Dissertation Research: Gender, Autonomy and Indigenous Rights in Chiapas, Mexico

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Over the past few decades in Latin America, rural politics has shifted from national popular and class-based agendas to a politics of indigenous identity, often transcending regional and national boundaries. This shift has produced tensions as multicultural nation-states consolidate neoliberal forms of governance and simultaneously face increasing demands for collective rights and autonomy from ethnic groups. This dissertation research by a cultural anthropologist from the University of Texas at Austin will examine the Zapatista Army of National Liberation's movement for autonomy and indigenous rights in Chiapas, Mexico by comparing two communities in Zapatista-run autonomous townships in the Canadas region, which have strong variations in levels of gender equity and women's participation. Through the ethnographic methods of household surveys, oral histories, semi-structured interviews, participant observation and archival research, this project will investigate the historical construction of these differences and will analyze the relationship between gender and autonomy. The study will focus on the ways in which gender equity has positively and negatively affected the practice and consolidation of autonomy and will contribute to the theorization of indigenous women's organizing. The study will also assess the impact of gendered state responses on this process. Broader Impacts: By advancing understanding of the relationship between demands for individual rights, such as women's rights, and for collective rights within indigenous movements, the research findings will be of use to academics, policy-makers, and indigenous organizations as they search for peaceful ways to resolve conflicts. The project will also contribute to the education of a young social scientist.