Conflicts on low salience issue: The argentine debate on the decriminalization of drugs (2009-2014)

Abstract

In Argentina, the debate on the depenalization of drug’s consumption arouse during 2012, when competing amendments to law 23.737 were proposed to Congress. After several months of committee debate, deputies of the incumbent party Frente para la Victoria (FPV), the Frente Amplio Progresista and the Unión Cívica Radical converged on a project. The majority bloc in Congress, however, rolled back on its commitments and prevented the consideration of the proposal on the plenary floor. This paper argues that the decision of the FPV to prevent consideration of the project was due to the fact that it mobilized a social actor, the Catholic Church, that disputed the same electorate. This article implements a mixed methods approach to analyze support for the depenalization of drug consumption in Argentina, using survey data from the Argentine Panel Election Study 2015 and in-depth interviews with informants.