Auyero 2000

Auyero, Javier. 2000. "The Logic of Clientelism in Argentina: An Ethnographic Account". Latin American Research Review. 35 (3): 55-81.

• Story of Norma, who opens a unidad basica (grassroots Peronism center) and her relationshi pwith rising politician Gustavo Pedele
• Norma is the puntera, Pedele the referente
• at first Norma has minimal access to state resources
• "the important thing to know is the right person" (56) -- mobilize people and know the right person and you can get access to resources
• the "red peronista" operates a problem-solving network that institutes a web of material and symbolic resource distribution (57)
• Clientelism must be approached from its least known and least specatcular side: the everyday dealings, the practices and perspectives of clients, the problem solving network that links clients, brokers, and patrons (58)
• fieldwork from the 1990s
• Argument: as neoliberalism was decreasing the role of the state in providing for society, clientelism and political networks became increasingly important for gaining access...indeed, clientelist networks began to replace the functions that the state was abandoning (60)
• hyper-unemployment has drained the slum economy, causing informal reciprocal netowrks to bleed to death (62)
• in Villa Paraíso survival strategies are increasingly embedded in political networks
• this is reinforced when there simply isn't a formal economy for these people to ever refill their private funds with
• political party has become the most reliable means of satisfying the poor's basic needs (63)
• the punteros similarly can't find resources outside of the party
• Brokers and their networks
• the punteros closest helpers stick around in hopes that the puntero may find them a job
• the inner circle does a lot of the legwork for solving everyday problems of the slum dwellers (66)
• the outer circle has contacts with the puntero, but they are looser (67)
• punteros function as gatekeepers between the municipal government and the people
• the differences in brokers stems from their control of resources from above
• sometimes brokers specifically give incorrect information to their clients in order to maintain their role as the only channel through which resources can be found (68)
• social workers, NGOs, and other community activists get angry with this (69)
• in neighborhoods where social organizations have disappeared (due to deep poverty), punteros become the only place to access information, thus becoming indispensable problem solvers for neighborhood dwellers
• punteros also work hard to reinforce their necessity in this regard
• The client's perspective
• punteros are sometimes seen as using the people, or corrupt politicians, especially by those who don't use their services (70)
• but to members of their inner circle, and those who rely on them as problem solvers, punteros are usually caring people who personally solve problems for others
• the punteros become the ones distributing the resources, not the state (71)
• elections are seen as times to solve problems...(we have to wait for an election) (72)
• but many others see assistance as a more consistent thing, not a part of "politics"
•  norms of assistance and problem solving become understood...i get this, i go to a rally (73)
• brokers present their job as deriving from a passion for helping people...those in a broker's network agree, though those outside of a network suggest brokers are simply in it for themselves
• the tie between client and broker is only maintained as long as the broker seems/is able to deliver! (74)
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