barrio women - between the urban and the feminist movement (1)

8/12/2019 Barrio Women - Between the Urban and the Feminist Movement (1)

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Barrio Women: Between the Urban and the Feminist MovementAuthor(s): Lilia RodriguezSource: Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 21, No. 3, Social Movements and Political Change inLatin America: 2 (Summer, 1994), pp. 32-48Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2633664.

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BarrioWomenBetweenheUrban ndtheFeminist ovementbyLiliaRodriguez

The importancef strugglesn thesphere f reproductionas beendebatednterms fwhetherheyre"able todevelop revolutionarylassconsciousness,hat s, to elaborate n alternativeocietalproject r be asubjectf ocietal ransformation"Assies, 990: 4).Accordingoorthodoxapproaches,ecauseorganizationsormed round ollective onsumptionareheterogeneousnclasscomposition'nddo not onfrontapital irectlythey ave ittle ossibilityfgiving ise o classconsciousnessrbringingabout mportantocial andpolitical hange.This argumentests n theassumptionhat hesocial position f subjectsn the productivepheremechanicallyeterminesheironsciousness.heorthodoxiewfocuses nproductiontrugglesndunderestimateshe esidence-basedoliticaltrug-gles in whichwomenhavehistoricallylayed n importantole.Rapidurbanizationithoutnfrastructurend ervices asresultedn strugglesorcollective onsumption,ndpoorwomen aveusually een tthe orefrontof such truggles;ackof services uch s water,ewers, lectricity,ealthcenters,hild arefacilities,ransport,nd oon, ffects omen ndmen ndifferentays.Other easons avebeen uggestedor onsideringtrugglesnthe epro-ductivephereess mportanthan hosenthe roductivene.Moser 1985:2) argues hat productionasedstrugglesre more uccessful ot onlybecause heyreproductionasedbut lsobecause heyremen's trugglesand s such revaluedbecausewhatmen o svalued)whereasonsumptionstrugglesntheprivatephere ecause hey re undertakenywomen reLiliaRodriguezs thedirectorf theEcuadorian enter fPromotionnd Action orWomen(CEPAM) inQuito ndan activistn theEcuadorian omen'smovement.he has a master'sdegree rom heLondon choolofEconomics,nd s currentlyirectingresearchroject nissues furbanoverty.hethankshe olandaWomen's enterCEMUS) formakingtpossiblefor er o earn hroughheirxperience,he nteruniversityenterfLatinAmerican esearchandDocumentationCEDLA) for he pportunityo reflectnherwork xperiencenEcuadorandpresentt o n nternationalorkshop,ndJoBeall andSylviaChantt the ondon choolofEconomics or akinghe ime oread nd ommentnher rticle nd ocorrecter nglish.LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 82, Vol. 21 No. 3, Summer 1994 32-48C 1994 Latin AmericanPerspectives32

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RodriguezBARRIOWOMEN 33

invisibilizedsic]andhaveno value."Furthermore,residential-leveltrug-glemay lsobe inherentlyeaker han roductionasedstruggleecausethe onflictetween enderndclass smore penlymanifest."The dichotomyetweenroductionndreproduction,ublic ndprivateseemsnadequateo xplainwomen'snvolvementn trugglenurbanreas.Poorwomen ombine omestic asks nd economic ctivities. heyareresponsibleor hildbearing,hild are, nd food upplyndalso work obringncomesotheir ouseholds.nmany asestheresnoclear eparationbetween he pointofreproductionnd the point f production.opularwomen's rganizationsall nto uestionhe alse ichotomiesf heWesterntraditionnd contributeo a deeperunderstandingf the everyday-lifestruggleshat epresentmode fresistanceo engenderedormsfpower.Moreover,rban trugglend ocial hangemay e seen s centeredot nlyon class relationshipsut lsoonotherontractionselated ogender,ace,ethnicity,ationality,ndreligion. he notion fpluriclassisms charac-teristicf social movementsastsdoubt n overdeterminationyclassandpointsoother actorsn he eterminationf onsciousnessCastells, 983).Feministheorynparticularas riticizedhe istinctionetweenrimaryand econdaryontradictions,he rimacyf he lass truggle,he eparationofproductionndreproductions autonomouspheres,ndthe ssignmentofmoremportanceoproductivehan oreproductiveork. naddition,thasreconceptualizedower. he logan Thepersonalspolitical"mbodiesa profoundritiquef raditionalonceptsssociated ithhe ublic omain.Bystressinghat ower elationsermeatell aspects f ife, eminismascontributedothe xpansionfthe ettingsnwhich oliticsakes laceandbroadenedhe oncept fthe olitical.

NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTSAND WOMEN'S PARTICIPATIONAlthoughheres consensushatwomen lay n mportantole nneigh-borhoodmobilizationCastells, 983),women's articipations still ver-looked n most tudies f social movements.henewactor hat mergesseemssexless. t is insufficientimply o be awareofwomen's ole; t snecessaryospell ut he ontributionfwomen otmerelyodomesticifebut lso tocollectivendpolitical ctionJelin, 990).Theemergencefgrass-rootsomen's rganizationsn LatinAmericas linked o ssuesofhuman ights,emocracy,itizenship,iving onditions,rovisionfurbanservices,ndso on,but boveallpoorwomen,hroughheirrganizations,aregaining xperiencen constructingollectivedentitiesndchanging



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34 LATINAMERICANPERSPECTIVES

everydayower elationsndbroad oliticsnthat hey uestion ower othwithinhehouseholdndoutsidet.Barriowomen's articipationn urban trugglesas beenexplainedntermsf heir oles swives ndmothers. omenn ow-incomerbanreasperformtripleole: eproductive,roductive,nd ommunity-management(Moser,1989).Theyusually ecome nvolvednurban trugglesot ustbecausethey pend hemost ime n the neighborhoodutbecausetheirgender-ascriptiveolemakes hem esponsibleor rovidingor heir ami-lies.Gender ifferencesre crucialnunderstandinghy ndhowwomenandmen rganizendparticipatenurban truggle.2omenndmen erformdifferentoles, avedistincteeds, ocialresponsibilities,xpectations,ndpower,ndaresocializedn differentays.Genders a socialconstructionexplains he ocialrelationsetweenmen nd women,which redialecticandvarywith lass, ace, ulture,ge,religion,nd o on, nd t lso explainstheir ifferentialarticipationKaufman,991).As Morgen 1988: 111) argues,however,Women'sinvolvementncommunityrganizingannot eexplainedyorreducedo their oles ndresponsibilitiesswives,mothers,rdaughters. omen'sommunity-basedpoliticalctivisms a consciousnd ollective ayof xpressingnd ctingon theirnterestsswomen,swives ndmothers,s membersfneighbor-hoods nd ommunities,nd smembersfparticularace, thnic,nd lassgroups."n otherwords,t seems mportanto link hesevarious olesofwomenwithocial, conomic,olitical,nd ulturalactorsnunderstandingwomen'sparticipation.arriowomen reengaged nmobilizationt thecommunityevel hatonfrontslass ndgenderontradictionsnd mbodiesdifferentdentitiesndneeds. lassandgenderhus onvergendoverlapnwomen'sives.Additionally,arriowomen'sparticipationas to be understoods aprocessn which ractical endernterestsfood,helter,ater, ealthare,and so on) and strategicendernterestsredefinitionfgender elations)mayconvergeMolyneux, 985).Practicalndstrategicendernterestshavebeentranslatedntoplanningermss needed Moser,1989: 1803).Implicitn this pproachs thedifferentiationetweenwomen's racticalneeds,which einforcehe exualdivisionf abor,nd heirtrategiceeds,whichmust e identifiedo overcomeheirubordination.arriowomen'sparticipationsaffectingenderelationsndreconceptualizingenderden-tity. hischallengeshe rameworknwhich heir articipations analyzedand alls nto uestionhe heoreticalivisionetweenracticalnd trategicgender eeds Lind,1992:148;Rodriguez,993:36).Examiningarriowomen's articipationnneighborhoodrganizationsis importantor woreasons. irst,t s importantounderstandhenature,



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RodrfguezBARRIOWOMEN 35

content,orms,ndmeaning f their articipationn the ight fgenderrelations. otdoing o hasfrequentlyed tosuch rroneousonclusionssthatwomen o not articipateecause heyre political,hatheirnterestsarenot ery olitical ecause heyre mmersedndomesticife, nd hat heway nwhich hey articipates notvery olitical. econd, uch tudiesrefew Blondet, 984,1990;Sara-Lafose, 984;RaczynskindSerrano,985;Feijo and Gagna,1986;CESIP, 1988;Piresde Rio Caldeira,1990;Jelin,1990) andinEcuador re ustbeginningCEPALES, 1985;Moser,1987;Camacho, 990;Rodriguez,990;1992;Lind,1992).Two common iasesmust e avoided: nthe ne hand, he nthusiasticndromanticpproachesthat lorifyopularrganizationssmicromodelsf n deal ocietynwhichdemocracy,olidarity,nd ntiauthoritarianismredominantalues nd, nthe ther and, he kepticalpproacheshat nderestimatehepotentialfthese rganizationsn thegroundshat hey einforceraditionaloles, rebasedonpracticalender eeds, nddonot eallyhallenge enderubordi-nation.

WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION IN APILOT HOUSING PROJECTSolanda, ne of thenew settlementsocatednthe outh fQuito,wasestablishedn 1982 as a pilothousing roject or ow-income amiliessponsoredythegovernmentnd everalnternationalgencies.t consistsofalmost ,000houses uiltwith oansfrom he cuadorian ousing ankon donatedand, nd ikemostnewneighborhoodst nitiallyackedbasicservicesnd nfrastructure.o tackleommonroblemsuch s waterupply,electricity,ransport,ndhighmortgagenterest,heresidents ormedneighborhoodommittee.nadditiono the ommittee,omeyouth roups,

sportslubs, nda marketooperative ere rganized.Inan efforto nvolvewomen nneighborhoodctivitiesnd nbuildingsupportor he ommitteeshemale) eadersncouragedhe ormationfwomen'sgroup.As one of these eaders xplained,The neighborhoodcommitteeromotedhewomen's rganizationecause heypentmore imeintheneighborhood,heyufferedost romhe roblems. eexpectedhattheneighborhoodommitteeould eadthe ctions." hewomen, owever,wantedheir wnorganization,ndthey elt tronglyboutt."Autonomy"orus is taking esponsibilityorourselves, aving urownorganization,ecidingwithoutxternalntervention,ndgettingespect orourgroup rom thers.t's betteror heneighborhoodhenwomen ndmenorganize,ecauseworkingogetherecanachieve urgoals, ut hey idnot



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36 LATIN AMERICANPERSPECTIVESwant ounderstandhis. heywere ikedictators;heywanteds toobey hemand workwith hem.Weagree o work or urneighborhood,utwe do notwant oobey.Gender elationsredecisiven understandingowwomenndmen awtheir rganizations.or the men n theneighborhoodt was normal orwomen oparticipatenmale-dominatedrganizationsuch stheneighbor-hood ommitteer nwomen's auxiliaries"nderheir uidance. hiswastantamountoan extensionfmen's ole n thedomesticphere;heywere

theheadsof households,nd thereforehey houldbe theheadsof allorganizations.s Kaufman1991:14)haspointedut, the neven apacityofmen ndwomen obeparticipantsnd eadersn democraticndpartici-patorynstitutionss not nly result f exism nd nequalitynthenarrowsense. t is alsothe esultfthedifferentalues hatmen nd women aveinternalizeds theyhavecreated heir enderedelf-identities."olandawomen egan o questionhis naturalness"ndto demandutonomyndidentitys a group.Theywanted o participaten general ctivitiesnd"coordinate" ith thersut lsoto berespectednd reateds equals.Thiswasviewedbytheneighborhoodommittees a threat:They hought ewanted ocompete ithhem, uplicatections,ndreducehe ommitmentto general oals."Thenegativeeactionf theneighborhoodommitteeoanautonomousarriowomen's rganizationan be analyzed s anexpres-sionofpatriarchalndpaternalisticdeology-patriarchalnthat hementried osubordinatehewomen otheirontrol ithinheirrganizationndpaternalisticnthat heyallowed" nd"encouraged"women's rganiza-tion ontrolledythem.Women's roups avebecome cceptedndareQftenromotednLatinAmerican eighborhoods.here s a traditionfmothers'roups etupbythe hurch,he tate,nd national nd nternationalgencies. heseorgani-zations re usuallyregardeds "welfare roups";womenoften eek toorganize mothers'enter ecause t s a wayfor hem o receive utsidehelp,food, econd-handlothing,medicine,nd so on. During hepastdecade,however,heway n whichbarriowomen rganize as changed.Manyhavemoved wayfromaternalisticndwelfare-orientedracticesomorecreative lternative odes oforganization.heyareorganizingoimproveheiriving onditionsndto demandnfrastructurendservices,especiallynthenewneighborhoods.omeofthese rganizationsombinemobilizationor ervicesuch s creches, ealth arecenters,chools, ndcommunal hops (often ponsoredby nongovernmentalrganizations[NGOs], he hurch,rthegovernment)ith he earningfpracticalkills



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andthe xaminationfwomen's aily ife. his onsciousness-raisingroc-ess is fundamentalo theconstructionf genderdentity.ome womenparticipatenmixed roupswhile thers,uch s the olandawomen,eekto participateutonomously.GENDER, DIFFERENT NEEDS, ANDDIFFERENT WAYS

From hebeginning,he bjectivesf he olandaWomen's enterweredefinedy he articipantss 1) the meliorationfbarrioivingonditions,especiallyhe rovisionf ervicesuch s water,reches, primarychool,and a market,nd 2) the mprovementfwomen's tatus,ncludinghelearningfpracticalkills nddiscussionfwomen's ightsnd therhemesrelated o women'sdaily ife.As a result f conflictsrising rom heirparticipation,heylso began o talk bout iolencen the amilyndto askfor dvice.3 he womenwere erynthusiasticbout heiruccessnhavingtheir roup ecognized4s a women9s rganizationnd n overcomingheirproblems ith heneighborhoodommittee.or he irstime hey adtheirownvoice nd ould xpressheirwndesiresndneeds. heneighborhoodcommittee as upset bout theWomen'sCenter ndmade an effortodiscredittbygossipingbout he articipants:Thesewomen re azy-theyoughtobe athome; his roupsnot oodforwomen." owever,hewomenbegan odevelop olidaritynd etupwork roupsopursueheir oals.At this oint distinctionanbemade nconnection ith ender oles.Theempirical ata uggesthatmen rewillingoengage nstrugglesforhousing eeds" uch s water,lectricity,ewer ervice,nd transport,ndneighborhoodommitteessually egin heir fforts ith heseproblems.There realso "household eeds," uch s food, hild are, chools, ealth,and markets,hich rerelatedo the ngenderedositionfwomenwithinthe exualdivisionf abor,ndherewomenend obemore oncernedhanmenandareusually ngaged s principalctors.5 enarefrequentlyessinterestednthese roblems,houghheywillsometimesupport omen'sinitiatives.t is rare, or xample, or neighborhoodommitteeopursuethe stablishmentfa creche ra nurserychool;usually nlywomen reengagednsuchmobilizations.ata frommany ifferenteighborhoodsnQuito6swellas the iteratureromther arts ftheworld onfirmhis.This uggestshatherexists tacit ender ivisionttheneighborhoodlevel.Whilemen areparticularlynvolvednhousing eeds,women reinvolvedna struggleor oth ousingndhousehold eeds ssociatedwiththeir eproductiveole. tmayalso suggest hat heway n whichbarrio



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women erceiveheir eeds t the ocal evel smore ntegrated.formerleader ftheneighborhoodommitteexpressedt as follows: Theymaythinkfthingshatwe [men] o not hinkf.They remore pen-minded."Is itfeasible,hen,o ntegratehe ction fwomenndmen t he ocal evel?Whatkinds fdemandsmight eviable?What s the ontributionfbarriowomenoanunderstandingf human eeds" nd he ncorporationf heseneeds nto rbanocialmovements?TheWomen's enter eganby onfrontinghe roblemsfwater upplyandeducation. he women new hat buildingitewas available or heschool, o they tartedo inquire bout t. The neighborhoodommittee,surprisingly,pposed he chool n the roundshat twasnot realneed tthemoment. leader ftheWomen's enteraid:

Thiswas incredible ou won'tbelieve t The neighborhoodommitteendsomepeoplen he ommunityere pposed o he chool ecause f henoiseof the hildrenndbecause upposedlytwas betteromaintainreen reas.Butfor s the choolwasverymportant,ecausewe didnotwant ur hildrento goto schools utside olanda.Ourorganizationadtostrugglegainstheneighborhoodommitteend the uthoritiess well.We put fence roundthe and, ut heyame nthenightndtook taway.We wereverynnoyed.We were ery irmbout he chool.Wewent othemunicipalityo skfor helegaldocumentsn the and,but he uthoritiesidnothelp us; theywerealways oobusy.We went ackmany imes.We felt hat hey id not espectus becausewe werewomenndpoor.Oneofourgroup ried ecause hefeltsodisrespected.nedaywe threatenedhe uthoritieshat e would enouncethemnthemedia, nd mmediatelyheyonsideredurpetition.heygaveus the egaldocumentsnd aid, Pleasegoaway,we do notwant osee youagain."During ll this imewe wereoutside,meeting ith hemunicipality,heprovincialouncil,he arliament,ndwe earned lot bout hese nstitutions.As a consequence, ehadmany roblemst home; urhusbands ereveryangry,irst ecause people ntheneighborhoodere alkingboutus andsecond ecause heyaidthatwewere eglectingurduties-children,lean-ing, ndeverything.hiswas not rue.We didour houseworkarly n themorning; e did not wantto haveproblemsn the family.Manyof ourcolleagues xperiencedroblems,ncludingiolentssaults.Westartedoaskourselves hymenhave he ightoparticipate,ogo out, ndwomen o not.During his tep nourorganizationrocesswe learned lot.Wegottheschool.twasgreatWewere ery appyhat ur acrifices ere ecompensed.We wereproud. hecommunityecognizedurwork nd startedorespectus. Theneighborhoodommittee,owever, asangryboutt.We wantedoparticipaten theneighborhoodommitteenyway,ut heywere adpeople.Oneofuswas elected ythe ommunitys a memberf the ommittee,utthemen ried osabotage erparticipation.ll themeetings ere cheduledvery atein theevening, or xample. n theendwe dropped ut of thecommitteend ontinuedowork stheWomen's enterlone.Westruggledforwater upply, market,reches.Many peoplestartedo ask us about



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RodrfguezBARRIOWOMEN 39everythingntheneighborhood,ecausewe knewwhatwas going n. Theneighborhoodommitteeasmany roblems;ts eaders hange requently,and tthemomentthasnohead. n the ourse f his rocesswetransformedourselves.We became nsistenttercas].Theexperiencef he olandaWomen's enterllustratesarious spectsofwomen's articipationt theneighborhoodevel.Morethan hepossiblematerial ffectsf women'sparticipationt is importanto analyzethepersonal ffectsnd groupearning rocessesndhowthese ontributeo

establishingew dentities.he Women's enterxperiencelso llustratesthe ynamicnwhich lassandgender eeds onverge.n strugglinggainstpovertyhesewomenhave earned o confrontenderubordination;heyhavebegun onegotiatend ven hange ower elationsndhavedevelopeda critical iew ftheworldnwhich hey articipate.his snot, owever,mechanicalrocess.As Jelin1990: 188) haspointedut, t s importanttoaskwhetherhe onditionsnderwhichwomeneave their raditionalolerootedndaily ife oenter he ublic omain onstitutesignificantepar-turewith egardo ocial hangesnwomen's ubordination,elping oformgenderdentitieshat ut ndoubt he urrentystemfdomination."The Solanda Women'sCenterwas influencedyexternalgents. heconditionsorthedevelopmentfa women'sgroupwere stimulatedymiddle-classeministomen spart f nNGOworkingnQuito'spopularneighborhoods.tsexperienceaises omequestionsbout herelationshipbetween GOsandgrass-rootsrganizationsnd uch ensitivessues s theroleofNGOs inmeeting ender eeds, imilaritiesnddifferencesmongwomen, ower,ndrepresentation.

STRUGGLING WOMEN: LEARNING TO SPEAKIn thebarriowomen's rganizations,ccordingoBarrig 1989: 138),womenrecoverhe bilityo peak,whichsveryignificantecause ilenceis one of hemost videntorms fwomen's ppression."would rgue hatalthough omen earn ospeak nddiscover hepower fspeech, hey onot ecoverhe ightospeakbecause hey ever ad t n the irstlace.AsMariaput t, I lacked elf-confidence;was anervouserson.When talkedtomyhusband neverooked this yes. was afraido peaknpublic.NowI realizehowtimid was. n theWomen's enter learned ospeak, o ookpeoplestraightntheeye.All myfears isappeared."ofiasaid,"In the

women's roup learned owtomanage elationships,learned romheothersecause nourgroup ll ofus have imilarroblems."ndRosasaid,"I'm participatingna women's rganizationor hefirst ime. never id



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that efore. usedto be a conformist-I sed to thinkhat was unable otake esponsibility,feltncapable f t.Now 'mlike differenterson;'vechanged. owI realize hat herere manynjustices.don'twant obe aconformist,want o do somethingochange hings."Learningo peak s a dynamicrocess. necannotay hatwomenearnfirsto talk mong hemselvesndthen o speak n thepublic rena.None-theless, articipantbservationn Solanda uggestshathe ifferentxperi-encesreinforceachother. arriowomenre bletospeak thomewithoutfearwhen heyre bletospeak o nstitutionsnd nmixed roups-whenthey eel elf-confident.omewomenwere fraidf heir usbands/partnersandweren panicwhen hey ad ocontradicthem. fterheirxperiencesin confrontingheneighborhoodommittee,he uthorities,ndthepoliti-ciansthey egan o askthemselves,Why an speakwithoutear othesepeople ndnot omy wnhusband?"hecollectivexperiencefparticipa-tion asmanyffectsn women's ives. omeof hem illnever e the ameagain.Personalgrowth,elf-confidence,hanges n relationshipsn thefamily, eighborhood,ndcommunityontributeo shaping heir enderidentity.

Thewomen fthe olandaWomen's enter alled hemselvespopularwomen's rganization,he strugglingomen fSolanda."Theirdentitysbarriowomenmeant hatheyntervenednthe ublic pheres a group, otas isolatedndividuals.n theprocess festablishingheirutonomyheydiscoveredheirdentitys individualsndas a collective. hey onfrontedsexismndmalepowerwithinheneighborhoodommitteend hangedhestereotypefpassive ndresigned omennto neof ctive ubjects.nthecourse ftheir onfrontationsith he ommitteeheyreated new mageofbarriowomenndearnedhe espectftheneighborhood.The identity-orientedaradigmfthenew-social-movementsiteraturetends o emphasize heir ultural imension,gnoringhe mportancefpowern heironstitution.ccordingoEvers 1985), orxample,the ewelement ithin henew ocialmovementsonsists reciselyncreatingitsofsocialpracticen which owers not entral."heculturalimensionsofcourseverymportant,utpopular rganizationsrenotexempt romconflictsverpower. ower onflictsccur othwithinroupsndbetweenthemnd outsiders.ifferencesetween ew ndoldmembers, oung ndmaturewomen, wners nd renters aypromoteonflict. he Women'sCenter as crosscuty uch ensions. rgumentsetweenoundersndnewmembersrosewhen achgroup ttemptedo controlomeof tsmaterialbenefits.ensionslsoexisted etweenhe roupnd xternalgents-otherorganizations,nstitutions,hestate, heNGOs, thepolitical arties,hechurch,nd so on-and conflictstthetwo evelswere nterrelated.t is



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within hese ower elationshat ew dentitiesmerge,s Salman 1990:133)haspointedut: Would tnot e more lausible o ssume hat henewidentities ust ndwilldevelop,ntertwinedith ower elationsndwithinthegiven tructuresf nstrumentalistolitical arties?hould, herefore,interactionith he urroundingociety otbe incorporatednconceptuali-zations bout he dentityhemovementsim t?"Autonomyoesnotmean solation;nthe ontrary,s thewomen hem-selves aid, Autonomysgettingespector hegroup rom thers." heylearnedhat utonomy asa conquest;hey oughtor nd earnedt nthecourse f conflictiveelations ith heneighborhoodommittee,he tate,theNGOs,andthe olitical arties. hemarginalizationfwomen's rgani-zationss a risk,speciallyngroupsike he olandaWomen's enter, hichmale-dominatedrganizationsry o gnorefthey annot se them.Aftertheir irst egative xperiencewiththeneighborhoodommittee,omewomenwerediscouragedrommaintainingnyconnection ith t.TheWomen's enter eveloped learningxperience ith he tate,heNGOs,andthepolitical artieswith egardothemodesof confrontationnd/ornegotiationppropriateo each.Someproblemsrosewithinhegroup s aresult f differenterceptions,ut tmaintainedtsunity. tthe ame ime,linksbetween opularwomen's rganizationsnEcuador reweak.7 hewomen'smovementsyoung,nd t annotppropriatelyrticulateifferentwomen's erspectives.ntangledknots"nterfereithts onsolidationndexpansionseeRodriguez,992).The SolandaWomen's entermphasizedpopular"s oneof tsprimarycharacteristics.hewomen'sxperiencendealingwithheocal uthorities,theprivateector,oliticians,heNGOs,and he hurch asvery mportanttothemndefininghemselves. hen hey aid, We felt hat hey id notrespect s becausewe werewomen ndpoor," hey aralleledpoor" nd"popular."his anbeseen sreflectinggeneralense fexclusion. tthesametime, owever,heydentifiedhemselves ith heir eighborhood:"Solanda sa popular eighborhood.e ack ervices, e needmanyhings;wearedifferentromhenorthern8eighborhoods."heirharedxperienceof confrontationith he tate nd tsrepresentativesas unsuccessfultfirst, ut n theendthey xerted ressure,ssertedhemselves,ndeventhreatenedhe uthoritiesnorder obeheard. hey egan ounderstandowpower elationsffectedheirives ndtoexplore ow heyoulddealwiththem: In thebeginning e wereworried; e usedtowalkquietly,peakquietly.t was as ifwewere lways sking favor. ater n we learnedhatwe hadrights.twas very mportant. e changed urwayofasking orthings. ow we aremore onfident;eask,wespeakwithoutear....WhentheEcuadorian ousing ank wantedo ncreasehe nterestn our oans,



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42 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

we participatedn demonstration;e went othe ank uthorities,ut heydidnotwant oreceive s.They aid, OK, wherere he eaders? nlymencanenterhe ffice.' utweprotested,ndone ofourgroupwasable togoinalongwith hemen."When arrio omen egan ooccupy he ublic rena,heywerenot nlystraininghe imitsfdomesticife ut lsobreakinghe ules ndchangingthepatternsf their elationshipsith thers:men, uthorities,nstitutions,andthe tate. hisprocess an becalled mpowerment.arriowomenwerestrugglingo overcomeheirackofpower. hroughheir xperiencenthewomen's roupheyearnedorecognizeifferentormsfpower ndhowtheyffectedheir ersonalndfamilyives. Forthesewomen,mpower-ment eginswhen hey hange heirdeas about he ausesof their ower-lessness,when hey ecognisehe ystemicorces hat ppress hem,ndwhen heyct o hangehe onditionsf heirives"MorgenndBookman,1988:4).Many roblemsrosewithinhewomen's ouseholds,nd nfacing hemwomen dopteddifferenttrategies.ome dropped utof theWomen'sCentern order o avoid onflict ith heir usbandsrpartnersrbegan odisguiseheirarticipation.thers egotiatedith heiramilies,skingwhywomenwerenot ree ogotomeetings.omeevenbroke ff heir elation-ships. nany vent,women egan uestioningheir ppressions women,espousing ew deas even fthey ouldnot mmediatelylter heir amilyrelations.his s a commonxperience,sVargas1991:29) pointsut: Werealisewecannot ightll battlestonce.Wenegotiate,setraditionalormsofarguingopreservehemost ighly-valuedoals, ornstance,elegatingfor he ime eing heneedofsubstantialhangenthe exualdivision flabourwithin hehome, ecauseweknow his s oneof themost ifficultthingsochangensocietiesikeours."

Because family roblemswerevery ommon, hey tarted o discussthese-to share heirxperiencesndsupportachother. iolence gainstwomenmergeds an mportantopic. hey ecided ocallattentionotheirexperienceshroughheaterimed tsensitizinghe ommunity,heir us-bands,ndother omen.n theirirstlay,TheBrooms,"hey sedbroomsas a symbolf heiromesticppressionnd ransformedhemnto symboloftheir iberation.hiswas one oftheir irstmajor ffortso educate hecommunitybout onstraintsnwomen's articipationnd machismondabove ll toraise heirwn onsciousnessbout heirppressionswomen.Women's onfrontationfthe naturalness"ftheirppressioneems obeconnected ith hecollective xperiencefarticulatingndsharingheirpersonal roblemsnd earninghat therwomen re n similarituations.This hangesheirminds ndhelps hemorediscoverheir orld. gender



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identitymergesromhis onfrontationetweenheirwn ives ndthoseofothers.IMPLICATIONS FOR URBANSOCIAL MOVEMENTSAND THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT

Barriowomenmbodydual dentitysclass ndgender.hey articipateandmobilize n the neighborhoods membersf their ommunitiesndhousewives, others,nddaughters,utbecause fgender ifferencesheyparticipaten a differentayfrommen.The content,ature,orms,ndmeaningftheir articipationredifferent.hesedifferencesmbraceon-flictiveelations,nd lashes etweenlass ndgenderevelop. rbanocialmovementsavenot ncorporatedhegender imensionnto heir nder-standingf urbanproblems,nd thereforeomen's nterestsndneedsusually emainnvisible.t is assumed hatwomen nd menhavesimilarneeds, xpectations,nd responsibilities.he inabilityftraditionallass-basedormale-based rganizationso address ender eeds s an obstacle othemore emocraticndpluralistonstructionf ocialmovements.It s a commonplacehat he eadershipfurbanocialmovementsendstobecomedominatedymen.Womenrewelcome o participaten male-dominatedtructuresnly na subordinateole.Moreover,ecausethesestructuresunctionlientelistically,ontrolver ocalorganizationsecomescrucial.nsome ases, s inSolanda, arrio omen's rganizationsndotherrecent ommunity-basedroupsbeginto question raditionaleadershipstructures.he risk fbeingmarginalizedith egardodecisionmakingntheneighborhoods real. Barriowomen remarginalizedlready.Manywomen's roups,peratingutsidehe eneralynamicf he eighborhood,haveno suchproblem;heyepresentothreato nyone. heres,however,a problemor ew ypes forganizationsuch s theWomen's enterwhenthey egin oquestionhe eadershipnd he roceduresnd oclaim shareof he ower ndparticipationndecisionmaking. erewomen ave odealwithmale uthoritarianism,nd ometimesheirroupsremarginalizedndthey ecome iscouragedromarticipating.Atthe ame ime,whereas arrio omen aveproblemsncommonwithother omen's roupsssociated ithhe ubordinationfwomenn ociety,they ifferrom hesegroupsnmanyways.The Solandawomen alledthemselves popular rganizationn order odistinguishhemselvesrommiddle-class omen's rganizations.heyhaddifferentgendas, riorities,leaders,nddiscoursesrommiddle-classeministsndevenrefusedobeidentifieds feminists.t sobvious, owever,hat arrio omen's rganiza-



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tionshave enormous otential or mbodyingeministemands, nd inpracticemany f hemrefightingenderubordination.hey re trugglingto improveheiriving onditionsndchange heir ower elations ithinandoutsidehehousehold,nd nsodoing heyrequestioninghe ssump-tion hat eminismsonly he omain fthemiddle lasses.Middle-class eministroupsresometimesrappedn a sisterhoodde-ology hat indersecognitionfdifferencesndconflictsmongwomen.Narrow-mindedeminismenies he mportancefstrugglesor racticalgender eeds nddevalues rganizationroundhesessues. t eemsmpor-tant or eministso broadenheironcept f thewomen'smovementndfeministractice.Progressivendfeminist omen's rganizationsaveoften ailed o recognizehe valuewomen laceon their olesas wives,mothersndhomemakersndhave hus ost pportunitiesor ngaging ithpopular onsciousnessn a criticalnd creativeway" Bell,Hassim, ndTodes,1989).Barriowomen ossess normousotentialor ontributingoculturalndsocialtransformation.heyneed ostrengthenheir rganizationalapacityand mpowerhemselvess ndividualsnd s groupsy cquiringesources,skills, eadership,nd a capacity ordialogue ndforbuildingoalitions.Theseprocesses,swehave een, rehighlyomplex.

CONCLUSIONSThe case ofSolandaproducesmore uestionshan onclusions. rbansocialmovementsringogetherot people" na neutralensebutwomenandmen withdifferentdentities,ules,needs,beliefs, opes,fears, ndwishes.Theneighborhoodf notnecessarily place in which bjectives,

demands,ndmodes fparticipationoincide. n the ontrary,ifferencesconnected ith lass,gender,ge,region,ndreligionmay reate onflictsand ensions.What,hen,re he ossibilitiesor rbanocialmovementsoexpress his ocial diversity-to ealwith he pecific ontradictionson-nectedwithhese ifferences?s itpossible oenvisage democratizationfsocialmovementshat ecognizeshepluralityfsocial subjects ndthediversityf nterestsnd needs? s itpossible odevelop holistic iewofchangen which ulture,deology, aily ife, ndgender elationsanbeconfronted?In theprocessof participationarriowomen'sdaily iveshavebeenaffected. e haveseen howthe onstraintsfbeinghousewives,mothers,anddaughtersecome otentialorces or ransformingheirubordination,howgenderdentitymerges romollective articipation,owpowerless



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RodrfguezBARRIOWOMEN 45

women re changingverydayower elationsndpolitics owthat heyhavelearned o recognizendquestion owerwithinhehouseholdndoutsidet.These oundless rocessesreperhaps ot hangingheworld, uttheyertainlyave hangedheir orld. s tothe ossibleong-termffectsofthese hanges,we canonly onjecturehat heyhavethepotentialorintroducingew values ntodaily ife.Becausegenders relational,hiscannotbe a one-sided rocess; ather,t involves nteractionithmen.Women'scommunitynvolvementoes someway toward mpoweringwomen o nteract ithmenwith reaterkill ndself-confidence,ncour-aging hangesnmen s well. dentity,s we haveseen, s built hroughcomplex rocesses.temergesromhe arious xperiencesf onfrontationin everydayife.Barriowomenhave developed heir onsciousnessndomestic ndpublic pheres ot n isolation utas a collective, ot bylamentingheirppressions a gender utbyconfrontinglassandgenderrelations.TheSolandaWomen's enterannot e evaluatedntermsf ts chieve-ment f explicit bjectives lone.Social organizationsredynamic,ndchangesmay ome o ight uringts volution.erhaps yexamininghemmore loselywe cancaptureherichnessfthese rocesses. hesebarriowomen'spoliticizationuggestshatmobilizationround ractical enderneedsmay evelop oth lass ndgenderonsciousness,allingnto uestionthe ractical-strategicichotomy.owever,t s not mechanicalroductuta processn which arious actorsonverge.he roleof externalgentsscrucialnthis rocess. heprospectsor urvivalfbarriowomen's rgani-zations ie in their wnforces-strengtheningheir roups, stablishingnetworksmong hemselves,evelopinghe bilityoestablishinkswith rconfrontthermovements,he olitical arties,he tate,nstitutions,nd hechurch,ndpreservingheir pace and their utonomy. ale-dominatedurban ocialmovements aybecome ble torecognize arriowomen sequal actors atherhanmerelys "help"for eneraltrugglesndtoformmeaningfulndmore qual coalitionswith hem.At the sametime, hewomen'smovementeeds obe revitalized ith ifferentpproaches,rac-tices, ndexperiences. s feminists ehavenot ufficientlyxploredhepossibilitiesorinkinglass,gender,thnicity,ace, ndreligion,nd here-forewhat s clear ntheorys confusednpractice.What hebarriowomenaredoingsmakingheir wnhistory,ut heyredoing hisn contexthatincludeshe tate,he oliticalarties,heNGOs, he hurch,he nternationalagencies,ndthe mpact f feministdeasgeneratedutside ftheirmme-diate nderstanding.hat heirtrugglesredoing, owever,stransformingthese eministdeas andpracticenthedirectionf a feminismapableofembracinghe hinking,xperience,nddesires f llwomen.



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46 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

NOTES1. Thereductionf thereproductionf aborpower o collectiveonsumptionas beencriticizedecause t xcludes spects fdailyife hatreparticularlymportantorwomen seeLittle, eake, ndRichardson,988).2. The distinctionetween sex" and"gender"s importantnunderstandinghe ocialrelationsetweenwomen nd men. Sex" refers o thephysicalharacteristicsf males ndfemales; gender"s a social construction.Sex" is a biological erm nd "gender" psycho-logical ndculturalne seeOakley, 972).3.The EcuadorianWomen's enter or romotionndActionCEPAM), n NGO workinginpopular rbanreas nQuito ndGuayaquilince1983,hasofferedupportnd dvice otheSolandaWomen's enter romts nception.4. OrganizationsecognizedytheMinistryf SocialWelfare re entitled o enter ntocontracts ith he tate, GOs,or nternationalgencies.5. InPeru, or xample,heres massive articipationfbarrio omennsoupkitchensndmilk rograms.imilar xperiencesrereportedor hile,Brazil, ndColombia.6. Amadresuidadorasmovementandles governmentrogramt he eighborhoodevel.7. Recently opularwomen's rganizationsn thesouth f Quito havebegunworkingtogethernparticularrojects,ut hey emain ispersed.8. Inthe ast here as a clear ivision etween henorthnd he outh f he ity,henorthbeingdentifieds a rich reawith ull ervices nd nfrastructure.

REFERENCESAssies,Willem1990"Of structuredoves ndmovingtructures:noverviewftheoreticalerspectivesonsocialmovements,"nW.Assies,G.Burgwal,ndT.Salmaneds.), tructuresfPower,MovementsfResistance: n ntroductionotheTheories f UrbanMovementsnLatinAmerica. msterdam:EDLA.Barret, ichele1988Revised dition.WomensOppressionoday: roblemsnMarxist eministnalysis.

London:Verso.Barrig,Maruja1989"The difficultquilibriumetween read nd roses:women's rganizationsnd thetransitionrom ictatorshipo democracynPeru," n J.S. Jaquetteed.),TheWomen'sMovementnLatinAmerica. oston:UnwinHyman.Bell,Jo, . Hassim,ndA. Todes1989 Abit nthe ide?Gendertrugglesnthe oliticsf ransformationnSouthAfrica."Feministeview, o.34.Blondet, ecilia1990"Establishingn dentity:omen ettlersn a poorLimaneighborhood,"nElizabethJelined.),Womennd SocialChangenLatinAmerica. eneva:United ations esearchInstituteor ocial Development.Camacho,Gloria1990"Organizacionesopulares e mujeres reproducci6ne rolestradicionales." S,CEPALES, Quito.



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RodriguezBARRIOWOMEN 47Castells,Manuel1983 TheCity nd theGrassroots.ondon: dwardArnold.CEPALES1985 "Sistematizaci6nroyectoOrganizaci6n Promoci6n e la Mujer nBarrios opu-laresde Quito':La experiencian a primavera." esearch eport, uito.CESIP1987 Estrategiase.sobrevivenciade poderfemeninon os barrios. ima.Evers, ilman1985 Identity:hehidden ideofnew ocialmovementsnLatinAmerica,"nDavid Slater(ed.),NewSocial Movementsnd the tate nLatinAmerica. msterdam:EDLA.Feijo,MariCarmen ndM6nicaGogna1990 "Womennthe ransitiono democracy,"n Elizabeth elined.), Womennd SocialChangenLatin merica. eneva:United ations esearchnstituteor ocialDevelopment.Jelin, lizabethed.)1990 Women nd Social Change n LatinAmerica.Geneva: UnitedNationsResearchInstituteor ocial Development.Kaufman, ichael1991 "Differentialarticipation:en,women, nd popular ower." aperpresentedo aCEDLA/CERLACointworkshop,msterdam.Lind,AmyConger1992 "Power, ender,nddevelopment:opularwomen's rganizationsndthepolitics fneeds nEcuador," p.134-149nArturoscobar ndSoniaAlvarezeds.),TheMaking f

SocialMovementsnLatinAmerica. oulder:Westview ress.Little, o, indaPeake, ndPat Richardson1988 Women n Cities: Gender nd the Urban Environment.asingstoke:MacmillanEducation.Molyneux, axine1985"Mobilization ithoutmancipation? omen'snterest,he tate,nd revolutionnNicaragua."1986 Prologue,"nGailOmvedt,WomennPopularMovements:ndia ndThailandduringtheDecadeofWomen.eneva:United ations esearchnstituteor ocialDevelopment.Morgen,andra1988 'It sthewhole ower f he ity gainst s': Thedevelopmentfpoliticalonscious-ness n women's ealth are oalition,"nSandraMorgenndAnn ookmaneds.),Womenand the olitics fEmpowerment.hiladelphia: empleUniversityress.Morgen,andra ndAnnBookmaneds.)1988 "Rethinkingomen ndpolitics:n ntroductoryssay,"nSandraMorgenndAnnBookmaneds.),Womennd the olitics f mpowerment.hiladelphia:emple niversityPress.Moser, aroline1985"Women'sworknurban rotestnd truggle." S,London.1987"Mobilizationswomen'swork: trugglesor nfrastructurenGuayaquil, cuador,"in C. Moser ndL. Peake eds.), Women,uman ettlements,ndHousing. ondon ndNew York: avistock.1989"Gender lanningntheThirdWorld:meeting racticalnd trategicender eeds."World evelopment7 11): 1799-1825.Oakley, nn1972Sex,Gender,ndSociety. ondon:Gower.



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48 LATINAMERICANPERSPECTIVESPires e Rio Caldeira, eresa1990 "Women, aily ife, ndpolitics,"n Elizabeth elined.), Womennd Social ChangeinLatinAmerica. eneva:UnitedNations esearchnstituteor ocial Development.Raczynski, agmar ndClaudiaSerrano1985Vivirapobreza:Testimonioemujeres. antiago: ISPLAN/CIEPLAN.Rodriguez,ilia1990 Las mujeres e Solanda:Mujer, arrio opulary vida cotidiana.Quito: CEPAM-ILDIS.1992 La construcci6nelmovimientoe mujeres n Ecuador,"MS, CEPAM,Quito.1993 Genero desarrollo: udosydesaffosn el trabajono-gubernamentaln Ecuador.

Quito:CEPAM.Salman, on1990 "Between rthodoxynd uphoria: esearchtrategiesnsocialmovement,ompara-tiveperspective,"nW.Assies,G. Burgwal,ndT. Salman eds.),Structuresf Power,MovementsfResistance: n ntroductiono theTheories fUrbanMovementsnLatinAmerica. msterdam:EDLA.Sara-LaFosse, ioleta1989 "Los comedores la promoci6n e la mujer,"nGaler andNnfiez eds.), Mujerycomedoresopulares. ima: SEPADE.Vargas, irginia1991"The women'smovementnPeru: treams,paces, nd knots." uropean eview fLatinAmericanndCaribbean tudies 0 (June): -50.

barrio women - between the urban and the feminist movement (1)

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