The Persistent Influence of December 2001: Collective Action in 21st‐Century Argentina

Abstract

The protests of December 2001 in Argentina were the most visible manifestation of a larger cycle of contention, which continues to have a substantial influence on the forms, tactics and goals of social movements throughout the country. This paper provides a critical overview of these lasting effects. In particular, we focus on three areas where the consequences of the crisis for collective action have been particularly strong: performative politics, coalition‐building, and institutional support for grassroots networks. We conclude by reflecting on the implications for participatory democracy and the consolidation of a highly engaged civil society.

Contested Infrastructures: Water, Privatization, and Place-Based Protest in Greater Buenos Aires

“…The crisis was not only a time of intensifying poverty and social polarization, disillusionment with existing policies and institutions, and violent clashes between protesters and police. As politics as usual were destabilized, residents created new spaces for collective action, with neighborhood assemblies, worker-run factories and businesses, and new forms of mobilization by unemployed workers, referred to as piqueteros (Esquivel 2002;Pérez and Sobering 2022;Svampa 2008). These efforts from below sought to reimagine politics and reclaim the meaning of "public" as distinct from the state.…”