“I love you, I hate you: give me more”. Affective polarization in Argentine public opinion

Abstract

Political polarization has emerged as a fundamental key to understand the various dimensions (the media, the new platforms, votes, campaigns) of the contemporary and dichotomized public space. Therefore, we witness a renewed interest in the role of emotions concerning politics. So far, there are few studies on the Argentine case, focused on describing the affective polarization experienced in that society. Here we present conceptual and empirical contributions to fix this shortage and to help the comprehension of the affective substratum of the Argentinian political dispute. By the use of data from two representative nationwide polls, we analyse comparatively the Juntos por el Cambio and the Frente de Todos voters. The data reveals reciprocal hostility, but a greater manifestation of negative partisanship by the Juntos por el Cambio constituency.