Advancing Adjustment, Retreating Protection: The Universal Child Allowance and Reproductive Work Against the Dismantling of Social Protection (2023-2025)

Abstract

Since the rise to power of the La Libertad Avanza coalition in Argentina, a radical reconfiguration of the social protection system has been implemented, with profound gender implications.  This article analyzes the institutional, budgetary, and programmatic transformations that occurred between December 2023 and December 2025, using the Universal Child Allowance (AUH) as a paradigmatic case. The results reveal a dual strategy: the dismantling of key programs such as Potenciar Trabajo (Strengthening Work), pension moratoriums, and gender policies, alongside the strategic strengthening of the AUH. It is argued that this new model may mitigate child poverty in the short term, but it reinforces the traditional role of women as caregivers, weakens their economic autonomy, and commodifies the costs of social reproduction. The article concludes that it is feminized bodies that bear the brunt of the current administration's promises of a zero deficit and its austerity policies.