A middle class country: Social mobility, progress and genealogical origins in public discourse in Argentina (2002-2015)

Abstract

Since the beginning of this century, a period marked by a severe economic and political crisis in Argentina, politicians and other public figures have frequently called for the nation “to become a middle-class country again” (a conviction with roots in the mid-twentieth century). Drawing from articles and opinion pieces published in newspapers, together with other texts dating approximately from the start of the twenty-first century until 2015, I focus on the discourses of political leaders, candidates, and presidents, as well as journalists and other writers. My contention is that these calls “to become a middle-class country again” renewed an overarching moral narrative, in order to appraise the past, to reflect on the nation’s troubles, and to consider possible resolutions and developments.