The trends of social polarization in Buenos Aires? suburbs, Argentina Republic. The impact on young people?s work

MACERI, S., WEHLE, B

Yokahama

Congreso; XVIII ISA World Congress Research Committee. Rethinking Social Inequality in the 21st Century: Uniqueness and Ineludible Challenges; 2014

ISA

Since the late twentieth century, new forms of social inequality have appeared in Argentina. One consequence is the social polarization and its relationship to work. In 2008, the incidence of workers inserted in precarious employments has been reduced by about 12.7 %; however, the problem persists and impacts worryingly on youth work. We present a paradigmatic example of social polarization and its impact on young people?s work. Among the universe of youth, we have selected, as an object of study, the universe of those young people who live in the suburban areas bordering Buenos Aires city. Considering this universe, we carried on a survey to people between 18 and 25 years who belong to Pilar, its surrounding areas (Campana, Exaltación de la Cruz, Luján, Gral Rodriguez, Moreno, José C. Paz, Malvinas Argentinas, Escobar) and Lomas de Zamora (Santa Marta and El Ceibo neighborhoods). These surveys were based on a semi - structured and non-random sample. The social gap that is observed in Pilar is exacerbated between Pilar and Lomas de Zamora?s shantytowns. The results of the surveys show clearly that the social gap in Buenos Aires suburbs and its impact on the work of young people do not have a solution yet. The young people who are unemployed or who have precarious jobs are still suffering from the consequences of the social policies of the 90s. Against this backdrop of inequalities, we present the debate on the applicability of the capabilities development, regarding Amartya Sen `s social policy. All in all, it is about the development of positive freedoms if any political will exists.