition”.

Protesta social y espacio público: un balance crítico

Ensemble. Revista electrónica de la Casa Argentina en París, 2009

Hace un poco más de una década se conformó en el Instituto Gino Germani de la Universidad de Buenos Aires un grupo de estudio sobre protesta social y acción colectiva con el objetivo de abordar este vasto campo de estudio y considerar los aportes y novedades que en él habían producido las ciencias sociales. Si bien la movilización social siempre representó un tópico fundamental para los estudios sociales, en las últimas décadas se ha producido una verdadera especialización de la investigación relacionada con ese tipo de fenómenos. Ese nuevo campo impactó de modo dispar en las ciencias sociales argentinas mostrando algunos desarrollos importantes relacionados con los estudios sobre movimientos sociales pero menos interés en otras áreas de trabajo.

Somma 2017 Discontent, collective protest, and social movements in Chile

This chapter explores relations between discontent, social movements, and collective protest in contemporary Chile. It makes three claims. First, much collective protest is fueled by a specific kind of discontent that stems from the combination of a population aggrieved by the market society, political elites unable to reduce such grievances, and political institutions too rigid to incorporate groups willing to reform market structures. Second, although social movements and collective protest require some level of discontent to thrive, there are many types of discontent, not all of which are relevant in triggering protest. Third, a recently articulated " social movement sector " plays a key role in transforming diffuse, inconsequential discontent into one that motivates people to engage in collective protest.