ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the results are triangulated from Latinobarómetro Survey data (2005) and three sets of in-depth interviews (2007, 2011 and 2016) to explore the demobilization and remobilization of Argentina’s struggling middle class between 2003 and 2018. Four separate periods are identified: first, the post-2001 crisis appeasement and demobilization of the first two years of Néstor Kirchner’s government (2003–05). Second, the sporadic outbursts of rebellion that characterized the latter half of Néstor’s government and the first term of Cristina’s following the Blumberg protests and Countryside Conflict (2006–11). Third, that of Cristina’s second term, when the middle class commenced a series of mass mobilizations against her government (2012–15). Then fourth, the first two years of Mauricio Macri’s government (2016–18) which sparked the largest, most multisectoral protests since 2001.
