The emergence of "insecurity" as a public political problem in post-dictatorial Argentina

In the last decade, public security has become one of the most important concerns for citizenship in Argentina and source of one of the major social demands. This paper seeks to contribute to the study of historical and cultural processes through which "insecurity" was constructed as a public political problem. Specifically, it aims to demonstrate how its emergence is related to a transformation of argentine society associated with the neoliberal reform of the State and the formation of a neo-conservative consensus. It focuses on a key moment in this process, the hyperinflationary crisis period (1989-1990), which precipitated the resignation of President Raul Alfonsin and marked the end of "democratic transition", and encouraged and legitimized the policies implemented by the administration of Carlos Menem. It proceeds through a detailed study of mass-media discourses about events that were the subject of a huge media coverage and were center of intense and controversial debates: the "lootings" of 1989, the "Mostafa case" and the "Santos case".