Science and Technology Production
Presidential Approval During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Argentina
Book Chapter
Authorship:
Michelle Fernández ; Carlos Machado ; MARÍA LAURA TAGINADate:
2021Publishing House and Editing Place:
SpringerBook:
COVID-19's political challenges in Latin America (pp. 121-132)Springer
ISBN:
978-3-030-77601-5Summary *
In the midst of a new economic crisis and while negotiating the payment of the foreign debt with private creditors, the Argentine government was one of the earliest to impose a mandatory lockdown, in order to slow down the spread of coronavirus-Covid-19 and gain time to fine-tune the health system. These measures initially enjoyed high rates of approval, which resulted in an impasse in the dynamics of political polarization of public opinion. Such measures were accompanied by a strategy of cooperation among political elites, an event of unusual occurrence in the country (Tagina 2011). At the same time, the social containment measures implemented prevented the social overflows anticipated for the most vulnerable neighborhoods of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, threatened by a lack of income and proper sanitary conditions to face the pandemic. This scenario of cooperation and strengthening of the presidential figure, however, started cracking as the lockdown was extended, giving rise to protests demanding the reopening of economic activities. This chapter analyzes the dynamics of public opinion during the management of the pandemic in Argentina and evaluates the factors modifying the levels of presidential popularity. Information provided by the agent in SIGEVAKey Words
ArgentinaPandemicCovid19Presidential Approval