Imported Consumer Goods and Hegemony: External Constraints and Hegemonic Capacities of the Argentinian State

Abstract

Debates about the link between the economic conjuncture and the fall of the so-called Pink Tide in Latin America often focus on the role played by raw material exports. However, this article shows that import dependency also played a significant role in the decline of the Argentinian iteration of the Pink Tide, also known as Kirchnerism. First, it analyses how imported consumer goods contributed to what is referred to as external constraints of the Argentinian economy. Second, from the perspective of hegemony theory, it argues that the Argentinian government alienated the middle class by implementing measures related to highly symbolic aspects of everyday life. Here, the article uses the term hegemonic capacities to analyze how structural constraints influenced the political room for maneuver of the Argentinian state. Its findings raise further theoretical questions about the relationship between economic and political constraints in the construction of hegemony for governments in Latin America.