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Youth and feelings of belonging in Latin America: Causes and risks of social fragmentation
- Source: CEPAL Review, Volume 2009, Issue 98, Nov 2009, p. 47 - 64
- Spanish
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- 03 Nov 2009
Abstract
Over the last few decades, Latin American societies have undergone structural and secular reforms that have caused far-reaching social fragmentation extending over many spheres of social life. It is therefore pertinent to ask whether this has affected the socially shared notions that define a common sense of belonging. What has happened to such sentiments and how have they changed in the heat of the changes that have taken place in the region? This article analyses the weakening of two institutions capable of engaging individuals and generating shared perceptions, wishes and values, which had become key mechanisms of integration and social cohesion in the past: namely school and work. In this context, the article reviews the experiences and meaning of school and work for young people from the most disadvantaged sectors of the population, and the emergence of new competing institutions that display increasing capacity to engage and give meaning.