'This is a lot like the Bronx, isn't it?' Lived experiences of marginality in an Argentine slum

Based on life-stories, in-depth interviews and informal conversations, this article focuses on the lived experiences of the inhabitants of a slum in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first part of the article explores the political-economic context of deepening marginalization of the slum population in contemporary Argentina, paying special attention to the mutually reinforcing processes of massification of under- and unemployment, impoverishment and state retrenchment. The second part of the article analyses the impact of such increasing marginalization on the lived experiences of slum-dwellers in Villa Paraiso. In particular, it focuses on (a) the dominant antagonisms that divide the residents of this destitute neighbourhood; and (b) the feeling of social isolation and abandonment that pervades much of the reality of slum-dwellers. The article finds some experiential similarities between slum-dwellers in Argentina and residents of other enclaves of urban poverty in advanced societies.