Retrospective of the State and the politics of childhood.

The construction of the agenda in the city of Buenos Aires between the 80’s and 90’s

Abstract

Starting from an autobiographical journey with references to certain experiences in the area of childhood, the article analyzes the shifts in the political agenda of the city of Buenos Aires between the 80’s and 90’s. Upon the return of democracy, early childhood seemed to be among the agenda priorities but was later relegated. In contrast, the “children from / on the street” emerged as a more urgent and visible problem that allowed to confront with institutionalization policies –which were emblematic of the tutelary model–. In addition, those years witnessed the emergence of programs “alternative” to assistentialism and to the aforementioned model, combining socio-educational projects and territorial support networks in critical situations. The article draws from (and is written from the level of ) the implementation of these experiences -diverse in their modalities but with some shared characteristics in terms of their framing and approach- that are usually overshadowed by the dichotomous confrontation between two models (the tutelary and the rights approach) that strengthened that period’s agenda towards a normative dispute.