The Fourth Transformation. Between National History and collective memories

Abstract

The article aims to examine a central component of the aesthetic-political project of the Fourth Transformation (4T): the reconfiguration and public uses of National History. Taking into consideration the basic principles of transitional justice and the history of the present, it is argued that, with its historical emphasis, the 4T has slowed down the growing fabric of collective memories that emerged in the recent past; memories that have been articulated as a response to the multiple forms of organized criminal violence and as resistance to State repression during the last decades. We illustrate the above with the contrast of two projects designed in the transitional period of the current federal government: the Foros de Escucha y Pacificación, on the one hand, and the Coordinación de Memoria Histórica y Cultural, on the other. We conclude that, with the relegation of the former and the continuity of the latter, the style of government of the current federal administration was defined, favoring History over politics. While the article only analyzes a small part of the actions of the federal government, it seeks to contribute to the growing debate between historiography and politics in our country.