Resumen

DALLE, Pablo. Upward social mobility trajectories of families of working class origin in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. Trab. soc. [online]. 2013, n.21, pp.373-401. ISSN 1514-6871.

This article analyses the articulation between the conditions of possibilities, resources mobilized and experiences involved in upward social mobility trajectories of families of working class origin in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires during the mid twentieth and early twenty first century. The families studied belong to three different migratory flues: Europe, inside Argentine and a Latin American country. The theoretical approach understands social mobility process depending on the articulation of: I. opening/closing of educational/occupational opportunities at the level of class structure, II. the options and limitations related to family class origin and belonging groups, III. the agency of individuals to act under these circumstances. The study is based on a biographical reconstruction of three families' histories selected from a typology of class trajectories previously identified in a quantitative approach. The analysis shows some features of the intergenerational transmission of cultural legacies, economic resources and social relations that occurs within working class families and favors upward mobility. It also describes how the lives of individuals are influenced by macro-historical processes, the central role of individuals and their families in taking advantage of opportunities, as well as the strength that allows them to overcome adverse circumstances. The pathways described show that there is no abrupt change in family class trajectories, but the accumulation of many short-distance movements through family histories that involve the effort of different generations.

Palabras clave : Upward Social Mobility; Family histories; Working Class; Upward mobility social mechanisms.