Abstract

GARCIA, Analía. Categories of adscription and political dynamics at North Patagonia starting from the hydrocarbon exploitation. Etnográfica [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.2, pp.291-313. ISSN 0873-6561.

At the beginning of the 21th century, hydrocarbon exploitation began in Buta Ranquil, an Argentine village situated in north Patagonia and grounded on a traditional peasant subsistence economy. There, civil construction related with oil production started and promoted the arrival of migrant workmen. In a very short period of time, the traditional peasant’s way of life started to change and contrast with the new social dynamics that the industry and commerce brought along. In this article, the objective is to analyze how consuetudinary categories of adscription work in a context of social change between the original inhabitants and migrants, focusing on the political dynamics. We argue that these categories serve as frameworks in which social distance regarding newcomers is part of a process of stigmatization. In addition, working with anthropological categories such as “rumor” and “reputation” enables us to understand how the new productive context impacts the pre-existing socio-cultural framework. Finally, we will argue that personal affinities based on these categories of adscription stress political alliances built over regional frames.

Keywords : categories of adscription; political dynamic; social change; stigma.

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