Family, the strength of the Leagues. Political structure and organization of the Agrarian Leagues in the Argentinian coastline (1960-1970). An insight from gender perspective, memories and identities

Abstract

At the beginning of 1970, influenced by the Movimiento Rural de Acción Católica (MRAC – Catholic Action Rural Movement) and the Juventud Cooperativista (Cooperative Youth), thousands of rural families gave birth to the Agrarian Leagues in different Argentinian provinces, demanding land ownership and better conditions in the production and commercialization of agricultural products. The Agrarian Leagues rose along with a series of historical and political transformations that were shaking the country and the whole of Latin América at that time.

The families are considered to have played a major role in the Leagues. In this regard, the aim is to delve into the structure and organization of the Leagues, in particular into the ones that developed in the coastline area, taking into consideration the strategies of political construction that they carried out. The objective is to explore the significance that the social actors built towards the family. Finally, as it is inferred that women must have been the guarantors of the process of participation of the whole family, their political participation and the place that they occupied in the agrarian political organization is analyzed.

In a dictatorial context of political persecution and imperialist advance, the Leagues were one of the most important forms of political and cultural resistance in Latin America. Despite the havoc caused by the last civilian military dictatorship, it still remains in the memory of those who took part in that resistance. Because of this, the approach adopted centers in the significance that the social actors give to their stories, and the way they retell and build their memories. Therefore, the fieldwork is the backbone of the anthropological job and the in-depth interviews the preferred tool to give an account of the testimonial value of their words. A reflection on knowledge building is implied.