In Search of the Lost Decade

“This excellent study provides a new take on the 1980s in Latin America by revealing how the Alfonsín administration in Argentina channeled popular demands for social justice, political participation, and economic opportunity. In contrast to familiar accounts of the transition from military to civilian rule, In Search of the Lost Decade focuses our attention on overlooked features of Alfonsinista democracy, particularly its struggles to blend human rights discourses with broader promises of freedom from want and equitable national development.”––Eduardo Elena, Associate Professor of History, University of Miami

“For those of us who lived in Argentina during the Alfonsín presidency, it is hard to imagine those years as history. But indeed they are, as Jennifer Adair’s fine-grained analysis of the period demonstrates with clarity and great critical acumen. The study also creates a certain nostalgia, memories of the optimism of those years that are so far from the country’s current mood and troubles. The country’s ongoing struggle to rebuild democracy needs to reassess the lessons of that hopeful period when so many things seemed possible.”––James Brennan, Professor of History, University of California, Riverside

“Adair has written a compelling account of the social foundations that grounded the democratic return in Argentina. By casting light on a previously neglected area, this book helps us better understand not only Alfonsín’s presidency, but also the fate of Argentina’s democracy to the present.”––Ezequiel Adamovsky, Professor of Argentine History, University of Buenos Aires and University of San Martín