Class Structure and Social Conflict in Argentina: a Multi-Method study of Labor Upsurge in a context of High Informality

RODOLFO ELBERT

Madison, Wisconsin

Congreso; Academia and Latin America: What is your scholarly impact?; 2009

Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies - University of Wisconsin at Madison

The study of class structures in Latin America has led to the conclusion that informality is so stable and widespread that can be understood as a new class cleavage that divides the working class in the region (Portes and Hoffman, 2003). Furthermore, some authors suggests that this structural character of Latin American societies leads to a strong division of the struggles of formal and informal workers, and a prevalence of the later in the explanation of social conflict (Roberts, 2002). The contemporary labor resurgence in Argentina is an ideal context to test these strong hypotheses about Latin American class structures and dynamics of social conflict. Contrary to the expectations of this literature, Argentinean workers in the formal economy became the major actors of social conflict in a context of high informality. How can we explain this resurgence? This research advances two hypothesis that will allow us to address this empirical and theoretical puzzle: 1. The structural impact of informality has changed in post-crisis Argentina, allowing for closer links and interconnections between formal and informal workers, 2. Shared class cultural frameworks and new organizing strategies allow formal workers at the grassroots level to develop strong links with informal sectors while they conduct labor protests.