Popular Demobilization, Agribusiness Mobilization, and the Agrarian Boom in Post-Neoliberal Argentina

Pablo Lapegna

doi:10.5195/jwsr.2015.523

Abstract

Based on ethnographic research, archival data, and a catalog of protest events, this article analyzes the relationship between popular social movements, business mobilization, and institutional politics in Argentina during the post-neoliberal phase, which arguably began circa 2003. How did waves of popular mobilization in the 1990s shape business mobilization in the 2000s? How did contentious politics influence institutional politics in the post-neoliberal period? What are the changes and continuities of the agrarian boom that cut across the neoliberal and post-neoliberal periods? While I zoom in on Argentina, the article goes beyond this case by contributing to three discussions. First, rather than limiting the analysis to the customary focus on the mobilization of subordinated actors, it examines the demobilization of popular social movements, the mobilization of business sectors, and the connections between the two. Second, it shows the ways in which the state can simultaneously challenge neoliberal principles while also favoring the global corporations that dominate the contemporary neoliberal food regime. Finally, the case of Argentina sheds light on the political economy of the "Left turn" in Latin America, particularly the negative socio-environmental impacts of commodity booms. The article concludes that researchers need to pay closer attention to the connections between contentious and institutional politics, and to the protean possibilities of neoliberalism to inspire collective actions.

Highlights

In the last decade and a half, South America has experienced a series of political and social changes
I analyze the relationship between popular social movements, the state, and agribusiness in Argentina to bridge the literatures on critical agrarian studies, social movements, and "post-neoliberalism" in Latin America
During an event organized by Monsanto at a five-star hotel, the Minister said: "I fundamentally agree with Monsanto, in the approval of the 'Intacta RR2' [the new genetically modified (GM) soybean], and in the investment and trust that it has given Argentina through investments that have already been announced by our nation's president." 3 The government continued this support by promoting policies that advance global agribusiness interests and ensuring a friendly business environment

Summary

Food Regimes and Mobilization

Critical agrarian scholars have been greatly influenced by the "food regime" perspective, which highlights the role of agriculture and food in the expansion of global capitalism (Friedmann and McMichael 1989). The national government pegged the Argentine peso to the U.S dollar, privatized state-owned companies, eliminated tariffs for exports and imports, and promoted a pro-business climate These neoliberal policies resulted in a cycle of protest (Tarrow 2005), as contention diffused among different social actors (Farinetti 2002; Silva 2009; Villalon 2007). Organized in company towns affected by massive layoffs prompted by the privatization of the national oil company (Auyero 2003; Barbetta and Lapegna 2001), roadblocks or "piquetes" became the main form of action for popular social movements towards the end of the 1990s (Rossi 2013; Scribano 1999; Silva 2009) Despite their ideological and organizational differences (see Svampa and Pereyra 2003), the variegated piquetero movement became a key political actor that besieged the administration of -President Fernando de la Rua (1999-2001) (Epstein 2003). Actor Unernployed/"Picketers" Neighbors Victims' Relatives & Friends Public Sector Workers Private Sector Workers Transportation Workers Other TOTAL

Contentious Collective Action

Findings

Conclusion