Indigenous women leading the defence of human rights from the abuses by mega-projects in Latin America, in the face of extreme violence
<p>In the face of extreme violence, some Indigenous women-led social movement organisations defending human rights from the abuses related to mega-projects have achieved favourable changes in corporate practices. In the predominantly patriarchal, capitalist and racist context of Latin America,...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | Spanish English |
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2020
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| Summary: | <p>In the face of extreme violence, some Indigenous women-led social movement organisations defending human rights from the abuses related to mega-projects have achieved favourable changes in corporate practices. In the predominantly patriarchal, capitalist and racist context of Latin America, what explains the success (or not) of Indigenous women-led mobilisations regarding the most politically and economically powerful actors? Although there is a well-established literature on social movements, some dedicated to the influence on corporate practices, there is a lacuna concerning the agency, leadership and impact of Indigenous women-led movements in the context of mega-projects.</p>
<p>This thesis uses a multi-level qualitative research methodology to develop a theoretical framework to explain their outcomes. It involves three main comparisons of cases of success and non-success: (1) within-country variation comparing Lenca women-led organisations contesting abuses related to hydroelectric dam projects in Honduras; (2) within-case variation over time of a Binni’za women-led mobilisation against violations connected to wind farm projects in Mexico; and (3) a small-N cross-national comparison of mobilisations in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia led by Sarayaku, Asháninka and Wayuu women challenging the abuses related to oil extractives, hydroelectric dam projects, and coal mining respectively. Also, I develop a qualitative comparative analysis of all these cases, which includes a Boolean minimisation process. </p>
<p>The thesis finds that in a minimally favourable context the following four factors operating together in <em>a braid of action</em> lead to success (i.e., a favourable change in corporate behaviour): (1) transforming the territory into power; (2) Indigenous women’s effective leadership; (3) human rights framing; and, (4) reacting to a grave violation overtly involving corporations. These four <em>strands</em> interweaved in a tough <em>braid of action</em> are capable of <em>harnessing</em> mobilisation power, achieving success over much materially powerful corporate forces. If some of the <em>strands</em> are weak or <em>frayed</em>, the <em>braid</em> cannot achieve this success. </p>
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