THE PERFORMATIVITY OF THE STATE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF EMPLOYMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES OF BUENOS AIRES

Abstract

This article analyses social representations of employment at the local level in two municipalities in the Province of Buenos Aires, focusing on its relation with the performative capacity of different forms of state intervention. Using a predominantly qualitative methodological approach, it examines how common-sense representations update memories of state action, thereby forming a shared symbolic structure. The article seeks to contribute to the field of subnational politics and the sociology of public problems, incorporating an analytical dimension centered on the production of meanings related to the state and the horizons of legitimacy of public intervention, whilst problematising the relationship between public intervention, employment and citizenship at the local level.