Political expressions of youth discontent

exploratory approaches to the situation in Argentina in recent years

Abstract

The result of the 2023 presidential elections in Argentina generated diverse reactions and debates. Between surprise, concern, bewilderment and enthusiasm, the public feelings and conversations of the last months of 2023 were decided. What was surprising in the Simultaneous and Mandatory Open Primaries (PASO) in August became a climate that oscillated between confusion and hope in the first round in October and a shock whose echoes are still felt when Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina in November 2023. Given this situation, we believe it is necessary to intensify our efforts to understand the dynamics of the Argentine political situation and the elements that led to the current political and social situation, which is also framed in regional and global disputes and currents. Based on our research work in recent years and the growing relevance they have had in resolving the results of the political process in Argentina and in other countries in the region, in this article we will focus on the realities of young people who became visible because of the 2023 election results. Thus, we will identify six dimensions that make up the complex, invisible youth realities that emerged at the end of 2023 in Argentina. These are: material and subjective precarization, the experience of young people in the pandemic and its echoes in the present, the digital world and its impacts on work, disputes over meaning in digital territories, disenchantment with previous political experiences and the affective and emotional component of voting today.