Enfrentando las políticas de integración y de ciudadanía: migrantes latinoamericanos en la ciudad europea

Over the last two decades, and with the so-called failure of multiculturalism, an important debate has emerged around integration policy making for immigrants in Europe. While these policies should aim to strengthen the participation of immigrant groups in all spheres of society and encourage intercultural processes, in practise, immigrants are made to shoulder the whole responsibility of their integration. Given the international economic and political context, Europe has underscored its rejection of non-western immigration and its policies tend to enforce control measures as well as the establishment of strict selection criteria. As shown in the Latin-American case, the efficiency of these policies is limited and migrants are participating in host societies through the use of informal social and civic networks and transnational activities developed by migrants themselves, instead of through formal policies designed to integrate them. Immigrants are opening alternative channels of participation in response to the weakness in the government's policies. The resurgence of the concepts of citizenship and national identity as a strategy for integration and social cohesion, and the urgency that characterises these integration policies despite the fact that they are processes that require long-term views and goals, are leading to the inefficiency –if not the failure– of these legislative efforts.     

Participación política de los migrantes. Reflexiones sobre la extensión de la ciudadanía en Argentina

Political participation for both, foreigners living in Argentina as well as nationals living abroad, is the topic of this paper. Through legislation, both groups have limited, in whole or in part, voting rights. An empirical study is carried out in order to identify that discrimination. The study of the legal framework allows us to verify whether or not migrants are considered political actors, empowered to participate actively in public life, and become part of the common will. This review reveals that there is a heterogeneous landscape of the legislative framework that enables the vote in national, provincial and local elections. It is argued that restricting citizenship to nationality or residence is a simple and unrealistic approach to contemporary human mobility. An open, inclusive and flexible citizenship is more consistent with a true democratic order.     

La resistencia al programa fuerte en la sociología del conocimiento: la asepsia científica y la amenaza del relativismo

In this article we defend the plausibility of adopting a Strong Program in the Sociology of Knowledge. We critically analyze various objections against it; in particular, we show that the auto-refutation charge is not decisive. We offer a Mertonian hypothesis to explain the reason why the Strong Program continues to be the target of very passionate attacks and mockery, despite its prima facie attractiveness and its affinity with contemporary epistemology. Such hypothesis suggests that at least some of the passionate arguments against the Strong Program are motivated by outrage occurring as a result of the violation of a central value of scientific endeavor.     

Entre la autonomía y la heteronomía. Socialización universitaria y prácticas profesionales de los sociólogos en la Argentina

This article studies the relation between university socialization and professional practices of sociologists in Argentina since democracy’s restoration in the mid-eighties. On the one hand, it examines orientations and ways of understanding the discipline transmitted by the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) curriculum contents and, on the other, it reconstructs the main labor market changes. Through the examination of the notion of autonomy (and its opposite, heteronomy), it aims to show that the professional practices of sociologists are strongly conditioned by the set of perception and classificatory schemes incorporated during university socialization. Those schemes, operating through a group of oppositions, contribute to the production of a set of “crafts” or modes of practicing sociology clearly differentiated according to the area or sphere of insertion.     

Valor de uso y espacio urbano: la ciudad como eje central de la conformación política,cultural y simbólica de las sociedades

This article outlines a theoretical proposal intended to understand the concept of use value applied to the study of the city and the urban space, in their origins and development. Based on Henri Lefebvre's views, the main argument of this work is that the city initially arises as use value. According to Bolívar Echeverría and Gilbert Durand approaches, the article claims that use value not only is material, signic and semiotic, but also symbolic. It is argued that the symbolic plays a crucial role in the construction of cities, just as important as economy and politics. A case study is carried out with the aim of suggesting a concurrence of theoretical interpretations ranging from historical materialism to symbolic hermeneutics. The author concludes that the city and the ordering of its urban space are major hubs around which societies are organized.     

Teoría del campo literario y subalternidad. Perspectivas metodológicas para el estudio de la poesía en el espacio literario ibérico

Abstract

La teoría del campo literario ha constituido una referencia importante para el estudio de literaturas definidas por su carácter subalterno o dependiente, y ha conocido interesantes desarrollos teóricos y aplicados en campos académicos como el gallego, el belga o el quebequés. Los modelos resultantes tienen varios elementos comunes, resultado de la crítica y de los ajustes metodológicos realizados sobre el marco teórico de partida. Entre estos últimos, destacan la consideración de una lógica nacionalista; la expansión de la idea de autonomía, entendida ahora en los sentidos estético, discursivo, e histórico-nacional; la identificación de especificidades en la estructura y el funcionamiento de este tipo de campos, así como la complementariedad con otras teorías del entorno empírico-sistémico. Los objetivos del artículo son el repaso de estos modelos y de las aplicaciones correlativas, la proyección de su rentabilidad en el espacio literario ibérico y, especialmente, el avance de pautas metodológicas para el estudio de la poesía. En relación con este último aspecto son estudiados determinados asuntos vertebrales: la identificación de habitus y principios de distinción; la inestabilidad de las relaciones entre canonización, subcampo de producción restringida, consagración, y vanguardia; o el papel asumido por la poesía en el reparto de funciones y capitales.     

Clase política y medios: explorando el fenómeno de la publicidad política encubierta en México

This work presents the results of a qualitative research that explores the phenomenon of political publicity on noncommercial television content, which has been growing since the electoral reform of 2007–2008. Since then, the acquisition of airtime for electoral advertising purposes, as well as the appearance of public officials on government advertising has been prohibited. The information was gathered through ‘in depth’ interviews, and analyzed through Strauss and Corbin grounded theory model, which allowed confirmation of the existence of covert political publicity, as well as to provide a definition of this concept and determine its causes, characteristics, and consequences. It was concluded that, despite the legal modification aiming to guarantee a more equitable political communication model and the eradication of airtime commercialization for electoral campaigning, this was not achieved due to structural conditions of the political system in Mexico and the relation between media and government, which impacts political communication, and extends beyond the electoral issue and its regulatory framework.     

Democracia radical,entre la crítica y el nihilismo: un abordaje de la propuesta desde el diálogo entre Ernesto Laclau y Slavoj Žižek

This article hypothesizes that the work of Ernesto Laclau is a proposal that aims to be a review, in times of crisis, to the very idea of criticism. Throughout the years, this thinker has defended his proposal for radical democracy to different remarks and rants. In these pages, we propose resuming talks between Laclau and Slavoj Žižek as one of the possible ways to address this debate. Given the difficulty of providing an exhaustive answer to the main question in our debate, we have raised the issue in terms of the “risks” or “dangers” that the work of Laclau approaches, while avoiding definitive statements.     

Entre la racionalidad tecnocrática y la gobernabilidad La importancia del consenso político en México

Since the 1980s the technocratic elite has controlled the Mexican economy, regardless of whether the country is governed by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional or an opposition party. On top of showing an uncommitted stance in ideological or party terms, the elite has maintained a strict control of national public finances thus generating considerable political and electoral consequences in the country. Regardless of whether there exist or not different economic options, the main problem lies in that this elite has been unable to gain the society's support. The rationality that characterizes this elite does not admit communication with society nor does it take into consideration its opinion concerning the decisions they take. This has led to an extreme politicization of economic decisions of political parties. This article intends to expose the features of the Mexican technocracy, its development and survival during the transition, as well as the mediation flaws that have impeded communication between the society and governmental authorities concerning the development and implementation of economic measures.     

Más allá de la representación y del clientelismo: hacia un lenguaje de la intermediación política

This paper proposes rethinking conceptual scopes of the term “political mediation”, in order to illustrate the analytical scope of indirect politics, whose range of possibilities has usually been thought of as if contained between the extremes of political representation and patronage. An analytical exercise is offered as one possible and tentative path to specify not only a vocabulary which is more sensitive to the demands of the present but to –in the words of Bunge– allow the initial reinterpretation of old symbols of our political vocabulary. To this end, in addition to a linguistic and conceptual journey of the term “intermediation”, three analytical dimensions of indirect policy are developed; thus facilitating dialogue with theories of representation, and leading to an analytical model that we call “cube of indirect politics”. We conclude with a brief case classification exercise intended to show the displacements produced by this model in understanding certain indirect political experiences.     

Inmigrantes laborales y flujo en tránsito en la Frontera Sur de México: dos manifestaciones del proceso y una política migratoria

This text presents a characterization of Guatemalan labor immigration into Mexico, its historical perspective and processes of change in relation to new places of destination, crossings and labor insertions. It also sets out the most fundamental traits of migrants who cross Mexican territory when in transit from Central America, new crossing trajectories and social costs in terms of human rights, within a framework of greater social vulnerability. It analyzes the role that the Mexican state has played in relation to the establishment of a new migration policy set forth in the last two administrations (2001–2012) by the Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party), institutional and legislative arrandos gements, progress and unresolved matters with respect to the proclamation of human and labor rights. It is concluded that even though unprecedented progress has been made in terms of immigration regulations, these policies still have serious shortcomings with regards to Central American immigration into Mexico, be it labor immigration or migrants in transit. This migration has taken on new forms and has registered qualitative and quantitative changes in crossing, in an environment of greater risk in Mexican territory.     

La sociedad civil de adentro hacia afuera Comunidad,organización y desafío de la influencia política

Having developed conceptually and analytically civil society as a sociological category (based on a conceptual reflection stemming from a theoretical-epistemological dialogue between the collectivist and liberal perspectives), this article accounts for the implications that allow us to understand the potential of civil society in contributing to democratization. Throughout this work the dynamics that characterize the ambiguous relationship between civil society and community –ambiguous in as much communities with exceptionally strong ties between its members can provide both elements for the strengthening of civil society as well as obstacles to its growth– are analyzed. It is argued that the role of communities in relation to civil society in the social construction and civil strengthening of citizenship will depend on several factors, particularly the mechanisms available to build consensus within the community. The threat stemming from neopluralism as a novel discourse of interest intermediation, both for the community and civil society, is explored. In the final section, the implications of this discourse for democracy are discussed.     

Integración,mestizaje y nacionalismo en el México revolucionario. Forjando Patria de Manuel Gamio: la diversidad subordinada al afán de unidad

This paper analyzes the integration program in Manuel Gamio's Forjando Patria as a national project arising in the historical context of revolutionary Mexico, where cultural diversity is conditional on the idea of unity. Firstly, we trace the relationship of the integration program with its history, the concepts of “mestizaje” and “mestizo” of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Secondly, we analyze the influence of some European models of nationality and socio-cultural change on Gamio's integrationism, in the context of socio-ethnic heterogeneity in Mexico during 1916. Finally, we highlight the links between the concepts of cultural diversity become visible, nation and nationalism in this author's work.     

Migración,lucha por la vivienda y transnacionalismo socio-político: El caso de Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio

Transnationalism is, within Mexican migration studies, the predominant perspective to explain collective action undertaken by Mexicans in the United States. It takes into account the Mexican “diaspora's” interest and political participation in their hometowns. This article challenges transnationalism's basic tenet and proposes, instead, the notion of socio-political transnationalism. Nevertheless, the article emphasizes on how migrants fist act collectively to improve their living conditions in the host societies, rather than organizing around their ties with their homeland. This kind of organizing does not imply indifference towards the situation in their country of origin. It does mean, however, that the transnational perspective falls into a second plane. To illustrate, we will depict the history of Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio, an immigrants' organization in the City of New York, principally Mexican based, and their struggle against the gentrifying attempts taking place in East Harlem. We will also look at their political vision and the links they have created with organizations in Mexico.     

Entre la pampa del lenguaje y el alambrado de la escritura: la mancha roja como síntoma de la ambigüedad de lo real en La ocasión de Juan José Saer

La presencia recurrente del color rojo en La ocasión de Saer desempeña una función desestabilizadora en relación a la representación figurativa. En el artículo se establecen analogías entre esta función y el elemento voluble, no mimético de la pintura que el pensador e historiador de arte, Georges Didi-Huberman, denomina como “pan” en contraste con el detalle, categoría asociada con el carácter icónico de la pintura. Al igual que el “pan”, las manchas rojas en la novela apuntan a la dimensión de lo real que se resiste a la legibilidad y señala los límites de la narrativa realista. Saer se vale de contrastes cromáticos para aludir a tensiones políticas y epistemólogicas y a las paradojas de escribir una novela situada en el siglo diecinueve pero incorporando la experiencia literaria del siglo veinte.     

Bataille a la rencontre d''''un saint:Van Gogh

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Más allá del crisol de razas: los judíos argentinos,el peronismo y la lucha por un hogar multicultural

Acknowledging the surge of Peronism as a critical turning point in Argentina's modern history -which has had a lasting impact on the contemporary society-, this study is focused on a very specific analytical perspective: the peculiarities of the process of insertion of different ethnic groups and their Argentina-born descendants during the first Peronism. The author describes changes in political representation and the various dimensions of the participative democratization process that the Peronist Argentina went through, and he later examines the Peronist efforts to mobilizing support within the Jewish-Argentinian population. Assuming that instead of promoting a traditional melting pot, the regime gave an increasing legitimacy and an unprecedented acknowledgment to multiple identities, this article asserts that before the rise of Peronism, Jewish were not always considered as part of the Argentinian polis, civitas or demos. Finally, the concept of citizenship is used as focal point and analytic framework to understand the change in the relationship among Argentinian-Jewish, the institutions, and the symbols of the Argentinian state.