Networking ATTAC: the local branch of ATTAC in Argentina

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ABSTRACT ATTAC is a network of international twin organizations that opposes the neo-liberal globalization aiming at pledging essential rights for everybody. On this basis, the local branch of ATTAC in Argentina was investigated in order to understand “if” and “how” its interconnections with other political and social movement organizations are helpful in building an effective national political strategy and which could contribute to the pan-American one. The local branch of ATTAC-Quebec was also previously investigated and a South-to-North continuity-line might be traced that connects the two organizations. Participant observation and qualitative network interviews were employed in Argentina. The multiple political membership approach inspired the research while the social network analysis was developed through eight interviews with ATTAC militants. Among others, the militants were asked which other groups and organizations they were simultaneously associated with, and the network available was also qualitatively discussed further. In the fieldwork it was noticed that ATTAC-Argentina does not count so many activists. However, the Argentinean and Canadian militants also suggest that “number doesn’t matter”. In fact, someone noticed that the strength and the political effectiveness of the two organizations is represented by the network available to them. In other words, the data describe ATTAC-Argentina as a group that can count on a solid network of left-wing organizations through the militants’ political grid. This grid combined with the solid network of organizations on the pan-American scale represents an effective political option for the Latin-American branch of ATTAC for the present and the time to come.