Constructing (in) the margins of the state: between "development" policies and counterinsurgency strategies (Chaco, Argentina, 1976-80) ; Construire (dans) les marges de l'État, entre politiques de 'développement' et stratégies de contre-insurrection (Chaco, Argentine, 1976-1980)

Abstract

International audience ; In order to produce a thorough-going sociopolitical reconfiguration, Argentina's civilian-military dictatorship (1976-1983) did not merely implement a system for the forced disappearance of individuals but also undertook territorial and urban reorganization at the national level. The present article considers one of these programs: the creation of strategic villages. My research seeks to understand how the state implements social engineering projects in which the spatial reinvention of peripheral territories sought to radically modify a social group and the political-economic situation of the zone in question. To do so, I examine the creation of Chaco Province's Fuerte Esperanza village in the framework of what was known as the "Western Campaign" undertaken in the "El Impenetrable" region (1976-1980). I show how, under cover of what was presented as a "development program", Fuerte Esperanza was also created for purposes of counterinsurgency. I seek to understand and deconstruct the discourses and practices associated with these types of "military civic action" programs. Moreover, I am the first to advance the argument that continuities existed between the creation of this village and other similar programs of the time in Argentina (mainly in the province of Tucumán). ; Pour produire une profonde reconfiguration sociopolitique, la dictature civilo-militaire en Argentine (1976-1983) n'a pas seulement mis en œuvre un système de disparition forcée des personnes, elle a également essayé une réorganisation territoriale et urbaine au niveau national. Nous nous intéressons ici à l'un de ces programmes : la création de villages stratégiques. Notre recherche a pour objectif de comprendre comment l'État met en œuvre des projets d'ingénierie sociale dans lesquels la réinvention spatiale de territoires périphériques a pour objectif de modifier radicalement un groupe social ainsi que la situation économico-politique de la zone concernée. Pour cela, nous analysons la création du village Fuerte ...