Mining, Gender and Activism in Guatemala : A Gendered Construction of Politics
Introduction – Women in Politics: Political Construction and Representation Inequality
Analyzing the representation and roles of women in political organizations and public spaces, two observations become clear. Firstly, women are significantly under-represented in elected institutions and in the leadership of political organizations. In actuality, women make up 153 of the 540 voting and non-voting members of [US] Congress when both the House of Representatives and the Senate are taken into consideration. This represents 28% – less than one-third – of all congress(wo)men. And this observation is also true, and sometimes even more evident, in the global South. For example, in Guatemala 31 of the 160 elected representatives are women, which represents only 19% of all the country’s elected representatives. But, why is this the case? Political socialization, referring to the differentiated registration of men and women in this process, could provide keys to understanding the exclusion (and self-exclusion) of women from the exercise of political power (Percheron, 1985).
Additionally, when we look at the specificity of militant trajectories based on gender, we know that women rarely reach the top of political careers. According to Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, the way women engage themselves in international, national, or local political events, does nothing to help them escape a gendered and racial differentiation. This article looks to describe and illustrate this difference in the political socialization between the indigenous men and women from San Rafael las Flores (Santa Rosa, Guatemala) after the arrival of El Escobal Mine. Throughout this paper, an analysis will be made of the obstacles women face to participating in political movements and spaces, from their education and socialization to discrimination during their participation. This paper will deeply analyze gendered political socialization.
Double Violence: Gendered Political Resistance and Engagement.
Previous research has analyzed and illustrated how the installment of extractive industries in rural areas has negative effects on local populations, especially women. This incites resistance, and protest, against these corporations from the local population, such as manifestations, and road blockages to obstruct the circulation of mining products, machines, and workers. Although, the experiences of female resistance fighters differ from those of male resistance fighters in several ways. Firstly, it should be noted that the number of women actively involved in anti-mining activities and actions is lower than that of men. They are less physically present at anti-mining demonstrations and blockages. But this could not be explained by a lack of interest, a lack of widespread concern by women about mining and its environmental consequences. In fact, it comes as no surprise, that women have actively formed part of Latin American history since its beginning; from La Malinche, in Mexico in the 16th century, to their participation in the wars of independence in the 19th century, and their essential roles in the many 20th century civil movements and revolutions on the continent like the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic. Women have taken an active part in the different historic regimes and political transitions on the continent: from colonial times, to independence, to military dictatorships, to an aspired democracy, and now to a more respectful and inclusive productive system. Politologist Gloria Castrillón explains that for women, elements such as motherhood, relationships, intimacy, life, and death, acquire a different value. They must substantially modify the referents that had been culturally assigned to them to participate.
Politics, as well as involvement in it, is normally associated with the traditionally masculine realms of conflict, power, and strength from which women and young girls are often excluded (Pagis, 2007). Primary socialization is characterized by a "predominance of a male model of interpretation of interest as well as of political commitment," according to French sociologist Anne Muxel. The socially valued political skills correspond to abilities inculcated mainly in boys, such as standing out, speaking loudly, and being interested in leadership roles. These abilities are useful and mobilized by boys, who are not only taught to be interested in politics but also in the political process. These skills are useful and mobilizable when participating in resistance and road blockages.
For example, mothers will often allow boys to go out in town alone and participate in public life, more than girls; boys are also allowed to stay longer in school and within the education system than girls who are generally married or initiated in domestic life and tasks. In fact, according to the 2002 census, 32.30% of the population over 7 years of age in San Rafael las Flores could not read or write, with 31.86% illiteracy among men and 32.76% among women, which is one of the major obstacles to the health and progress of these communities. This difference in education and political socialization explains part of this differentiated participation in public debate and activities.
Gendered Experience in Militantism
However, the reasons behind this difference in participation go beyond this differentiated socialization and are very much related to what is conceived as the gendered "traditional role" of women as protectors of social reproduction and life maintenance.
The domestic tasks left to women in their homes often make it difficult for them to participate physically in the resistance. However, this does not mean that they do not participate. Indeed, Yarmirla, one of the local women I got the opportunity to interview, told me that since she works as a teacher in Santa Rosa de Lima, she has less time to be present in the resistance. But she says that there are other ways to participate, such as sending food for the people who are physically present in the road blockages or informing her students and the people she meets about the social and political situation in San Rafael las Flores and the region in general. The participation of women, although important and useful, happens behind the scenes and is less explicitly political than the role played by the men of the resistance.
Several interviewees told me about situations in which the defamation of the resistance women was so serious that the women had to leave the resistance or even the country. The rumors that were created were both personal (from the private domain of the resistance women, such as affairs with male resistants), as well as political (falsely charging the resistance women with various crimes). For example, the rumors that existed at the time about the participation of women in the resistance attacked their supposed promiscuity and/or their "search for a couple".
These discriminatory episodes were also experienced in the more "organizational" and "bureaucratic" spaces of the resistance. Yarmirla tells me that she collaborates – voluntarily – in the organization of the 24-hour guards or posts at the road blockage, reminding the inhabitants and the resistance members about their turn at the road blockages and the schedule of it, through messages or telephone calls. But several times, her authority as well as her commitment to the resistance were questioned and violently challenged by the men participating, because of their gender. The discrimination that women face in these revolutionary movements demonstrates how women are expected to participate in revolutionary projects that espouse class equality without addressing or changing the gendered power structures that keep women in a subordinate position. This provides a scientific justification for why women in San Rafael las Flores, who live close to the mine, are frequently assigned tasks that are of lower political importance and visibility.
Based on this research and interviews on the ground, even if women surpass differentiated education and socialization, they may still find limits and obstacles to building their political voice and making themselves heard and considered political equals to men.
Conclusion
Through the years, women and feminist activists have won different political rights, such as voting and the right to participate in public life such as political protests and resistance activities. However, even if women are a part of this political world, they are often made to feel like they do not belong in it. It’s a vicious circle of discrimination. They are not socialized and taught the necessary skills to participate in the public arena, so their participation within these political organizations and organs is limited and inferior to that of their male counterparts. This results in a lack of representation of women in politics and a lack of role models for many young women. They still face gender-based discrimination and harassment, even within the anti-mining resistance. Gender is a marker that limits women and defines their role within society and political movements, as caregivers and secondary actors.
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