Racism and Discourse: A Portrait of the Argentine Situation

CARLOS BELVEDERE; SERGIO CAGGIANO; DIEGO CASARAVILLA; CORINA CURTIS; GERARDO HALPERN; DIANA LENTON; MARÍA INÉS PACECCA

Racism and Discourse in Latin America

Lexington Books

Lugar: Lanham; Año: 2009; p. 13 - 55

In this chapter we analyze the discursive operations that racialize diversity in contemporary Argentina. These operations are grounded on the dominating and hegemonic narrative of the nation woven during the nineteenth century, which proposed, supported and legitimized the need for political intervention in ?race? and ?culture? in order to achieve civilization and progress, and turn the ?desert? into a nation, the ?territory? into a republic. Part one of this chapter examines certain historical aspects of the process that led to the nation-state, within the supposed transition from ?barbarism? to ?civilization.? We analyze the rise of a classifying matrix founded on the opposing propositions of indigenous peoples vs. European immigrants, the underlying logic of which is still active in the dynamics of dominant contemporary classification. Part two focuses on the contemporary hegemonic discourses that structure meaningful social categories within the national matrix of otherness: indigenous peoples, internal migrants, immigrants from neighboring countries, and immigrants from East Asia. Finally, we summarize some specific aspects of local discursive racism, underscoring both its potential for producing political effects of exclusion and for hindering the emergence of voices with the legitimacy necessary to act in the public sphere.