“Young People are the Future”: Youth Practices in Political Participation During the First Round of the 2018 Election Process in Costa Rica

Authors

  • Mario Alberto Araya Pérez Distance State University image/svg+xml
  • Natasha Alpízar Lobo University of Costa Rica image/svg+xml
  • Adam Álvarez Calderón Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes Costa Rica

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22458/rr.v11i1.3393

Keywords:

elections, political participation, youth participation, anthropology, field work

Abstract

The image “young people are the future” is usually used in the field of political participation to designate a supposed group based on age criteria. The research herein is based on participant observation in two Costa Rican cantons during the first round of the 2018 elections; it was possible to demonstrate that this image is negotiated, attributed and assumed in a relational manner in differentiated environments. In other words, there is no prior environment for political participation in which people considered young decide or not to get involve; on the contrary, it emerges and mutates throughout the political campaign. In the process, the electoral environment; the family and the constitution of the image of young people in the practices, are core categories when analyzing the involvement of this population in the spaces in which they operate.

Author Biographies

  • Mario Alberto Araya Pérez, Distance State University

    Licenciado en Antropología Social por la Universidad de Costa Rica. Actualmente es investigador en el Centro Agenda Joven de la Universidad de Estatal a Distancia (Costa Rica). Docente en la Universidad Autónoma de Monterrey (Costa Rica).

  • Natasha Alpízar Lobo, University of Costa Rica

    Máster en Antropología por la Universidad de Costa Rica. Actualmente es docente en las escuelas de Antropología y de Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad de Costa Rica (Costa Rica). Ha trabajado en diversos procesos de investigación dentro de Agenda Joven en la Universidad Estatal a Distancia (Costa Rica).

  • Adam Álvarez Calderón, Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes Costa Rica

    Licenciado en Antropología Social por la Universidad de Costa Rica. En la actualidad, es coordinador de proyectos en el Servicio Jesuita para Migrantes Costa Rica.

Published

2020-12-18

Issue

Section

Artículos

How to Cite

“‘Young People Are the Future’: Youth Practices in Political Participation During the First Round of the 2018 Election Process in Costa Rica”. 2020. Revista Rupturas 11 (1): 67-98. https://doi.org/10.22458/rr.v11i1.3393.

Most read articles by the same author(s)