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Argentina, A Tale of Two Utopias: Anarchism, Soccer, Neoliberalism
Argentina, a Tale of Two Utopias takes us through the outsized and unexpected remnants of the influence of anarchist ideas and practice on modern-day Argentina—from the names of popular pastries to the foundation of numerous soccer clubs—until we arrive at the explosive intersection of anarchism, football, and the crisis of neoliberalism.
This is a thrilling first-person account of the December 2001 uprising in Argentina that marked the end of the neoliberal experiment of the 1990s, narrated by an anarchist participant in the clashes that laid siege to the presidential palace and forced the president to resign and flee on a rooftop helicopter. A Tale of Two Utopias weaves together two simultaneous yet seemingly unrelated events of those “days which contain decades” of Buenos Aires in December 2001: the uprising and the first championship in 35 years of the popular football club Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Alternating between urgent narration and historical account, and accompanied by over 150 photos and illustrations, A Tale of Two Utopias leads the reader through the streets of a burning Buenos Aires while also finding the time to take us on a lovingly traced tour of the rich history of Argentina’s anarchist movement of the early twentieth century, then among the largest in the world. It is also a compelling account of the trauma inflicted by Argentina’s numerous dictatorships.
This is a thrilling first-person account of the December 2001 uprising in Argentina that marked the end of the neoliberal experiment of the 1990s, narrated by an anarchist participant in the clashes that laid siege to the presidential palace and forced the president to resign and flee on a rooftop helicopter. A Tale of Two Utopias weaves together two simultaneous yet seemingly unrelated events of those “days which contain decades” of Buenos Aires in December 2001: the uprising and the first championship in 35 years of the popular football club Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Alternating between urgent narration and historical account, and accompanied by over 150 photos and illustrations, A Tale of Two Utopias leads the reader through the streets of a burning Buenos Aires while also finding the time to take us on a lovingly traced tour of the rich history of Argentina’s anarchist movement of the early twentieth century, then among the largest in the world. It is also a compelling account of the trauma inflicted by Argentina’s numerous dictatorships.
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 27, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 16, 2026
I will confess that this book was not quite what I expected it to be: I was expecting an account of the anarchist roots of Argentinean football, perhaps something a little bit like Eduardo Galeano’s Football in Sunlight and Shadow. What the book is about - and this makes it no less interesting - is how the writer’s twin passions - anarchism, and the Argentinian football club Racing - came together in one week in 2001 when a powerful social movement overthrew the Argentinean government, just when Racing Club broke a decades-long drought and won the league title.
In the book, anarchism and football converge and diverge, in particular in how the growing neoliberalisation of the sport comes into tension with the more working class origins of supporters’ groups and fanbases, in Latin America generally, and Argentina in particular. This was particularly interesting because in the “global” leagues that most of us watch - the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, perhaps the Italian and German leagues - this tension has been more or less entirely submerged, subsumed by the imperatives of neoliberal globalisation. So, regardless of their origins, it seems faintly ridiculous to think of the big European clubs as “working class” or spaces for political radicalism (notwithstanding, for example, Barcelona’s history as a fount of anti-Franco resistance, or Celtic Football Club continuing to express its solidarity with Palestine).
In Latin America, however, there has not been complete subsumption, which means that the tension continues to exist - a tension that the book grapples with on multiple occasions, including the writer’s agonised decision to travel to Qatar to support the national team in the World Cup. Those parts of the book felt its most painful, and also its most honest - with the realisation that for those of us with progressive or radical politics, there exists an irreconcilable contradiction between following the sport that we love, and what that sport has now become; and all we can do is to try and hold those contradictions in balance.
In the book, anarchism and football converge and diverge, in particular in how the growing neoliberalisation of the sport comes into tension with the more working class origins of supporters’ groups and fanbases, in Latin America generally, and Argentina in particular. This was particularly interesting because in the “global” leagues that most of us watch - the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, perhaps the Italian and German leagues - this tension has been more or less entirely submerged, subsumed by the imperatives of neoliberal globalisation. So, regardless of their origins, it seems faintly ridiculous to think of the big European clubs as “working class” or spaces for political radicalism (notwithstanding, for example, Barcelona’s history as a fount of anti-Franco resistance, or Celtic Football Club continuing to express its solidarity with Palestine).
In Latin America, however, there has not been complete subsumption, which means that the tension continues to exist - a tension that the book grapples with on multiple occasions, including the writer’s agonised decision to travel to Qatar to support the national team in the World Cup. Those parts of the book felt its most painful, and also its most honest - with the realisation that for those of us with progressive or radical politics, there exists an irreconcilable contradiction between following the sport that we love, and what that sport has now become; and all we can do is to try and hold those contradictions in balance.
April 30, 2026
Picked this up to talk politics with my Argentian friend and because I learned about the role Ultras played in riots and insurrections in other countries. I think it was a solid introduction of the long anarchist history there plus the scaffolding for understanding the neoliberal eras and the mutual aid networks trying to withstand them. I was able to blast through it without difficulty, hopefully my friend will find it as engaging.
My only feedback is that I would have liked for ultra to have been unpacked more, what are the social conditions that lead to them getting so much street fighting experiences?
My only feedback is that I would have liked for ultra to have been unpacked more, what are the social conditions that lead to them getting so much street fighting experiences?
March 13, 2026
A thrilling and honest set of reflections on the 2001 Argentinazo and its echoes in the current moment of President Javier Milei's ultra-liberalism. Tomas is a superb writer, and his accounts and observations are deeply compelling. The praise from CrimethInc. Writers' Bloc just about sums it up: "Nothing excites stronger feelings than sports and politics. If you are passionate about one of them, read this book: It will help you understand why people are so passionate about the other." As someone interested in politics but not football, I can attest to this statement.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews