Working Paper No. 72. Subverting the Spaces of Invitation? - local politics and participatory budgeting in post-crisis Buenos Aires

Abstract

This paper examines the political situation in Argentina in the wake of the mass protests of December 2001, which became known as the Argentinazo. Following the unprecedented turmoil in the country, which led to the resignation of President De la Rua and to the largest sovereign default in history, business ground to a halt and unemployment soared, leaving over half the population living below the poverty line by June 2002. The paper considers what new forms of political participation have emerged since the Argentinazo and analyses their relationship to the state. In particular, it examines what Andrea Cornwall has termed \'invited\' spaces - whereby political spaces are opened up to non-state actors - and analyses what consequences they might have for democratic practices