The judge, the cop, and the queen of carnival: Ethnography, storytelling, and the (contested) meanings of protest

Theory and Society

Volumn 31, Issue 2, 2002, Pages 151-187

  Auyero, Javier ^a,b  

^a STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Centro De Estudios En Cultura Y Política   (Argentina)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0141849460     PISSN: 03042421     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/A:1015039323606     Document Type: Review

References (132)

1. Archival research included the reading of every issue of Santiago del Estero's main local newspaper (El Liberal) for the years 1993 and 1994, and selected issues of El Liberal and El Nuevo Diario of subsequent years, as well as a content analysis of three major national newspapers (La Nación, Clarín, and Página12) for the year before and the year after the uprising. I also read popular magazines (Noticias and Gente) that published extensive reports on the events, and watched a video produced by two local journalists that provides a wonderful coverage of the events in situ. I interviewed twenty Santiagueños who took active part in the riot, either in the demonstrations and rallies in the main square that preceded the burning of the Government House or in the burning and sacking of public buildings or politicians' residences. I also interviewed six local journalists, two policemen who were on duty the day of the riot, and the judge in charge of the arrested persons. I read leaflets, press communiqués, police records, and court case files to the extent that they were available. I recruited my informants though a snowball method: after each conversation or interview, I asked my respondent to suggest friends or acquaintances who might be willing to talk about the events. To ensure the representativeness of informants in Santiago, I interviewed people from different unions, with different levels of participation during the months prior to the event, and with diverse itineraries during the day of the uprising. Except for the names of well-known public officials, all names have been changed to protect anonymity.
2. See, John Walton, "Debt, Protest, and the State in Latin America," in Susan Eckstein, editor, Power and Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), 299-328; John Walton and David Seddon, Free Markets and Food Riots: The Politics of Global Adjustment (Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994).
3. See, John Walton, "Debt, Protest, and the State in Latin America," in Susan Eckstein, editor, Power and Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), 299-328; John Walton and David Seddon, Free Markets and Food Riots: The Politics of Global Adjustment (Cambridge: Blackwell, 1994).
4. The 1989 Venezuelan social upheaval, which is a parallel example that immediately comes to mind, was very different in terms of its duration, the extent and targets of the looting (mostly stores), and the death toll (officially, 277 fatalities). See, Fernando Coronil and Julie Skurski, "Dismembering and Remembering the Nation: the Semantics of Political Violence in Venezuela," Comparative Studies in Society and History 33/2 (1991): 255-287.
5. See, Alejandro Rofman, "Destrucción de las economías provinciales," Le Monde Diplomatique-Edición Argentina (August 2000): 4-5; Larry Sawers, The Other Argentina (Boulder, Col.: Westview, 1996).
6. See, Alejandro Rofman, "Destrucción de las economías provinciales," Le Monde Diplomatique-Edición Argentina (August 2000): 4-5; Larry Sawers, The Other Argentina (Boulder, Col.: Westview, 1996).
7. See, Philip Oxhorn, "The Social Foundations of Latin America's Recurrent Populism Problems of Popular Sector Class Formation and Collective Action," Journal of Historical Sociology 11/2 (1998): 212-246; Eileen Stillwaggon, Stunted Lives, Stagnant Economies: Poverty, disease, and underdevelopment (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1998); Alberto Barbeito and Rubén Lo Vuolo, La Modernización Excluyente (Buenos Aires: Losada, 1992).
8. See, Philip Oxhorn, "The Social Foundations of Latin America's Recurrent Populism Problems of Popular Sector Class Formation and Collective Action," Journal of Historical Sociology 11/2 (1998): 212-246; Eileen Stillwaggon, Stunted Lives, Stagnant Economies: Poverty, disease, and underdevelopment (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1998); Alberto Barbeito and Rubén Lo Vuolo, La Modernización Excluyente (Buenos Aires: Losada, 1992).
9. See, Philip Oxhorn, "The Social Foundations of Latin America's Recurrent Populism Problems of Popular Sector Class Formation and Collective Action," Journal of Historical Sociology 11/2 (1998): 212-246; Eileen Stillwaggon, Stunted Lives, Stagnant Economies: Poverty, disease, and underdevelopment (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1998); Alberto Barbeito and Rubén Lo Vuolo, La Modernización Excluyente (Buenos Aires: Losada, 1992).
10. Rubén Laufer and Claudio Spiguel, "Las 'puebladas' argentinas a partir del 'Santiagueñazo' de 1993. Tradición histórica y nuevas formas de lucha," in Margarita Lopez Maya, editor, Lucha Popular; Democracia, Neoliberalismo: Protesta popular en América Latina en los años del ajuste (Venezuela: Nueva Sociedad, 1999), 15-44; Adrián Scribano, "Argentina 'Cortada': Cortes de ruta y visibilidad social en el contexto del ajuste 1999," in M. Lopez Maya, Lucha Popular, Democracia, Neoliberalismo, 45-72; Alicia Entel, La Ciudad Bajo Sospecha: Comunicación y protesta urbana (Buenos Aires: Paidós, 1996); Javier Auyero, "Los estallidos en provincia: globalización y conflictos sociales," Punto de Vista 67 (2000):41-48; Marina Farinetti, "Qué queda del movimiento obrero? Las formas del reclamo laboral en la nueva democracia Argentina," Trabajo y Sociedad 1, at http://habitantes.elsitio.com/proitz/marina.htm.
11. Rubén Laufer and Claudio Spiguel, "Las 'puebladas' argentinas a partir del 'Santiagueñazo' de 1993. Tradición histórica y nuevas formas de lucha," in Margarita Lopez Maya, editor, Lucha Popular; Democracia, Neoliberalismo: Protesta popular en América Latina en los años del ajuste (Venezuela: Nueva Sociedad, 1999), 15-44; Adrián Scribano, "Argentina 'Cortada': Cortes de ruta y visibilidad social en el contexto del ajuste 1999," in M. Lopez Maya, Lucha Popular, Democracia, Neoliberalismo, 45-72; Alicia Entel, La Ciudad Bajo Sospecha: Comunicación y protesta urbana (Buenos Aires: Paidós, 1996); Javier Auyero, "Los estallidos en provincia: globalización y conflictos sociales," Punto de Vista 67 (2000):41-48; Marina Farinetti, "Qué queda del movimiento obrero? Las formas del reclamo laboral en la nueva democracia Argentina," Trabajo y Sociedad 1, at http://habitantes.elsitio.com/proitz/marina.htm.
12. Rubén Laufer and Claudio Spiguel, "Las 'puebladas' argentinas a partir del 'Santiagueñazo' de 1993. Tradición histórica y nuevas formas de lucha," in Margarita Lopez Maya, editor, Lucha Popular; Democracia, Neoliberalismo: Protesta popular en América Latina en los años del ajuste (Venezuela: Nueva Sociedad, 1999), 15-44; Adrián Scribano, "Argentina 'Cortada': Cortes de ruta y visibilidad social en el contexto del ajuste 1999," in M. Lopez Maya, Lucha Popular, Democracia, Neoliberalismo, 45-72; Alicia Entel, La Ciudad Bajo Sospecha: Comunicación y protesta urbana (Buenos Aires: Paidós, 1996); Javier Auyero, "Los estallidos en provincia: globalización y conflictos sociales," Punto de Vista 67 (2000):41-48; Marina Farinetti, "Qué queda del movimiento obrero? Las formas del reclamo laboral en la nueva democracia Argentina," Trabajo y Sociedad 1, at http://habitantes.elsitio.com/proitz/marina.htm.
13. Rubén Laufer and Claudio Spiguel, "Las 'puebladas' argentinas a partir del 'Santiagueñazo' de 1993. Tradición histórica y nuevas formas de lucha," in Margarita Lopez Maya, editor, Lucha Popular; Democracia, Neoliberalismo: Protesta popular en América Latina en los años del ajuste (Venezuela: Nueva Sociedad, 1999), 15-44; Adrián Scribano, "Argentina 'Cortada': Cortes de ruta y visibilidad social en el contexto del ajuste 1999," in M. Lopez Maya, Lucha Popular, Democracia, Neoliberalismo, 45-72; Alicia Entel, La Ciudad Bajo Sospecha: Comunicación y protesta urbana (Buenos Aires: Paidós, 1996); Javier Auyero, "Los estallidos en provincia: globalización y conflictos sociales," Punto de Vista 67 (2000):41-48; Marina Farinetti, "Qué queda del movimiento obrero? Las formas del reclamo laboral en la nueva democracia Argentina," Trabajo y Sociedad 1, at http://habitantes.elsitio.com/proitz/marina.htm.
14. Rubén Laufer and Claudio Spiguel, "Las 'puebladas' argentinas a partir del 'Santiagueñazo' de 1993. Tradición histórica y nuevas formas de lucha," in Margarita Lopez Maya, editor, Lucha Popular; Democracia, Neoliberalismo: Protesta popular en América Latina en los años del ajuste (Venezuela: Nueva Sociedad, 1999), 15-44; Adrián Scribano, "Argentina 'Cortada': Cortes de ruta y visibilidad social en el contexto del ajuste 1999," in M. Lopez Maya, Lucha Popular, Democracia, Neoliberalismo, 45-72; Alicia Entel, La Ciudad Bajo Sospecha: Comunicación y protesta urbana (Buenos Aires: Paidós, 1996); Javier Auyero, "Los estallidos en provincia: globalización y conflictos sociales," Punto de Vista 67 (2000):41-48; Marina Farinetti, "Qué queda del movimiento obrero? Las formas del reclamo laboral en la nueva democracia Argentina," Trabajo y Sociedad 1, at http://habitantes.elsitio.com/proitz/marina.htm.
15. See, Francesca Polletta, "Contending Stories: Narrative in Social Movements," Qualitative Sociology 21/4 (1998): 419-446; Francesca Polletta, "'It Was Like a Fever...' Narrative and Identity in Social Protest," Social Problems 45/2 (1998): 137-159; Roger Brubaker and Frederick Cooper, "Beyond 'Identity,'" Theory and Society 29/1 (2000): 1-47.
16. See, Francesca Polletta, "Contending Stories: Narrative in Social Movements," Qualitative Sociology 21/4 (1998): 419-446; Francesca Polletta, "'It Was Like a Fever...' Narrative and Identity in Social Protest," Social Problems 45/2 (1998): 137-159; Roger Brubaker and Frederick Cooper, "Beyond 'Identity,'" Theory and Society 29/1 (2000): 1-47.
17. See, Francesca Polletta, "Contending Stories: Narrative in Social Movements," Qualitative Sociology 21/4 (1998): 419-446; Francesca Polletta, "'It Was Like a Fever...' Narrative and Identity in Social Protest," Social Problems 45/2 (1998): 137-159; Roger Brubaker and Frederick Cooper, "Beyond 'Identity,'" Theory and Society 29/1 (2000): 1-47.
18. For a recent example, see, Daniel James, Doha María's Story: Life History, Memory and Political Identity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2001); for a classic statement on the subject, see Luisa Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory: The cultural experience of the Turin Working Class (Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1987).
19. For a recent example, see, Daniel James, Doha María's Story: Life History, Memory and Political Identity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2001); for a classic statement on the subject, see Luisa Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory: The cultural experience of the Turin Working Class (Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1987).
20. See, Robert Darnton, "The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Severin," in Chandra Mukerji and Michael Schudson, editors, Rethinking Popular Culture: Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies (Berkeley: California University Press, 1984), 97-120; Carlo Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms: The cosmos of a sixteenth-century miller (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1984); Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973), and Loic Wacquant "The Pugilistic Point of View: How boxers think and feel about their trade," Theory and Society 24/4 (1995): 489-535.
21. See, Robert Darnton, "The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Severin," in Chandra Mukerji and Michael Schudson, editors, Rethinking Popular Culture: Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies (Berkeley: California University Press, 1984), 97-120; Carlo Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms: The cosmos of a sixteenth-century miller (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1984); Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973), and Loic Wacquant "The Pugilistic Point of View: How boxers think and feel about their trade," Theory and Society 24/4 (1995): 489-535.
22. See, Robert Darnton, "The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Severin," in Chandra Mukerji and Michael Schudson, editors, Rethinking Popular Culture: Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies (Berkeley: California University Press, 1984), 97-120; Carlo Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms: The cosmos of a sixteenth-century miller (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1984); Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973), and Loic Wacquant "The Pugilistic Point of View: How boxers think and feel about their trade," Theory and Society 24/4 (1995): 489-535.
23. See, Robert Darnton, "The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Severin," in Chandra Mukerji and Michael Schudson, editors, Rethinking Popular Culture: Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies (Berkeley: California University Press, 1984), 97-120; Carlo Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms: The cosmos of a sixteenth-century miller (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1984); Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973), and Loic Wacquant "The Pugilistic Point of View: How boxers think and feel about their trade," Theory and Society 24/4 (1995): 489-535.
24. David Snow and Robert Benford, "Master Frames and Cycles of Protest," in Aldon Morris and Carol McClurg, editors, Frontiers in Social Movement Theory (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 137; see also Robert Benford and David Snow, "Framing Processes and Social Movements: An overview and assessment," Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000): 611-639.
25. David Snow and Robert Benford, "Master Frames and Cycles of Protest," in Aldon Morris and Carol McClurg, editors, Frontiers in Social Movement Theory (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 137; see also Robert Benford and David Snow, "Framing Processes and Social Movements: An overview and assessment," Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000): 611-639.
26. For a recent critique of framing analysis, see Mark Steinberg, Fighting Words: Working-Class Formation, Collective Action, and Discourse in Early Nineteenth-Century England (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999).
27. See Robin Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making: The shape of things that went," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 301-321.
28. Paul Brass, editor, Riots and Progroms (New York: New York University Press, 1996): 45.
29. See, Mark Steinberg, Fighting Words; Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly, Dynamics of Contention (Cambridge University Press, 2001); Sidney Tarrow, Power in Movement Social movements and contentious politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
30. See, Mark Steinberg, Fighting Words; Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly, Dynamics of Contention (Cambridge University Press, 2001); Sidney Tarrow, Power in Movement Social movements and contentious politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
31. Vera Zolberg, "Contested remembrance: The Hiroshima exhibit controversy," Theory and Society 27 (1998): 565-590. For the specific case of contested versions of riots, see Paul Brass, Riots and Progroms, Shahid Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory: Chauri-Chaura 1922-1992 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), and Beth Roy, Some Trouble with Cows: Making sense of social conflict (Berkeley: California University Press, 1994).
32. Vera Zolberg, "Contested remembrance: The Hiroshima exhibit controversy," Theory and Society 27 (1998): 565-590. For the specific case of contested versions of riots, see Paul Brass, Riots and Progroms, Shahid Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory: Chauri-Chaura 1922-1992 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), and Beth Roy, Some Trouble with Cows: Making sense of social conflict (Berkeley: California University Press, 1994).
33. Vera Zolberg, "Contested remembrance: The Hiroshima exhibit controversy," Theory and Society 27 (1998): 565-590. For the specific case of contested versions of riots, see Paul Brass, Riots and Progroms, Shahid Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory: Chauri-Chaura 1922-1992 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), and Beth Roy, Some Trouble with Cows: Making sense of social conflict (Berkeley: California University Press, 1994).
34. Vera Zolberg, "Contested remembrance: The Hiroshima exhibit controversy," Theory and Society 27 (1998): 565-590. For the specific case of contested versions of riots, see Paul Brass, Riots and Progroms, Shahid Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory: Chauri-Chaura 1922-1992 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), and Beth Roy, Some Trouble with Cows: Making sense of social conflict (Berkeley: California University Press, 1994).
35. Steinberg, Fighting Words.
36. Charles Tilly, "Spaces of Contention," unpublished manuscript, Columbia University, 1999.
37. Michael Schudson problematizes the interaction between vernacular and official voices for cases of collective memorization other than riots. Michael Schudson, Watergate in American Memory (New York: Basic Books, 1993).
38. Brubaker and Cooper, "Beyond 'Identity."'
39. Polletta, "'It Was Like a Fever,'" 140. See also, Beth Roy, Some Trouble with Cows.
40. Polletta, "'It Was Like a Fever,'" 140. See also, Beth Roy, Some Trouble with Cows.
41. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
42. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
43. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
44. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
45. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
46. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
47. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
48. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
49. Barry Schwartz, "Introduction: The Expanding Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 275-283; Barry Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment," in, B. Glassner and R. Hertz, editors, Qualitative Sociology as Everyday Life (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1999); Jeffrey Olick, "Collective Memory: Two Cultures," Sociological Theory 17/3 (1999): 333-348; "Genre Memories and Memory Genres: A Dialogical Analysis of May 8, 1945 Commemorations in the Federal Republic of Germany, " American Sociological Review 64 (June 1999): 381-402; Jeffrey Olick and Daniel Levy, "Collective Memory and Cultural Constraint: Holocaust Myth and Rationality in German Politics," American Sociological Review 62/6 (1997): 921-936; Robin Wagner-Pacifici and Barry Schwartz, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial : Commemorating a Difficult Past," American Journal of Sociology 97/2 (1991): 376-420; Zolberg, "Contested Remembrance"; Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making", for a recent review see Jeffrey Olick and Joyce Robbins, "Social Memory Studies: From collective memory to the historical sociology of mnemonic practices," Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 105-140.
50. Eviatar Zerubavel, "Social Memories: Steps to a Sociology of the Past," Qualitative Sociology 19/3 (1996): 285.
51. Margaret Somers and Gloria Gibson, "Reclaiming the Epistemological 'Other': Narrative and the social constitution of identity," in Craig Calhoun, editor, Social Theory and the Politics of Identity (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994); Zerubavel, "Social Memories."
52. Margaret Somers and Gloria Gibson, "Reclaiming the Epistemological 'Other': Narrative and the social constitution of identity," in Craig Calhoun, editor, Social Theory and the Politics of Identity (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994); Zerubavel, "Social Memories."
53. Mary Douglas, "Introduction: Maurice Halbwachs," in Maurice Halbwachs, The Collective Memory (New York: Harper & Row), 1-21; Luisa Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Jonathan Boyarin, Remapping Memory: The Politics of Time and Space (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994); Zerubavel, "Social Memories."
54. Mary Douglas, "Introduction: Maurice Halbwachs," in Maurice Halbwachs, The Collective Memory (New York: Harper & Row), 1-21; Luisa Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Jonathan Boyarin, Remapping Memory: The Politics of Time and Space (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994); Zerubavel, "Social Memories."
55. Mary Douglas, "Introduction: Maurice Halbwachs," in Maurice Halbwachs, The Collective Memory (New York: Harper & Row), 1-21; Luisa Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Jonathan Boyarin, Remapping Memory: The Politics of Time and Space (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994); Zerubavel, "Social Memories."
56. Mary Douglas, "Introduction: Maurice Halbwachs," in Maurice Halbwachs, The Collective Memory (New York: Harper & Row), 1-21; Luisa Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Jonathan Boyarin, Remapping Memory: The Politics of Time and Space (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1994); Zerubavel, "Social Memories."
57. Wagner-Pacifici, "Memories in the Making," 307.
58. Barry Schwartz's analysis of commemorative symbolism has contributed much to our thinking about the structuring capacities of memory. His analysis of Lincoln's changing images among African-Americans shows that commemoration "adds to history," affecting the way in which we imagine the past. Commemoration is, thus, "a structuring process that partially overrides the qualities of its objects and imposes upon them its own pattern." Barry Schwartz, "Collective Memory and History: How Abraham Lincoln Became a Symbol of Racial Equality," The Sociological Quarterly 38/3 (1997): 469-496. For a theoretical treatment on the subject, see Paul Connerton, How Societies Remember (Cambrige, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
59. Barry Schwartz's analysis of commemorative symbolism has contributed much to our thinking about the structuring capacities of memory. His analysis of Lincoln's changing images among African-Americans shows that commemoration "adds to history," affecting the way in which we imagine the past. Commemoration is, thus, "a structuring process that partially overrides the qualities of its objects and imposes upon them its own pattern." Barry Schwartz, "Collective Memory and History: How Abraham Lincoln Became a Symbol of Racial Equality," The Sociological Quarterly 38/3 (1997): 469-496. For a theoretical treatment on the subject, see Paul Connerton, How Societies Remember (Cambrige, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
60. Catherine Marshall and Gretchen Rossman, Designing Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 2000); Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln, editors, Handbook of Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1994); Robert Emerson, Contemporary Field Research: A collection of readings (Boston: Little Brown, 1983).
61. Catherine Marshall and Gretchen Rossman, Designing Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 2000); Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln, editors, Handbook of Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1994); Robert Emerson, Contemporary Field Research: A collection of readings (Boston: Little Brown, 1983).
62. Catherine Marshall and Gretchen Rossman, Designing Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 2000); Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln, editors, Handbook of Qualitative Research (Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Sage, 1994); Robert Emerson, Contemporary Field Research: A collection of readings (Boston: Little Brown, 1983).
63. Pierre Bourdieu, Language and Symbolic Power (Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 136.
64. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), Informe Argentino sobre Desarrollo Humano (Buenos Aires, 1996), at http://www.undp.org.ar/des9.htm; Fundación Capital (FC), Ranking Social Provincial (Buenos Aires, 1999); Carlos Zurita, El Trabajo en una Sociedad Tradicional: Estudios sobre Santiago del Estero (Santiago del Estero, CICYT-UNSE, 1999).
65. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), Informe Argentino sobre Desarrollo Humano (Buenos Aires, 1996), at http://www.undp.org.ar/des9.htm; Fundación Capital (FC), Ranking Social Provincial (Buenos Aires, 1999); Carlos Zurita, El Trabajo en una Sociedad Tradicional: Estudios sobre Santiago del Estero (Santiago del Estero, CICYT-UNSE, 1999).
66. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), Informe Argentino sobre Desarrollo Humano (Buenos Aires, 1996), at http://www.undp.org.ar/des9.htm; Fundación Capital (FC), Ranking Social Provincial (Buenos Aires, 1999); Carlos Zurita, El Trabajo en una Sociedad Tradicional: Estudios sobre Santiago del Estero (Santiago del Estero, CICYT-UNSE, 1999).
67. Zurita, El Trabajo en un Sociedad Tradicional, 48.
68. For a thorough review of the corruption cases previous to December 16, 1993, see José Curiotto and Julio Rodríguez, Arde Santiago: La verdadera historia del estallido social de Santiago del Estero que asombró al país y al mundo (Tucumán: Ediciones El Graduado, 1994).
69. This section is based on the December 16, 1994, issue of the main local newspaper, El Liberal, as well as on a book published by two young journalists from this same newspaper (Curiotto and Rodríguez, Arde Santiago) and a compilation of articles published after the riot, El Estallido Social en Santiago (Santiago del Estero: El Liberal, 1994).
70. This section is based on the December 16, 1994, issue of the main local newspaper, El Liberal, as well as on a book published by two young journalists from this same newspaper (Curiotto and Rodríguez, Arde Santiago) and a compilation of articles published after the riot, El Estallido Social en Santiago (Santiago del Estero: El Liberal, 1994).
71. This section is based on the December 16, 1994, issue of the main local newspaper, El Liberal, as well as on a book published by two young journalists from this same newspaper (Curiotto and Rodríguez, Arde Santiago) and a compilation of articles published after the riot, El Estallido Social en Santiago (Santiago del Estero: El Liberal, 1994).
72. Raúl Dargoltz, El Santiagueñazo: Gestación y Crónica de una Pueblada Argentina (Buenos Aires: El Despertador Ediciones, 1994); Curiotto and Rodriguez, Arde Santiago.
73. Raúl Dargoltz, El Santiagueñazo: Gestación y Crónica de una Pueblada Argentina (Buenos Aires: El Despertador Ediciones, 1994); Curiotto and Rodriguez, Arde Santiago.
74. It is not my task to prove the truth of the judge's or others' assertions, although in this case the fear felt by many public officials at the time cannot be ruled out as a motive for their actions (in this case, liberating 144 arrested persons after only a few hours of detention). At that time, the judge predicted that the decision "will cost my career." As I later learned, he and his family had to move from their home, because they feared becoming a target of the "enraged mob."
75. George Rudé, The Crowd in History (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1964), 212.
76. Tarrow, Power in Movement.
77. Gustavo Gallardo, "Un Costo Dificil de Remediar," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 39.
78. Marcelo Jozami, "Cansado de Tanta Corrupción," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 26.
79. Gabriela Luna, "Un Largo Camino de Inacción, Injusticia y Corrupción," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 56.
80. Alejandro Garay, "El Estallido Social en La Banda," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 24; Oscar Díaz, "La Culpa fue Haber Callado," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 54; Gallardo, "Un Costo Dificil de Remediar," 38.
81. Alejandro Garay, "El Estallido Social en La Banda," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 24; Oscar Díaz, "La Culpa fue Haber Callado," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 54; Gallardo, "Un Costo Dificil de Remediar," 38.
82. Alejandro Garay, "El Estallido Social en La Banda," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 24; Oscar Díaz, "La Culpa fue Haber Callado," in El Estallido Social in Santiago, 54; Gallardo, "Un Costo Dificil de Remediar," 38.
83. Díaz, "La Culpa fue Haber Callado," 49.
84. Rudé, The Crowd in History, 8.
85. Raul Castigilione, "Prólogo," in Curiotto and Rodriguez, Arde Santiago, 2.
86. Beth Roy, Some Trouble With Cows, 133.
87. Mark Steinberg, "The Roar of the Crowd," in Mark Traugott, editor, Repertoires and Cycles of Collective Action (Durham: Duke University Press, 1995): 57-88.
88. Steinberg, "The Roar of the Crowd," 60; see also Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory.
89. Steinberg, "The Roar of the Crowd," 60; see also Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory.
90. Quoted in S. Tarrow, "The People's Two Rhythms," Comparative Studies in Society and History 38/3, 58Z
91. McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly, Dynamics of Contention, 6.
92. During the previous months, El Liberal published various reports documenting "generalized discontent" among police agents and officers, and recurrent attempts by the chiefs to "boost" the morale of the force.
93. On November 11, nine unions (Obras Sanitarias - waterworks, Asociación Bancaria - Bank employees, CISADEMS, AMED, SADOP - teachers, ASEJ - court-house employees, ATAD, UOEM - public administrators, and meat workers) created the "Frente Gremial de Lucha" (Union Front) to reject the adjustment law that the provincial government was trying to implement at that time and to mobilize all "the workers' forces."
94. Polletta, "'It Was Like a Fever,'" 149.
95. During the previous months, protesters also collectively agreed on the objects of their discontent. Far from being random, the targets that the "innocent horde" - as a local judge defined protesters - attacked on December 16 had been located beforehand: the burned and sacked houses were the residences of those officials and politicians that, according to newspaper and TV reports, were involved in public nepotism. In the streets, demanding their wages and shouting against corruption, protesters located culpability. This explains the "precision" with which the crowd moved from one home to another - and that some observers used as "evidence" of the work of "subversive agitators." Protesters knew their targets in advance; they had read profusely about them during the months that preceded the final uprising. "The targets were perfectly visible. This is a small town, everybody knows each other, and the media always remark who is who.... It was as if everyone understood that we had to go there," Mariano, a participant in the events, remarks. Carlos explains by way of example: "The legislature was the place where the most anger accumulated." "Burning it was a necessity," Mariano adds, and Nana summarizes it all: "The Government House is a historic monument of trash and corruption.... I wanted to enter that corrupt house."
96. There is a plethora of essays that deal with the purported specific features of the residents of Santiago del Estero, i.e., with a presumed "way of being Santiagueño." This people is diversely characterized as a "basically indolent people," a people distinguished by a "low-self esteem and a deeply internalized sense of failure" or by an "apparent sentiment of inferiority." For a review and critique, see Alberto Tasso, "Cómo somos y por qué?" Quipu de Cultura 8 (1997): 5-6. Despite the obvious inadequacies of these general characterizations of a "people's way of being" akin to a "people's spirit," they are somehow shared by many - if not all - of my interviewees who constantly refer to "our way of being." In effect, it was really striking to listen to energetic union leaders, activists, or intellectuals talking about the "passivity" of the Santiagueños and including themselves within this categorization.
97. Jim Jasper, The Art of Moral Protest (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1997). Given the lack of payment affecting all state employees and the corrupt management of funds, it is not surprising that the moral dimension of the protest somehow overlaps with the material claims. I thank an anonymous reviewer for making me aware of this crucial point. Another reviewer disagrees with my interpretation concerning the uses of spontaneity to highlight a moral vision, saying that "one could easily argue the contrary: they insist on spontaneity to decline responsibility for something immoral or, at least, objectionable." This is, of course, a matter of interpretation. Since none of my interviewees, except local elites, found anything loathsome in what they did or needed to justify their actions, I am inclined to view their emphasis on spontaneity as both a rejection of the presence of agitators and a comment on the worthiness of the protest and the merit of themselves as rioters. Thus, in both senses, the insistence on the spontaneity of their actions addresses the official discourse on the uprising that constructs the riot as provoked by a simple material claim and fueled by agitators.
98. Alessandro Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories: Form and Meaning in Oral History (Albany: State University of NewYork Press, 1991), 50.
99. Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli, 51.
100. Ibid., 1.
101. See, Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli; James, Doña María's Story.
102. See, Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli; James, Doña María's Story.
103. See, Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli; James, Doña María's Story.
104. Casanegra was the former public works minister. His house was among those most vandalized.
105. Peter Burke, Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe (England: Wildwood House, 1978).
106. Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1984), 15;
107. see also, Peter Stallybrass and Allon White, The Politics and Poetics of Transgression (New York: Cornell University Press, 1986).
108. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil (Berkeley: California University Press, 1994), 28.
109. Pierre Bourdieu, "Understanding," Theory, Culture, and Society 13/2 (1996): 24.
110. Abdelmalek Sayad, "The Curse," in Pierre Bourdieu, editor, The Weight of the World (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999), 561.
111. Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World, 7.
112. Scheper Hughes, Death Without Weeping; see also, Philippe Bourgois, In Search of Respect (Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
113. Bourdieu, "Understanding," 24.
114. This does not mean that the ethnographer is the only audience that participants in the riot intend. In a way, they use the ethnographer as a medium to contest what they see as objectionable versions of the protest. I believe that we should reflect on protesters' uses of ethnography and of the ethnographer not only for a better understanding of our place in the field (a concern that seems to be a sort of narcissistic obsession these days) but also because it impinges upon the process through which we construct our object of research.
115. Bourdieu, "Understanding," 24.
116. Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli, 59.
117. See, Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; James, Doña María's Story.
118. See, Passerini, Fascism in Popular Memory; James, Doña María's Story.
119. Daniel James, "Tales Told Out on the Borderlands. Doña María's Story, Oral History and Issues of Gender," in John French and Daniel James, editors, The Gendered Worlds of Latin American Women Workers: From household and factory to the union hall and ballot box (Durham: Duke University Press, 1997), 36.
120. E.P. Thompson, Customs in Common (New York: The New Press, 1993), 187.
121. Gary Fine, "Reputational Entrepreneurs and the Memory of Incompetence: Melting Supporters, Partisan Warriors, and Images of President Harring," American Journal of Sociology 101/5 (1996): 1159-1193. Wagner-Pacifici calls them translators or moral entrepreneurs; "Memories in the Making."
122. For useful guides in the study of commemorative practices, especially in the cases of absence of consensus over the events selected for commemoration, see Wagner-Pacifici and Schwartz's now classic "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial," and Zolberg"s recent "Contested remembrance."
123. For useful guides in the study of commemorative practices, especially in the cases of absence of consensus over the events selected for commemoration, see Wagner-Pacifici and Schwartz's now classic "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial," and Zolberg"s recent "Contested remembrance."
124. Olick, "Genre Memories and Memory Genres", See also Michael Holquist, Dialogism: Bakhtin and His World (London: Routledge, 1990).
125. Olick, "Genre Memories and Memory Genres", See also Michael Holquist, Dialogism: Bakhtin and His World (London: Routledge, 1990).
126. Olick, "Genre Memories and Memory Genres," 383.
127. See, Wagner-Pacifici "Memories in the Making."
128. See, Stallybrass and White, The Politics and Poetics of Transgression; James Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990)
129. See, Stallybrass and White, The Politics and Poetics of Transgression; James Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990)
130. James Scott, Weapons of the Weak. Everyday forms of peasant resistance (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985).
131. See, Charles Tilly, "Domination, Resistance, Compliance ... Discourse," Sociological Forum 6/3 (1991): 593-602.
132. Schwartz, "Memory and the Practices of Commitment."