When Social Risk Became Individual. Biographies made during December 2001 in Argentina

POBLETE, LORENA

Buenos Aires

Congreso; SECOND ISA FORUM OF SOCIOLOGY; 2012

International Sociological Association, UBA

During December 2001, Argentina experienced one of the major crises in its history. This crisis was both politically, socially and economically. Between December 2001 and February 2002, there were five presidents. Each, in turn, resigned because he could not handle the situation. Unemployment reached 18%, and underemployment 19%, meaning that almost 40% of the economically active population had an unsatisfactory labour integration. In addition, 44% of those who work are in unregistered jobs. This had a direct impact on revenue: 60% of the population was living below the poverty line. Between December 2001 and March 2002, Argentina experienced moments of great uncertainty. It was during this period that I conducted the fieldwork for my PhD dissertation. The objective of the fieldwork was to reconstruct biographies of self-employed workers to understand the changes that had suffered this type of employment in Argentina. In order to analyze the careers of middle-class professionals between 2001 and 2008, I interviewed 60 individuals belonging to 14 families. At the first meeting, I ask self-employed workers to tell me the story of their family at work. The fact that some interviews were conducted between December 2001 and January 2002, the reference to the context of national crisis was - as might be expected given the nature of the crisis- very strong. The aim of this paper is to analyze the way in which social risks are translated into individual risks. I will focus on the biographies of young professionals witch arrived for the first time in the labour market at that moment.