Stéphanie Rousseau

Paths towards Autonomy in Indigenous Women's Movements: Mexico, Peru, Bolivia

Based on comparative research this article analyses indigenous womens organising trajectories and the creation of spaces where they position themselves as autonomous political actors. Drawing on social movement theory and intersectionality, we present a typology of the organisational forms adopted by indigenous women in Peru, Bolivia and Mexico over the last two decades. One of the key findings of our comparative study is that indigenous women have become social movement actors through different organisational forms that in part determine the degree of autonomy they can exercise as political subjects.

Indigenous Women Strengthen the Indigenous Movement

This chapter provides the first academic analysis of the Peruvian indigenous women’s movement, starting with the first openings that were created within Amazonian and peasant organizations, up to the formation of independent and national indigenous women’s organizations. It argues that the very weakness of the indigenous movement may have provided greater space for indigenous women to occupy as public actors. Nonetheless, the relatively weak salience of the movement as a whole in national politics has so far meant that indigenous women have not been able to influence state policy on issues of importance to their agenda. However, they have managed to be recognized as legitimate representatives in the eyes of the state and civil society.

Indigenous Women’s Movements: An Intersectional Approach to Studying Social Movements

This chapter presents the main literature on indigenous movements and underlines the need to pay more attention to gender dynamics within these movements and to indigenous women’s political agency in relation to the national context. It details an original theoretical framework to study comparatively indigenous women’s organizational trajectories, based on an intersectional perspective and social movement concepts. Both internal and external factors are considered as relevant to the study of indigenous women’s mobilization. Internal factors are related to the interaction between groups and individuals that make up projects, shape discourses, and provide material resources to carry on the activities and structure of collective action. External factors are related to the institutional, normative, and behavioral components of the environment of social movements.

Indigenous Self-Determination: From National Dialogues to Local Autonomies

This chapter presents the dynamics leading to the emergence of the contemporary indigenous movement in Mexico and shaping its trajectory. It discusses the impact of the corporatist system and its ideology of mestizaje on the type of peasant organizations that were formed in the post-revolutionary period. Then it analyzes the factors and events that led to the creation of autonomous organizations and a greater articulation of recognition and redistribution demands. The chapter explains how these dynamics led to an intense period of mobilization of the indigenous movement with the emergence of different forms of organizations and new discourses. Special attention is given to the Zapatista movement and its impact on the indigenous movement, and furthermore, on the efforts to redefine state–society relations in Mexico.

Indigenous Women’s Struggle for Autonomy

This chapter discusses the specific characteristics of the contemporary indigenous women’s movement at the national level in Mexico. It analyzes the different organizational forms of indigenous women’s mobilization of the past decades, from the participation of indigenous women within the peasant and the indigenous movements to the creation of their own spaces of organization. The chapter analyzes indigenous women’s collective identity formation as well as organizational processes. Indigenous women’s organizing in Mexico has mostly been studied through the analysis of Zapatista women’s organizing processes. If the role of this movement is key, this chapter also considers gender dynamics in organizing processes previous to this movement as well as the impact of indigenous women’s mobilization in the 1990s on the following decades.

Indigenous Movements Merge into Party and State Politics

This chapter analyzes the changes that occurred in Bolivia from the 1940s onward, emphasizing how the racial/ethnic social structure coincided with class. The emancipatory character of the 1952 Revolution allowed the integration of peasants and indigenous peoples in the citizenry, but different waves of social mobilization were necessary to allow the majority of indigenous citizens to construct a favorable power balance in society and in the political system. The strengthening of autonomous peasant and indigenous organizations in which women were key actors, from the 1970s to the 2000s, led to the election of the first indigenous president in 2005, Evo Morales. From then on, the fate of the indigenous movement has been inextricably linked to Morales’ government’s orientations and decisions. New tensions and divisions have appeared within the sectors that had rallied under Morales’ leadership to access state power.

The “Exceptional Case” No Longer So Exceptional

The chapter explains the history of the indigenous movement in Peru, starting with an account of how race/ethnicity has been constructed in the twentieth century. The “erasure” of ethnicity in social movements was one of the consequences of the peasant struggle for land reform, which culminated in the 1960s. This erasure continues to be relatively hegemonic in the highlands, but since the end of the 1990s a new process of organizing on the basis of the language of indigenous peoples’ rights has made significant inroads. Indigenous women have formed their own organizations and have participated actively in the initiatives to join forces with all the national organizations representing highland and Amazonian indigenous peoples. They have succeeded in being recognized by the State as legitimate representatives. The State also adopted a new law on prior and informed consent for indigenous peoples, an important part of their agenda.

Indigenous Women Transform the Politics of Representing Women

In this chapter, the formation of different types of women’s organizations is described to trace their trajectories in relation to different sectors of the indigenous movement. The growth of “gender parallelism”, that is, women’s organizations related to male-dominated indigenous organizations, is particularly visible in the Bolivian experience. It shows how indigenous women understand their role as acting side by side their male companions in the struggles of their communities. It also reveals how they have managed to become central actors in the indigenous movement, particularly around the election of Evo Morales as president of Bolivia and afterward. The strength of indigenous women’s voices in politics allowed them to redefine the terms of how Bolivian women are represented nationally.

We are the face of Oaxaca: testimony and social movements

causes. The author’s discussion of the Spanish authorities removing any symbols of the Inca past and attempting to assimilate the Andean peoples into Spanish culture illustrates that the Spanish authorities believed the revolt to be an attempt to restore native Andean dynasties, and lends a great deal of support to his thesis (136). Yet, one of the interesting assertions Serulnikov makes is that, in the aftermath of the rebellions, traditional Native American kinship ties in rural areas began to disintegrate and were replaced by town ties and associations. His assertion of the change in Andean social dynamics raises the question of other dynamics which may have influenced the rebellions, such as social strain brought on by urban–rural conflicts. Although at times his argument seems to become lost in the midst of the circumstances he describes, Serulnikov’s narrative approach works well to illustrate the events of the rebellions. As indicated, the narrative approach also opens the door to other questions which lie outside the scope of his work and can offer avenues for further study. For example, one of the underlying themes Serulnikov touches upon is the theme that the rebellions were rural, not urban. On several occasions, he discusses how Spanish towns remained bastions of Imperial power and Native American armies were repeatedly defeated in their attempts to take them. While opening an avenue for further study, his conclusion about the rural nature of Native American relations could also suggest a point he could have utilized to give his thesis more strength. His list of references is elaborate, but by far the majority are secondary. However, as Serulnikov pointed out in his second chapter, primary sources that illustrate the views of the Native American rebels are scanty and a complete picture can only be surmised. Nevertheless, he does a masterful job of synthesizing secondary works and mining the available primary sources. With this, he was able to construct a fairly clear picture of the rebellion and the attitudes of its participants. Revolution in the Andes offers a very good synthesis of the Andean rebellions of the 1780s. The author’s thesis does seem to lose its way at points, but in light of the complexity of the political and social circumstances on the ground, it is likely that no one thesis will ever be able to explain the Native American revolt or the Spanish response. With this in mind, one of Serulnikov’s greatest accomplishments in his book is to open the door to other questions and avenues of study. The ability to generate interest and further inquiry is what a good book should do.