Empowerment through mistrust?

Abstract Argentinian street-level bureaucrats face challenges with informal credit practices in providing access to justice in shantytowns. These practices, common in Bolivia, lead to conflicts when applied in Argentina. Scammers often exploit newly arrived Bolivian migrants, ensnaring them in fraudulent agreements. Due to how regulations governing these practices cannot be enforced in such informal settlements, prosecuting such cases is difficult, prompting street-level bureaucrats to advocate for heightened caution and mistrust. Conflicts arising from unregulated property rights and informal credit practices in shantytowns are thus framed by them as issues requiring close attention. Such bureaucrats aim to empower advice-seekers, encouraging them to become sceptical citizens – even towards the state and its institutions. This may seem contradictory, as access to justice typically aims to foster trust between citizens and the state. However, the article underscores that mistrust is valued by street-level bureaucrats as a defensive mechanism, for it is seen as an integral part of an empowered citizenry.