Squatter Life

In Squatter Life, sociologist Javier Auyero and anthropologist Sofa Servin detail the diverse and often precarious strategies that Argentinas urban poor rely on to survive. Blending three years of ethnographic fieldwork and anthropological theory with personal narratives of Servins experience growing up and living in a squatter settlement, the authors examine how Argentinas squatter communities contend with violence and secure necessities like food, land, and housing despite inadequate state support and protection. Auyero and Servin recount the bricolage of tactics these individuals employ to make ends meet such as relying on highly exploitative jobs, patronage, and networks of reciprocal exchange that can involve illicit activities. Analyzing how these survival strategies intersect with class, gender, and political domination, the authors present a nuanced account of marginality in Argentinian squatter settlements while maintaining a deeply human portrait of survival and persistence.