ABSTRACT
In the marginalised communities of Argentina-indeed in many parts of Latin America-civil society organisations (CSOs) play a prominent role in the provision of social services to the poor and as forces for collective action (Roitter et al. 1999; Roberts and Portes 2006). The aim of this chapter is to analyse the historical roots, characteristics and contribution to fighting poverty of CSOs in urban slum communities based on fieldwork undertaken in two of the city of Buenos Aires’ largest informal settlements: the villa 1-11-14 of Bajo Flores and the villa 21-24 of Barracas.
