La informalidad como régimen estructural
Deconstruyendo narrativas hegemónicas sobre trabajo y desarrollo en economías periféricas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22451/5817.ibj2025.vol9.1.11096Resumen
En los últimos años, la informalidad ha dejado de ser concebida como una anomalía transitoria para consolidarse como una característica estructural de las economías del Sur Global, expresión de profundas desigualdades socioeconómicas que desafían las explicaciones legalistas y economicistas tradicionales. Por ese motivo, el presente artículo propone un marco analítico crítico y multidimensional que reconceptualiza la informalidad no como un mero déficit de formalidad, sino como una manifestación compleja y funcional de exclusiones históricas, epistémicas e institucionales, sustentada por marcos legales ambiguos, narrativas simbólicas y formas precarias de subjetividad. Los hallazgos muestran que la informalidad opera como un modo de gobernanza y reproducción social que favorece a los Estados y a las élites, más que como un espacio de agencia emprendedora o simple falla regulatoria. En este sentido, se sostiene que abordar la informalidad exige un cambio de paradigma: pasar de enfoques tecnocráticos y normativos hacia una crítica profundamente política del desarrollo, la ciudadanía y el trabajo, que permita avanzar hacia una transformación estructural basada en la justicia redistributiva, el pluralismo epistémico y el reconocimiento de economías alternativas. Así, el marco propuesto no solo enriquece el debate teórico, sino que aporta herramientas para la formulación de políticas inclusivas que coloquen en el centro los derechos, la dignidad y la diversidad de estrategias de vida en el Sur Global.
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