Abstract, Memories between Eras: ANFASEP’s Leaders before and after Peru’s Internal Armed Conflict

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Memories between Eras: ANFASEP’s Leaders before and after Peru’s Internal Armed Conflict

by Mercedes Crisostomo Meza

During Peru’s internal armed conflict (1980–2000), many women formed associations of relatives of victims to demand truth, justice, and reparations. The Asociación Nacional de Familiares de Secuestrados, Detenidos y Desaparecidos del Perú (National Association of Relatives of the Kidnapped, Detained, and Disappeared of Peru—ANFASEP) was the first of these organizations. Accounts by its leaders of their early lives challenge the stereotypes of them employed in previous studies and point to changes in their senses of identity in the postconflict period. Their memories are part of the development of a self-narrative in which new rationales emerge and they are led to question the validity of the characterization of them as poor, illiterate, dependent women unaware of having rights.

Political Report # 1323 "Gender ideology" and censorship in Brazil

By Raphael Tsavkko Garcia  Americas Program

Later that week, on September 13, evangelical fundamentalist pastor and federal deputy, Marco Feliciano, visited and publically criticized an exhibition in Brasilia named Não Matarás (Thou shalt not kill) of works critical of the Brazilian military dictatorship. Feliciano told the press that the paintings and sculptures in the exhibition resembled those of the censored Queermuseu. The next day, in the city of Campo Grande, MPs from the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso do Sul state went to the Precinct for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (Depca) and denounced another exhibition called Cadafalso (Scaffold) for "encouraging paedophilia". These three art shows weren't the only ones targeted. Other art exhibitions and also theatre performances were censored or threatened over the following weeks. Different groups, mostly supported by evangelical fundamentalist organisations, claimed credit for the censorship movement. Among them one in particular stood out, the Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL - Free Brazil Movement). The MBL is a pro-market liberal/libertarian pressure group formed in 2014. The group spearheaded the process that led to the impeachment of then-President Dilma Rousseff, the legitimacy of which continues to be debated in political and legal circles. Since then the MBL has assumed a role in Brazilian politics similar to the alt-right movement in the United States. Many wonder why a group claiming to be libertarian is organizing campaigns to censor art. The group has allied itself with religious fundamentalist groups and individuals, such as former porn star Alexandre Frota. Frota and the MBL are leading a pseudo-moralistic crusade against what they call "gender ideology", and against what they perceive as the imposition of a leftist agenda in society.

Abstract, Paid Domestic Work: Gender and the Informal Economy in Mexico

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Paid Domestic Work: Gender and the Informal Economy in Mexico
by Georgina Rojas-García, Mónica Patricia Toledo González


A consideration of paid domestic work as an aspect of the informal economy in Mexico identifies some distinctive features: a paternalistic view rather than a labor relation based on a contract, a reluctance on the part of the state to regulate this employment area, and a devaluation of this work as something largely performed by women who are poor and of rural or indigenous origin. The lack of social security is almost universal among paid domestic workers, and coverage is one of the principal demands of organizations formed in defense of their rights.

Abstract, Paid Domestic Work: Gender and the Informal Economy in Mexico

:::::: Abstract ::::::

Paid Domestic Work: Gender and the Informal Economy in Mexico
by Georgina Rojas-García, Mónica Patricia Toledo González


A consideration of paid domestic work as an aspect of the informal economy in Mexico identifies some distinctive features: a paternalistic view rather than a labor relation based on a contract, a reluctance on the part of the state to regulate this employment area, and a devaluation of this work as something largely performed by women who are poor and of rural or indigenous origin. The lack of social security is almost universal among paid domestic workers, and coverage is one of the principal demands of organizations formed in defense of their rights.

Book, "Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador: Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment" by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Political Report # 1268 Justice for Lesvy: Indifference and Outrage in Response to Gender Violence in Mexico City

By Nidia Bautista, NACLA

The death of 22-year-old Lesvy Berlin Rivera Osorio on May 3 at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Latin America’s largest public university in Mexico City, is a tale of pervasive government indifference toward violence against women in Mexico. Rivera was found dead with a telephone cord wrapped around her neck on the campus, long considered a sanctuary by students and the intellectual community of Mexico’s capital. Her death sparked outrage among students and community members. Dozens have mobilized to denounce the death not only as murder, but also as feminicide. The investigation into Rivera’s death reflects the Mexican justice system’s failure to adequately address the issue of violence against women on a national level. Despite the enactment of federal legislation to prevent and prosecute feminicide, defined as the extreme violence against women due to their gender, marked by impunity that violates their human rights and results in death, authorities have failed to apply a gender analysis into their investigation of Rivera’s death. In fact, murders of women are on the rise in Mexico, and have been for several decades. Today, this issue is not limited to Ciudad Juarez-the northern Mexican city notorious for its violence against women. It’s a human rights crisis that has spread throughout the country. In Mexico City, once considered a safe haven exempt from the violence plaguing the rest of Mexico, women are also murdered with impunity. This month Mexico City’s public prosecutor ruled that Rivera committed suicide and detained her boyfriend Jorge Luis González for allegedly failing to intervene. González has been charged with homicide by omission for not doing enough to prevent Rivera’s death. In this case, Mexican law cites the perpetrator’s negligence, and not intent, as is the case with crimes like homicide and feminicide. The ruling comes despite video footage released by UNAM that shows him beating Rivera just minutes before her death.

Political Report # 1256 Colombia's Christian Alt-Right

By ANDRÉS GONZÁLEZ, JACOBIN

The defeat of Colombia's referendum in October of 2016 was a shocking development. Liberal and left-wing observers failed to predict that voters would be won over by the Right's fear-mongering anti-peace campaign. In Colombia, ideological vestiges of the Cold War have been refashioned to direct fear and anger towards a fictional "gender ideology" that supposedly poses a spiritual threat to Christian values. In the lead-up to the peace referendum, right-wing groups were able mobilize the imaginary threat of a queer, communist conspiracy to generate panic and turn it into political capital. It's time we grappled with the gruesome consequences of a political conjuncture in which online media figures, conservative religious movements, and a generalized politics of fear all intersect to shore up support for the Right, even in a country poised to overcome a persistent conflict that has raged for more than fifty years. The War on "Gender Ideology" After four years of negotiations between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Popular Army (FARC-EP), an end to Colombia's long internal conflict seemed near.  But in October 2016, with only 37 percent of the almost 35 million eligible voters showing up to the polls, the peace agreement was rejected by a margin of just 50.21 percent. A few days after the failed referendum, Juan Carlos Vélez, manager of the campaign opposing the peace agreement, was interviewed by La República, a well known newspaper in Colombia. According to Vélez, the success of his campaign was due to two factors: 1) the importance of digital social networks over other media sources, and 2) a differential approach to messaging that targeted different class audiences.

Book, "Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador: Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment" by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book, Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book, "Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador: Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment" by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book, "Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador: Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment" by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book, "Rereading Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Political Economy of Gender." Edited by Jennifer Abbassi and Sheryl L. Lutjens

"Rereading Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Political Economy of Gender."

Edited by Jennifer Abbassi and Sheryl L. Lutjens

Book, "Transnational Latina/o Communities: Politics, Processes, and Cultures" Edited by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez

Transnational Latina/o Communities: Politics, Processes, and Cultures
Edited by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez

and Anna Sampaio

with Manolol González-Estay

Political Report # 1050 Honduran Democracy Still in Crisis 6 Years After Coup By teleSUR

Honduran women protest violence and human rights abuses. (photo: Reuters)

Six years ago Sunday, a U.S.-backed military coup ousted democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya, flying him to exile in Costa Rica in the early hours of the morning on June 28. Zelaya had planned to hold a non-binding poll on whether to hold a referendum in the upcoming election on convening a constituent assembly to rewrite the Honduran constitution. Zelaya, of the Liberal Party, showed a progressive turn during his presidency by raising the minimum wage, negotiating land deals with campesino movements, and joining the Venezuelan-led regional energy alternative ALBA, in addition to opening the conversation on a constituent assembly. Coup-backers accused Zelaya of attempting to manipulate the Honduran constitution to extend his presidency, which was limited to one term in Honduras before the recent Supreme Court ruling to change the wording in the constitution. The non-binding poll under Zelaya would not have changed the fact that he could not run for re-election in the November 2013 general election. The coup against Zelaya was widely condemned by governments across Latin America, the European Union, the Organization of American States and other regional blocs.

Book, "Rereading Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Political Economy of Gender" Edited by Jennifer Abbassi and Sheryl L. Lutjens

Rereading Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Political Economy of Gender.

Edited by Jennifer Abbassi and Sheryl L. Lutjens.

Book, "Transnational Latina/o Communities: Politics, Processes, and Cultures" Edited by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez

Transnational Latina/o Communities: Politics, Processes, and Cultures
Edited by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez

and Anna Sampaio

with Manolol González-Estay

Abstract, Irreconcilable Differences: Political Culture and Gender Violence during the Chilean Transition to Democracy by Hillary Hiner and María José Azócar

Irreconcilable Differences: Political Culture and Gender Violence during the Chilean Transition to Democracy
by Hillary Hiner and María José Azócar

| | |  Abstract  | | |

The politics of national reconciliation during the transitional period of the 1990's in Chile constructed a hegemonic framework that affected discourses in other domains in multi-layered ways. In order to achieve consensus among its various factions, the Concertación used “reconciliation” discourse to portray the nation as a family, and potentially divisive issues were framed in the most apolitical, an historical, and technical way. In this context, gender violence was construed as a matter of family and individual liberties, and the objective of the first family violence law was maintaining the family intact. The framework of reconciliation and its association with Christian forgiveness and family unity promoted the use of conciliation rather than sentencing as the primary means of settling domestic violence disputes and made it difficult for those affected by gender violence to achieve justice. However, the foundational discourses of the 1990's served an important purpose in opening up discursive spaces on gender violence that could be further refined.

Las políticas de reconciliación nacional durante el periodo de transición de los 1990 en Chile armaron un marco hegémonico que afectó el discurso en otros campos de múltiples maneras. Para lograr el consenso entre sus diferentes facciones, la Concertación usó el discurso de la “reconciliación” para describir la nación como una familia y los temas que pudieran suscitar discrepancias fueron enmarcados de la manera más apolítica, ahistórica y técnica. En este contexto, la violencia de género fue interpretada como una cuestión de libertades individuales y de la familia, y el objetivo de la primera ley sobre violencia familiar fue mantener a la familia unida. El marco de reconciliación y su asociación con el perdón cristiano y la unidad familiar promovieron el uso de la conciliación en lugar de la sanción penal como el medio principal para resolver las disputas de violencia doméstica. Esto hizo difícil que aquellas personas afectadas por la violencia de género recibieran justicia. Sin embargo, los discursos fundacionales de los 1990 sirvieron para abrir más espacios de discusión sobre la violencia de género, y ésto es algo que podría ser profundizado.

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE:
Irreconcilable Differences: Political Culture and Gender Violence during the Chilean Transition to Democracy
by Hillary Hiner and María José Azócar

Latin American Perspectives 2015 42: 52-72