Argentina, A Tale of Two Utopias

Anarchism, Soccer, Neoliberalism

Tomas Rothaus

• Publisher: PM Press
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN: 9798887441474
• eBook ISBN: 9798887441481
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Latin American & Caribbean History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Argentina, a Tale of Two Utopias takes us through the outsized and unexpected remnants of the influence of anarchist ideas and practice on modern-day Argentina—from the names of popular pastries to the foundation of numerous soccer clubs—until we arrive at the explosive intersection of anarchism, football, and the crisis of neoliberalism.

This is a thrilling first-person account of the December 2001 uprising in Argentina that marked the end of the neoliberal experiment of the 1990s, narrated by an anarchist participant in the clashes that laid siege to the presidential palace and forced the president to resign and flee on a rooftop helicopter. A Tale of Two Utopias weaves together two simultaneous yet seemingly unrelated events of those “days which contain decades” of Buenos Aires in December 2001: the uprising and the first championship in 35 years of the popular football club Racing Club de Avellaneda.

Alternating between urgent narration and historical account, and accompanied by over 150 photos and illustrations, A Tale of Two Utopias leads the reader through the streets of a burning Buenos Aires while also finding the time to take us on a lovingly traced tour of the rich history of Argentina’s anarchist movement of the early twentieth century, then among the largest in the world. It is also a compelling account of the trauma inflicted by Argentina’s numerous dictatorships.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by Gabriel Kuhn
• Prologue: Racing Club vs. Vélez Sarsfield: Amalfitani Stadium, Liniers, Buenos Aires, December 27, 2001, Early Afternoon
• Introduction: The Twin Utopias
• 1: The Tides of Anarchy: The Anarchist Mass Movement of Late Nineteenth-Century Argentina
• 2: The Biblioteca Popular José Ingenieros: Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, Sometime Early 1997
• 3: “We’re Going to Kill Jews to Make Soap”: Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, Saturday, April 26, 1997
• 4: El Barrio No Se Quiebra (The Neighborhood Doesn’t Go Bankrupt): Club Atlético Atlanta, Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, Saturday, February 15, 1997
• 5: An Unlikely Heritage: The Immigrant, Radical, and Anarchist Origins of Argentine Football Clubs
• 6: Solo Entiende Mi Locura Quien Comparte Mi Pasión (My Insanity Can Only Be Understood by Those Who Share My Passion)
• 7: The Golden Ticket: Avellaneda, December 19, 2001, 10:00 a.m.
• 8: Sleeping Through the Uprising: Somewhere in Buenos Aires, December 20, 2001, 3:00 a.m.
• 9: While You Were Sleeping: Late Night of December 19 and Early Hours of December 20, 2001
• 10: La Plaza es de las Madres (The Plaza Belongs to the Mothers): Plaza de Mayo, December 20, 2001, 10:00 a.m.
• 11: The Long Shadow of the Past: Congress, December 20, 2001, 12:30 p.m.
• 12: The Day of Revolution, Part 1: Rage: We Are the Children of Those You Killed: Avenida Presidente Roque Sáenz Peña, December 20, 2001, 2:00 p.m.
• 13: The Day of Revolution, Part 2: At the Intersection of Life and Death: Avenida Corrientes, December 20, 2001, Nightfall
• 14: After the Fall
• 15: The Kirchnerist Era: April 27, 2003
• 16: Las Balas No Podrán Frenar el Viento (Bullets Can’t Stop the Wind): Club Social y Deportivo La Cultura del Barrio, Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, November 15, 2018
• Epilogue: No Te lo Puedo Explicar, Porque No Vas a Entender (I Can’t Explain It to You, BecauseYou Wouldn’t Understand): Downtown Buenos Aires, December 20, 2022, 3:00 p.m.
• Appendix 1: Back to the Future: The Return of the Ultraliberal Right in Argentina: November 26, 2023
• Appendix 2: Six Months in a Neoliberal Dystopia: Social Cannibalism Versus Mutual Aid in Argentina: June 17, 2024
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Image Credits
• Index
• About the Contributors