https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.n31.13

Andrea Bonvillani
Orcid ID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0911-076X
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
abonvillani@gmail.com

Abstract:

This paper aims at moving forward argumentatively in the hypothesis that repressive control on youth from popular areas in Córdoba (Argentina) —a part of the security policy from provincial government leading to youth homicide practices— shows the effectiveness of a racialized imaginary, which has its roots in the conservative local cultural ethos. Its privileged enclaves are overarching Catholic religiosity and a highly valued controlling white minority culture, as untouchable social hierarchies. Following a qualitative analysis of a corpus drawn from varied current communication and expression sources (Facebook, opinion blogs) I was able to identify the «black» signifier within the Cordoban racist narrative. This works as a contempt display triggered from assumptions of poverty, immorality and dangerousness, all of which shows a historical sedimentation of these racialized imaginaries engraved in Argentina’s foundational project as a modern, white, and civilized nation.

Keywords: “Negros de alma”, juvenicide, Córdoba.