ABSTRACT
Resumen El desarrollo de estudios en torno a la memoria colectiva da lugar a la consideración de nuevas elaboraciones y distinciones en su composición. De estas últimas, hay dos que son relevantes al presente estudio. La primera, en relación a la fuente del recuerdo, distingue entre una memoria comunicativa y una memoria cultural. La segunda, en relación al tipo de recuerdo, distingue entre la memoria colectiva semántica vivida (MCSV) y la memoria colectiva semántica distante (MCSD). También se considera la forma de afectación que han tenido los hechos sobre los participantes y la autocategorización ideológica/política de los participantes. El presente estudio aborda cómo los factores tipo de recuerdo, afectación e ideología influyeron en el contenido del recuerdo colectivo de la crisis de 2001, considerando a los temas/ideas principales. 80 participantes respondieron a una tarea de recuerdo libre. Se llevaron a cabo múltiples Análisis de la Varianza (ANOVAs). Los resultados muestran que los distintos grupos (MCSV y MCSD; Afectados Directamente e Indirectamente; Derecha e Izquierda) comparten los mismos contenidos, caracterizados por una descripción de hechos y por una ausencia de contextualización de los mismos. Las pocas diferencias tienden a mostrar un clima emocional y social de la época, ofrecido por aquellos participantes con recuerdos vividos y afectados indirectamente. No se encontraron diferencias en función de la autocategorización ideológica/política. Esta falta de diferencias se explicaría por las características propias de una memoria a predominio comunicativo, como la de la crisis de 2001, que no promovería la elaboración de contextos en la memoria colectiva.
Abstract Among the distinctions in the field of collective memory studies, there is one that refers to the source of the memories, and is growing in force and importance: that is, the distinction between communicative and cultural memories. Another important distinction refers to the type of memories that constitute collective memories, and is the one between Lived Semantic Collective Memory and Distant Semantic Collective Memory. Another two important factors are the ideology of the rememberer and how was the rememberer affected by the crisis. The present study aims to investigate how the last three factors (type of memory, being affected or not, and ideology) influenced the content of collective recall of the 2001 crisis, considering themes/main ideas as dependent variables. As national memories allow us to study collective memory, the present study is focused on the memories Argentinians have of the economic, political and social crisis of 2001. This is considered the most profound economic and financial crisis in Argentina´s recent history. After years of economic recession, the crisis was triggered by an economic measure called "corralito," which almost completely froze bank accounts and thereby prevented people from withdrawing their money. Demonstrations and protests followed, which contributed to the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa after he declared a state of siege. Police action resulted in more than 30 deaths. Institutional and political chaos and a succession of five Presidents in one week followed De la Rúa's resignation. Despite its magnitude, there is not a cultural memory constituted around this event. For example, there are only a few books, films, memorials or monuments on this event, it has received little attention in High School history curricula, and there is not a national commemorative day. That is why it is considered an event around which people have predominantly a communicative memory. Conversely, the 1976 coup d´état and the military dictatorship that followed has led to the development of a cultural memory (for example, there are many books, movies, monuments or memorials, and a national commemorative day). In the present study, participants´ memories about the 2001 crisis are considered. Eighty participants responded to a free-recall task about the crisis. Two groups of forty participants were conformed, one with Lived Semantic Collective Memory and the other with Distant Semantic Collective Memory. At the same time, half of the members of each of these groups were directly affected by the crisis, and the other half was indirectly affected. The political ideology of the participants in terms of right and left is also considered. The dependent variables were the themes or main ideas that constitute the participants recall of the 2001 crisis. Multiple Anova´s were performed. Results showed that participants with Lived Semantic Collective Memories and indirectly affected remembered themes/main ideas which offered information regarding the social and emotional climate of that period or, in the case of those with Lived Semantic Collective Memories, a themes/main idea that assigned responsibilities for the crisis. We found no differences as a function of ideology. But most importantly, results show a predominant lack of differences in the themes/main ideas remembered by different groups. Overall, the recall is mostly composed of themes/main ideas that are mostly descriptive of the different facts that took place during the 2001 crisis. There are no differences for themes/main ideas that offered a more contextualized recall. In general, results are explained in terms of the kind of memories promoted by communicative memories, which are less elaborated, more emotional and composed mostly of facts. In contrast, cultural memories seem to offer a more contextualized version, with causes and consequences that explain the facts.
ABSTRACT
El recuerdo del Golpe de Estado de 1976 en Argentina ofrece una oportunidad para estudiar los procesos de formación y composición de la memoria colectiva. En el trabajo que se informa se estudió cómo los contenidos del recuerdo del golpe son afectados por dos factores: las generaciones que lo recuerdan y la ideología política de los participantes. Con este objetivo, se solicitó a 52 participantes argentinos y de ambos sexos que completaran una tarea de Recuerdo Libre entorno a los hechos del Golpe de Estado de 1976. Se dividió la muestra en dos grupos de 26 sujetos, uno estuvo compuesto por personas que vivieron durante esos años (mayores de 48 años) y el otro, por personas de una generación que no vivió aquella época (menores de 30). Se consideró también la ideología política de los participantes (Izquierda o Derecha). Se utilizó un enfoque de análisis descriptivo, centrado en analizar el contenido del recuerdo, considerando qué temas / ideas principales lo conformaban. Los resultados muestran una mayoría de temas comunes al recuerdo de los distintos grupos. Estos elementos comunes conformarían una memoria nacional del golpe. También muestran que la generación y la ideología política promueven temas / ideas principales propios de cada grupo. Aquellos de la generación mayor recordaron más temas / ideas principales de tipo contextual y emocional / afectivo. Los de la generación menor recordaron en mayor medida los hechos acontecidos durante la dictadura. Los sujetos del grupo de Izquierda recordaron temas / ideas principales vinculados a la violencia de Derecha y más aspectos contextuales que los del grupo de Derecha. Se propone que hay un sistema de memoria nacional que operaría en los sujetos y que es afectado por las metas y objetivos de cada grupo.
Argentina, as well as others Latin American countries, lived through a military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. Because of the magnitude of its consequences, it is a period of the Argentinean history that is still discussed by its citizens and that has a place in the educational curricula of the country now. Moreover, its current importance is evident, for example, as shown in the ongoing trials for the responsibilities of the crimes committed by the militaries so many years ago, and the frequent news of people recovering their stolen identity after being born in captivity during those years and being raised by families that appropriated them. A collective memory of the events taking place over those years is in the process of constitution and development. As people talk about it, as new information is spread on the news, as justice works over those committing the terrible crimes during that period in Argentina, a collective memory of the 1976 coup d’état takes shape. One aim of the present work was to contribute to the study of the collective memory of the coup d´état of 1976 in Argentina. Even though this issue has received attention in previous studies, an empirical approach towards it that focuses on the discourse of the memories of the participants, conforms a new contribution. Another aim of this study was to contribute to the study of collective memory from a psychological perspective. Recalls of the coup d´état of 1976 in Argentina offer one of those opportunities to study the processes of formation and constitution of collective memory. In the present study, we are interested in studying how the contents of the recall of the coup d´état are affected by two specific factors: generations and ideology. Our interest is to study how similar and different are the memories for those events for different generations of citizens. We are basically considering those who lived through those years and those who learned about those same events indirectly, through books, documentary, news, etc. We are also interested in studying how much political ideology can affect the recall of those events. In that, we considered the basic ideological distinction between left and right. The dependent variable was a concrete aspect of the content of the recall: the -mes / main ideas. A total of 52 subjects participated in the study. The sample was divided in two groups, one of which was constituted by subjects who lived-through those years. This was the older generation group. The other group conformed the younger generation and was integrated by subjects that didn’t live through those years because they were not yet born. At the same time, people from the left and right ideologies composed each of these two groups. Participants completed a Free Recall Test, where we asked them to recall all of what they could remember about the events around March 24, 1976. We focused on analyzing the content of there call, considering the themes / main ideas that configured it. There are common elements of the recall that seem to configure a national memory of the coup d´état. However, generations and political ideology promoted themes / main ideas typical of each group. Those of the older generation remembered more contextual and emotional / affective themes / main ideas. Those of the younger generation remembered more facts that took place during the military dictatorship. People with a left wing ideology remembered more themes / main ideas related to the ‘Right wing violence’ and more contextual aspects than those with a right wing ideology. A national memory system that would operate in the citizens and that is affected by the goals of each group is proposed.