Abstract

PIZARRO, Cynthia Alejandra. Racism in the discourses of argentinean bosses about bolivian labor migrants: a case study in a workplace in Cordoba, Argentina. Convergencia [online]. 2012, vol.19, n.60, pp.225-285. ISSN 2448-5799.

The aim of this paper is to undertake a case study in order to inquire how racism appears in the discourses of Argentinean bosses about Bolivian migrants who live and work in a settlement where bricks are manufactured, located in the periurban zone of the city of Cordoba, Argentina. Assuming that discursive practices are constitutive and constituent of social facts, we develop an appropriate analytical framework for the study of everyday racism. Based on the analysis of ethnographic fieldwork records and news regarding Bolivian immigrants published in local graphic media, we address the ways in which racism is reproduced, bearing in mind the particular socio-historical context in which Bolivians were visualized as immigrant workers. We argue that the boss of the analyzed workplace and his close family use racist stereotypes and prejudices, thus justifying and naturalizing the assignation of Bolivian workers to tough and badly paid posts, as well as the precarious and informal conditions of the production process.

Keywords : racism; discourse; bolivian migrants; workplace; Cordoba-Argentina.

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