“If Health Wins, People Win.” Class, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Health Conflict in the Province of Neuquén, Argentina (2021)

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the process whereby a claim from the public health sector of Neuquén (Argentina) rose to the provincial level and manifested as roadblocks throughout the province. We conducted analysis from an intersectional methodological perspective and argue that the rapid escalation in tone of the conflict and its wide repercussions were the result of the political articulation of various subjects. We will emphasize how identification with a class-based claim was realized by two actors that we determine as central: social organizations - we will take the case of “Corriente Clasista y Combativa” (CCC) for its outstanding role in collective actions - and the Mapuce people. Then, we analyze the dynamics generated in the framework of the days of struggle that enable visibility to gender and ethnic issues, which have been shaping the  strategies of demand articulation and redefining the mobilized health collective that is leading the protest.