ACTORES Y PRÁCTICAS DE MEDIACIÓN EN CONTEXTOS DE PROTESTA LOCAL. EL MOVIMIENTO DE DESOCUPADOS EN LA MULTICRISIS DEL 2001-2002

In studies of social protest, not all the actors involved have received the same level of attention. So-called mediators have attracted marginal interest in research compared to the focus on the protagonists of contentious actions or the antagonists; even when “third actors” are taken into account, they are considered as allies or parts of action and cooperation networks. Our proposal is to address the mediation practices that were developed in response to the protests of the unemployed movement during the 2001-2002 crisis in the city of Río Cuarto. The aim of this text is to reconstruct the strategies, discourses, and actions that were implemented in response to the public emergence of that movement. Therefore, a qualitative methodology is employed, focusing on recovering the narratives of the protagonists, in addition to documentary work that will allow for triangulation of techniques in data construction. We believe that this study contributes to the discussion about the complexity of protest actions within the democratic framework of local urban spaces, revealing specific processes of social participation during critical stages.