The essay discusses some important contributions to the critical debates surround- ing the issues of political subjectivity and subjectivation (A. Badiou, J. Rancie\u300re, Ch. Mouffe, E. Laclau, E\u301. Balibar). According to the authors the main limit of these con- tributions lies in the idea of a \uabpure politics\ubb (S. Z\u30ciz\u30cek), constructed upon the model of the modern State. This is clear both in theories of political subjectivity focused on the absolute present of an event and in theories that stress the importance of political and institutional articulation. Against the background of an analysis of current political developments in Latin America, the authors outline a different theory of political sub- jectivation, attempting to take stock of the crisis and transformations both of the State and of contemporary capitalism