Women’s Rights in Movement: Dynamics of Feminist Change in Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin American Societies)

This book provides an updated comparative overview of women’s movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, filling some of the gaps left by the existing literature. It brings together case studies of nine countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru – and includes a comparative analysis of the overall evolution of women’s rights movements across the region during the past decades. This analysis shows Latin America as the home to the largest, strongest, and most densely regionally and globally interconnected women’s rights movements in the Global South. Each chapter in this volume seeks to understand where the struggles for women’s rights come from, how they stand today and where they are headed to. To do so, they all use qualitative methodologies, and most resort to first-hand accounts of the processes described and reflections by the actors on their own experiences, collected through surveys, in-depth interviewsand/or ethnographic observations. The comparative analysis of the different national case studies reveals the main struggles in which women’s rights movements are currently involved in Latin America and the Caribbean: the quest for political representation within the State and its political institutions; the fight against gender violence and the struggle for sexual and reproductive rights – especially abortion rights. Women’s Rights in Movement: Dynamics of Feminist Change in Latin America and the Caribbean will be a valuable resource for researchers, activists and policy makers interested in the struggles for women’s rights not only in Latin America and the Caribbean, but in different parts of the world. It will be of special interest to sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists and other social scientists working in interdisciplinary fields such as gender and social movements studies. Women’s Rights in Movement Dynamics of Feminist Change in Latin America and the Caribbean Copyright Acknowledgments Contents Chapter 1: Introduction References Chapter 2: Feminists by Default? Women’s Rights and Social Change in Argentina 1 Introduction 2 From the Origins to the 1980s 2.1 A Bumpy Expansion of Political Rights 2.2 Feminists and the Left: Unrequited Love 3 A Great Leap Forward 3.1 Women Belong in the House... and the Senate 3.2 Gender-Based Violence to the Fore 4 A New Era: Fourth-Wave Feminism in the Making 4.1 #NiUnaMenos: From Social Media to the Streets 4.2 The Long-Standing Battle for Abortion Rights 4.3 The Green Tide 4.4 Expanding Gender Infrastructure 4.5 Feminists Everywhere 4.6 A Convergence of Generations 5 Epilogue: What Next? Backlash and Resistance References Chapter 3: A Heterogeneous Women’s Movement from a Post-colonial, Unequal Society: The Case of Brazil 1 Introduction 2 Definitional Issues and Theoretical Discussion 3 Women Organizing a Women’s Movement in a Post-colonial Society 4 Women Organized Not to Agitate for Women’s Rights 5 Feminist Waves: Prevailing Narratives 6 Potential Origins of the Women’s Movement in Brazil 7 Targets, Allies and Networks 8 BWM’s Recent Collaboration with the Central Government 9 Backlash in Brazil and Resistance 10 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 4: Chile’s Feminist Spring: Impasse and Continuity of Women’s Demands for a Life Free of Sexism 1 Introduction 2 Methodology and Data Collection Technique 3 The History of Women’s Empowerment 4 Women’s Movements: Political Effects on the Transition to Democracy 5 Feminist Branches: Tensions and Organisational Logics 6 May 2018: Generational Change and the Threat of a New Backlash 7 Conclusions References Chapter 5: Feminist and Women’s Activism in Colombia 1 Introduction 2 Feminist Activism in Colombia 2.1 The 1991 Political Constitution and the Feminist Agenda 2.2 Armed Conflict, Peace Process, Women’s Movement and Feminism 3 Recent Manifestations of Feminist Activism in Colombia 3.1 Academy 3.2 Local Experiences 4 Broadening Participatory Spaces and Inclusion 4.1 Afro-Colombian Women 4.2 Transgender Women 5 The Conservative Reaction 6 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 6: The Right to a Complete Life: Struggles of the Dominican Feminist Movement 1 Introduction 2 A Historically Transnational Movement: Its Trajectory and Its Main issues 3 The 1990s as an Inflection Point: “NGOisation”, Beijing, and Collaborating with the State 4 The Causales: Revitalisation and Generational Change in the Dominican Feminist Movement 5 Anti-Rights Groups: Conservative Backlash in the Dominican Republic 6 Final Remarks: The Dominican Feminist Movement, Going Back and Moving Forwards References Documentaries Chapter 7: Between Institutionalisation and Militancy of Affection: A Journey Through Feminisms in Ecuador 1 Introduction 2 The Origin of Feminisms and Popular Feminisms in Ecuador 3 Institutional Feminism in the 1990s 4 Urban Feminisms 4.1 The Feminist Movement in the Pre-constituent and Constituent Processes 5 The Struggles for the Decriminalisation of Abortion 5.1 Conservative Reaction 6 Conclusions References Chapter 8: Historical Periods and the Wave Metaphor in Mexican Feminism 1 Introduction 2 The Waves Metaphor 3 First Period: Intellectual and Professional Emancipation (1887–1916) 4 Second Period: Suffrage and Equal Work (1916–1939) 5 Third Period: Formal Equality and Diplomacy (1939–1971) 6 Fourth Period: Women’s Personal and Bodily Autonomy (1971–1987) 7 Fifth Period: Institutionalisation and Diversification (1987–2010s) 8 Towards a New Period? 9 Conclusions References Chapter 9: Feminisms in Nicaragua: A Century of Revolutions, Autonomous Mobilisations and Dictatorships 1 Introduction 2 Suffrage and Revolutionary Feminisms: 1920–1996 3 Feminisms in the Liberal Interlude: 1996–2006 4 Afrofeminisms, Africa and Autonomy: 1980 Onwards 5 Feminisms and the Return of the FSLN to Power: 2006–2018 6 Feminisms in the Midst of the April Rebellion: 2018–2021 7 Final Remarks References Chapter 10: Feminisms in Peru in a Context of Crisis 1 Introduction 2 The Antecedents of Peruvian Feminism 3 Feminism in the Twenty-First Century: Resurgence in the Midst of National Political Crisis 3.1 Twenty Years of Feminist-Friendly Democratic Neoliberalism 3.1.1 From Democratic Neoliberalism to the Great Political Crisis 3.1.2 The Momentous National Ni Una Menos March of 2016 3.2 Characteristics of the Twenty-First-Century Feminism 3.2.1 Personal Affirmation 3.2.2 Assemblies and Alternative Forms of Exercising Power 3.2.3 Punitivism and Cancellation 3.2.4 Demands and Agendas 3.2.5 Two Forms of Action: The Coexistence of Two Feminisms 4 Brief Government of an “Indigenous” President, Social Explosion and Shift to “Authoritarian Neoliberalism” References Index This book provides an updated comparative overview of women’s movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, filling some of the gaps left by the existing literature. It brings together case studies of nine countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru – and includes a comparative analysis of the overall evolution of women’s rights movements across the region during the past decades. This analysis shows Latin America as the home to the largest, strongest, and most densely regionally and globally interconnected women’s rights movements in the Global South. Each chapter in this volume seeks to understand where the struggles for women’s rights come from, how they stand today and where they are headed to. To do so, they all use qualitative methodologies, and most resort to first-hand accounts of the processes described and reflections by the actors on their own experiences, collected through surveys, in-depth interviews and/or ethnographic observations. The comparative analysis of the different national case studies reveals the main struggles in which women’s rights movements are currently involved in Latin America and the Caribbean: the quest for political representation within the State and its political institutions; the fight against gender violence and the struggle for sexual and reproductive rights – especially abortion rights. Women’s Rights in Movement: Dynamics of Feminist Change in Latin America and the Caribbean will be a valuable resource for researchers, activists and policy makers interested in the struggles for women’s rights not only in Latin America and the Caribbean, but in different parts of the world. It will be of special interest to sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists and other social scientists working in interdisciplinary fields such as gender and social movements studies.