Grupos solidarios de microcrédito y redes sociales: sus implicancias en la generación de capital social en barrios del Gran Buenos Aires

Abstract

Social Capital is a resource resulting from social relations, by which actors ensure themselves benefits thanks to their belonging to networks or other social structures. Thus, differences in network structure results in different types of social capital. Here, we analyze micro credit solidarity groups in Cuartel V, Moreno (Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina), paying attention to its capacity of generating different types of social capital from the social network its constitute. The objectives are to analyze through which associative or organizational processes social capital is created, in order to asses if it is propped by the establishment of close ties or rather by the ability of actors to establish different relationships outside their environment. The relationships established between solidarity groups, the Fundación Pro Vivienda Social and a community organizations; investigating about intensity and centrality in the network, considering individuals, groups and organizations. The methodological strategy is qualitative as based on interviews and focus groups and the theoretical framework combines insights from social capital and social network analysis. Among the findings we can highlight that the very existence of micro credit groups in Cuartel V is made possible by social capital and a well established local community organization. Also, solidarity groups constitute themselves from pre-existent dense inter personal networks of family members and/or neighbors generating bonding and/or linking social capital and that the Fundación propel the development of such relationships while generating bridging social capital between these actors.

Keywords

• poverty
• community organizations
• social capital
• networks
• microcredit