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de la Policía de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (DIPPBA). In addition to materials that have shed new light on the coordination of state terror and repression, the archive also contains invaluable repositories of the more mundane aspects of local and municipal history in the outskirts of Buenos Aires following the dictatorship. During the early stages of this project, Laura Lenci graciously explained how the archive functioned and helped me to process the original request for materials that inform the book. I also thank Magdalena Lanteri, among others, at the Comisión, who later facilitated a fruitful search for materials related to the 1989 hyperinflation and food riots. Fr. Armando Dessy granted me access to the archives of the Obispado de Quilmes and patiently answered my questions about the history of Quilmes and the diocese. The staff at the newspaper El Sol in Quilmes kept the office open a little later on several occasions. My friend Federico Lorenz facilitated contact with the Archivo Nacional de la Memoria. I thank the staff members there, who permitted me the time to examine files from the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) related to the PAN food program. Librarians at the Biblioteca y Archivo Histórico de la UCR and the Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani at the Universidad de Buenos Aires provided helpful assistance and access to campaign materials and oral testimonies. Sebastián Szkolnik’s research acumen was critical, especially for the processing of source materials for the fourth and final chapters. I also extend my thanks to photographers Daniel Rodriguez and Enrique Rosito, who granted me permission to include their photographs in the book.

      In Buenos Aires, I spoke with dozens of individuals and former members of the Alfonsín administration, who shared their expertise and helped me navigate the political and social life of the 1980s. Among others, I would like to especially thank Aldo Neri, Leopoldo Moreau, and Jesús Rodríguez. Several individuals also opened up their archives and lent me personal materials for this study. Ricardo Mazzorín offered his insights into Argentine political economy and allowed me access to the records that form the basis for the fourth chapter. Catalina Vera took time during her busy schedule to locate rare manuals from her days working on the PAN food program. On several occasions, Patricia Aguirre made herself available to discuss Argentine social programs and food politics and aided in the location of PAN records and program participants.

      Many friends and colleagues commented on and edited the book along the way. I always looked forward to conversations with Marian Schlotterbeck and Alison Bruey, who ensured that this book would see the light of day. Rania Sweis’s editorial skills improved the prose in many places. Isabella Cosse and Mercedes García Ferrari created a productive and friendly workshop space during an intense writing phase. Isabella in particular continues to provide inspiration and a model of creative historical thinking and intellectual generosity to emulate. The book’s arguments and structure benefited enormously from conversations over the years with Benjamin Bryce, Emilio Crenzel, Marina Franco, Laura Golbert, Mark Healey, Elizabeth Jelin, Gabriel Kessler, Federico Lorenz, Natalia Milanesio, Jimena Montaña, David Sheinin, and Brenda Werth. Talks and presentations at Bates College, Bowdoin College, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad de San Andrés, and Universidad Torcuato di Tella also helped refine many arguments.

      The Bates College Department of History and Department of Politics provided a welcoming setting of generous colleagues, including Lydia Barnett, Paul Eason, Karen Melvin, Caroline Shaw, and Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz. They read and offered feedback at many crucial moments. I had the good fortune to complete this book as a member of the Department of History and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Fairfield University. I extend thanks to my fantastic colleagues, who create a stimulating academic environment in which to share and sharpen projects. As the book progressed, I benefited as a fellow in the Humanities Institute Seminar, which facilitated additional writing time, workshops, and fruitful research collaborations with students, who reminded me of the value of readable histories. Gwen Alfonso, Rachelle Brunn-Bevel, Jocelyn Boryczka, Lydia Willsky-Ciollo, Liz Hohl, Maggie Labinski, Alexa Mullady, Silvia Marsans-Sakly, Sunil Purushotham, and Giovanni Ruffini read, discussed, edited, and made time for welcome happy hours and camaraderie. Michelle Farrell has been a stalwart colleague, intrepid travel companion, and gracious writing buddy. Our “office hours” on the Metro North kept this project on track and made it richer through her friendship.

      I would also like to thank the institutions and financial support that made the research and writing of this book possible. Grants and fellowships from New York University, the Tinker Foundation, the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies supported fieldwork and writing during the dissertation phase. Faculty summer research grants from Bates College, Fairfield University, and the National Endowment for the Humanities facilitated additional research trips to Buenos Aires. The final stage of writing was supported by an NEH fellowship, which provided time away from classroom and administrative duties. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this book do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. At the University of California Press, Kate Marshall and Enrique Ochoa-Kaup provide the most supportive environment for their authors. I am ever grateful to Kate for her keen eye and ongoing enthusiasm for this project. Benjamin Bryce, Eduardo Elena, Jessica Stites Mor, and one anonymous reviewer read the manuscript for UC Press. Their observations made this a better book. All errors, of course, are my own.

      Many more friends and family provided sustenance, housing, work spaces, and comfort over the years. Dave Giles, Rachel Lears, Anne Lebleu, and Tom Pyun have seen this book from start to finish. They have been there through all of the ups and downs in between, reminding me with their love and their lifelong friendships of the rich world beyond this project. To them, thank you. The affection and friendship of Jane Brodie, Wendy Gosselin, and Maxine Swann have been a beacon for over a decade now and one of the many felicitous results of this book. Members of the club de cultura para todos—Sergio Adrada Rafael, Álvaro Baquero-Pecino, Michelle Farrell, Geoff Shullenberger, Leonard Nalencz, and Charlotte Whittle—transformed New York into an inviting place to rediscover. In Buenos Aires, Maria Laura Guembe first welcomed me to the city, opening her house to multiple red suitcases. Maria Alejandra Pavicich has been a source of solace and steady humor through it all. Walter Altman, Alan Cibils, Martha Farmelo, Graciela Karababikian, Federico Lorenz, and Lisa Ubelaker Andrade always make Buenos Aires feel like home. I thank my husband Julián’s family, especially Teresa Azcárate and Irene Troksberg, who shared their memories of 1980s Argentina. They created a warm space in their family for me and now provide infinite love for their grandson. My sister Kadi, brother-in-law Matt, and nieces Ava and Lucy made this journey fun and meaningful. It has been a thrill to see them grow with this book. My parents Jim and Nancy taught me the power of history and then encouraged me to study it. Their support and motivation have been steadfast, their love boundless. They too deserve credit for seeing this project through, for showing an interest—sometimes unwittingly—in the Alfonsín years, and for providing a home to always return to.

      My biggest gratitude is due to Julián Troksberg, for whom a few phrases at the end of these acknowledgments cannot suffice. Our life is interwoven with this book. From Buenos Aires, to Portland, Maine, to New York City, he endured more alfonsinismo and the Radical Party than he ever thought possible with enthusiasm, love, and patience. If this book exists, it is because of his reflections and insight, generously shared in the midst of his own creative work, which in turn helped improve mine. My greatest joy has been to build our future together. We welcomed our son Elio as this book was in its final stages. His arrival brought us much happiness and inspiration for new projects to come. This book is for them, and for all of the adventures that await us.

Introduction

      On May 1, 1989, María, a high school teacher from Buenos Aires, wrote a letter to President Raúl Alfonsín as he embarked on his final months in office. The country was in the midst of a crisis of hyperinflation, and elections were set for two weeks away. Earlier in the day, María had heard the president’s last address to Congress, and she felt compelled to write to him. “My friend,” she began, then recounted how she and her husband, an adjunct university instructor, had worked hard over two decades of marriage, weathering continual financial difficulties and the sensation of “always having to start over.” María emphasized that she had no “political affiliations” that would cloud her judgment, lest the president think she was writing

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