This article focuses on debates over the place and value of waste and waste scavengers in Buenos Aires during and following the economic crisis of 2002 in order to consider how waste functions as a fundamental category for organizing social space. I argue that conceptualizations of waste as both zero value and "matter out of place" need to be combined with a recognition of the commodity potential of waste in order to better understand how waste works to constitute social structures and space. I demonstrate that while the displacement of waste and waste scavengers associated with the crisis opened a space for the transformation of established social relations, in ongoing negotiations, waste continues to be defined as that which belongs elsewhere and is of no value, reinforcing the marginalization of garbage scavengers.

No abstract

The year 2001 closed in Argentina with a public exhibition of the power of the people against a corrupt and ineffective government system: massive demonstrations took place in the Plaza de Mayo and were followed by the flight of then President Fernando De la Rua. These demonstrations marked the beginning of both an entrenchment of economic crisis as well as constant public expressions of discontent with the government in the form of cacerolazosöprimarily middle-class citizens demonstrating by banging pots and pansöand street closures by piquiteros, groups of unemployed workers.

During the economic crisis in Argentina that peaked in 2002, rates of informal work rose to levels higher than those at any other time during the previous 60 years. Drawing on interviews with informal workers conducted in 2002, I address the connection of this informal work not only to the crisis conditions in the country at the time, but also to broader shifts in the nature of work in Argentina. In particular, I argue that a lack of availability of formal work, an increase in probationary employment, and an increase in contractual arrangements were all crucial components of the dependence on informal work seen during the crisis of 2002. Making sense of the experience of contemporary informal work in Argentina thus requires an acknowledgement of history of globalization of the Argentine economy, which was brought about in large part through the implementation of neoliberal policies that began in the 1980s and continue today. Durante la crisis económica en Argentina en el año 2002, la tasa de participación en el trabajo informal creció hasta el punto más alto que en los últimos 60 años. Usando datos de entrevistas realizadas en el 2002, en este artículo analizo la relación entre este trabajo informal y tanto las condiciones de crisis en el país durante este tiempo, como los cambios más amplios en el carácter del trabajo en Argentina. En particular, sostengo que la falta de disponibilidad del trabajo formal, un aumento en los contratos de prueba, y un aumento en la contratación de trabajadores independientes, fueron todos componentes críticos de la dependencia del trabajo informal durante la crisis del 2002. Para entender las experiencias actuales del trabajo informal en Argentina, se necesita un reconocimiento de la historia de la globalización de la economía argentina, que fue facilitado por la implementación de las políticas neoliberales que empezó en los 80 y que continúa hoy en día.