(De)politicising Argentinian cultural policy? an analysis of Macri’s cultural policy (2015–19)

ABSTRACT

How can the “political dimension” of cultural policies in Argentina during Macri’s term be analysed? Politicisation is understood as a “mechanism of (re)qualification of activity and/or an attempt to exceed the limits of the sectorisation of activities”. Whether social or cultural, activities are qualified as political, and thus disqualified by some members of Macri’s government. To what extent has the “requalification” of the socio-cultural programme Puntos de Cultura’s objectives, and activities by the Ministry of Culture’s executives, affected the programme’s functioning during this term? Is the cultural policy carried out by Cambiemos free of politicisation? To answer the above, the article begins with the general aims of Argentinian cultural policy since the mid-2000s, and the origins, functioning and team of Puntos de Cultura, a programme deemed highly – and problematically – politicised by members of the government.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural policy
• politisation
• socio-cultural programme
• philosophy of action
• New Public Management
• Argentina

Acknowledgement

I would like to warmly thank the anonymous reviewers for their very pertinent remarks and their suggestions, which have greatly enriched this article.

Notes

1 Agent’s names have been fully anonymised.

2 “Anthropology of culture has moved away from this view” (Williams, 1981, p. 10, cited by Gray, 2010).

3 Cambiemos gathered several centre right parties: the PRO (Propuesta Republicana) created by Macri, the UCR, and the Coalición cívica.

4 This has been shown by the comparative analysis of Argentina and Mexico’s cultural policies.

5 Three other officers, director for the accounting management of PdC, were in another open space. This limited the interactions I had with them.

6 The name comes from Giberto Gil who compared the promotion of the “living culture” of communities “to the release of energy experienced in Chinese do-in massage. By massaging these vital points, the cultural body of the nation, momentarily battered or dormant, is energised” (Yúdice, 2019).

7 PdC aims to network these organisations, through digital means, in addition to organising meetings.

8 The report entitled “Evaluation System. Actions – Organisations – Culture”, was published in 2019.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elodie Bordat-Chauvin

Elodie Bordat-Chauvin is a lecturer in sociology and head of the Master's degree in Cultural Policies and Management in Europeat the Institute of European Studies (University of Paris 8) and a researcher at CRESPPA LabTop. Her research focuses on the transnationalcirculation of cultural action programmes, or on the effects of austerity on cultural policies in Latin America. Her books are published inL'Harmattan (2018) and Peter Lang (2015).