Resumen es: En Mexico, Distrito Federal, existen unos 200 pueblos originarios, cuya vida social y... more Resumen es: En Mexico, Distrito Federal, existen unos 200 pueblos originarios, cuya vida social y religiosa se distingue de las colonias o complejos habitacionales e...
En este trabajo se explora el contraste entre identidades comunitarias y constituciones liberales... more En este trabajo se explora el contraste entre identidades comunitarias y constituciones liberales, tal como se ha desplegado en Mexico independiente. Los pueblos originarios del Distrito Federal son un ejemplo vivo de comunidades que no han desaparecido a pesar de los diversos intentos de acabar con ellas. Se presenta el caso de San Lorenzo Acopilco, con un resumen de la desaparicion de las autoridades comunitarias, la creciente proporcion de avecindados, y el desconocimiento de la existencia de las instituciones electorales. Por otro lado se hace una descripcion de las diversas practicas comunitarias, sobre todo en el ambito socio-religioso, y las practicas electorales de los nativos y los avecindados respectivamente. Se descubre que la poblacion nativa, que es la que participa en las practicas comunitarias, y que a la vez ha sido expuesta a los agravios de las practicas liberales, es la que tambien participa mas en las elecciones, sobre todo las mujeres. Se sugiere que la misma pr...
This book explores the issue of love and its place in the reproduction of gender asymmetry in Nic... more This book explores the issue of love and its place in the reproduction of gender asymmetry in Nicaragua. The theme is discussed in the context of specific religious and work practices, living arrangements, gender values and norms, and the gender practices and legislation of the Sandinista revolution. The study uses lifeworld phenomenology as its theoretical approach, placing people's own experience center stage. Therefore, a case study of the Esperanza sewing cooperative is presented, built on life stories, interview materials and participant observation with the cooperative women and their husbands. The material and discursive practices and emotional experiences of men and women are examined in this particular socio-cultural setting. How do we account for the highly unequal bargains the women strike with their husbands, accepting large material responsibilities and «time-share love even if they experience this as emotionally hurtful? The study testifies to women's autonomy ...
El artículo demuestra y analiza el hecho de que en Nicaragua hacia fines del siglo XX, había un p... more El artículo demuestra y analiza el hecho de que en Nicaragua hacia fines del siglo XX, había un porcentaje más alto de liderazgo femenino en los centros de trabajo, que en Noruega, patria de la autora. Noruega además es conocido por tener varias décadas de política pública de igualdad entre los sexos. El artículo explora algunas interpretaciones de este paradoja. Se destaca la capacidad de acción que demuestran las mujeres nicaragüenses en una cultura de género donde se enfatiza la diferencia. En el caso noruego se ha establecido una maquinaria de igualdad, en la cual se enfatiza la competencia directa entre los géneros, conllevando dilemas poco placenteros para las mujeres. Tanto las estrategias de diferencia, como las de igualdad, parecen reproducir la desigualdad de género. Tal vez sería mejor propagandizar como meta la justicia que la diferencia o la igualdad?
Resumen es: La autora explora en este trabajo el funcionamiento de los chismes y rumores como par... more Resumen es: La autora explora en este trabajo el funcionamiento de los chismes y rumores como parte de las practicas politicas del pueblo originario de San Lorenzo A...
Resumen es: la autora explora y argumenta como la metodologia etnografica —principalmente la obse... more Resumen es: la autora explora y argumenta como la metodologia etnografica —principalmente la observacion participante— arroja datos decisivos en la construccion de ...
Democracy is a concept often deployed with claims to universality. This paper argues, however, th... more Democracy is a concept often deployed with claims to universality. This paper argues, however, that research needs to include understandings of local constituencies’ own perceptions of democracy and participation. Nicaragua during the 20 century is presented as a case. Ethnic and cultural diversity, in conjunction with economic and social stratification, make for a case where universalist discourses of progress and development have served as a smoke screen covering various repressive practices. Thus, unless the democracy we have in mind is limited to formal procedures, we need to know something about local people’s political lifeworlds. In the case of Nicaragua, the paper argues that patronage constitutes an important aspect of the lifeworlds of considerable segments of the population throughout the century. Patronage seems to represent one of the ways in which “old everyday politics” may operate through formally democratic procedures. These practices, however, are in some cases con...
The principal question ro be explored in this article concerns the ways in which the elecroral pa... more The principal question ro be explored in this article concerns the ways in which the elecroral participation in a pueblo originario (native village) refleers the conrradierion between the liberal conceptions on which the constitutional elections are based, and the communitarian life world of the natives in the village. The author uses elecroral statistics, a survey, and qualitative data abour local notions of elections. It turns our that participation in the constitutional elections is about the same in the native village and the enrire Federal District, but that the natives vote more than the non-natives in the village, and the native women more than any other group. Elecroral participation, however, does not imply that the elections are seen as legitimate. People vote for other reasons, e.g. vote buying, all kinds of benefits ro be had, the obligation that many feel, and the notion that your vote may be srolen if you don't use it yourself. On the other hand, strangely, the nat...
... y el empleo estatal) equival?a aproximadamente a la tercera parte del costo de lacanasta b?si... more ... y el empleo estatal) equival?a aproximadamente a la tercera parte del costo de lacanasta b?sica, en 1991 unos US$55.00, mientras la canasta equival?a a unos US$157.00, manteni?ndose en ese nivel (calculado en d?lares ...
Ese texto se inscribe en los estudios de genero en America Latina, en el cual se explora el signi... more Ese texto se inscribe en los estudios de genero en America Latina, en el cual se explora el significado del discurso sobre "el sufrimiento femenino" y las relaciones de poder-subordinacion o victimizacion de las mujeres, tomando como ejemplo un estudio de caso de un grupo de mujeres nicaraguenses, duenas y trabajadoras de una cooperativa de costura en una ciudad pequena de Carazo, en Nicaragua, en el periodo 1983-1996. Se explora la capacidad de actuar y de gestion de este grupo de mujeres nicaraguenses trabajadoras, en donde demostraron un alto grado de gestion en diversos espacios sociales, incluida la posibilidad de contrarrestar la infidelidad de sus maridos. A la luz de este caso se discute el concepto del marianismo (o mecanismo de victimizacion femenina), en contraste con la capacidad de gestion de las mujeres nicaraguenses, que demuestran la capacidad de transformar el sufrimiento y el autosacrificio en influencia
The specifi c contribution of this study is to explore how a communitarian
lifeworld prepares the... more The specifi c contribution of this study is to explore how a communitarian lifeworld prepares the ground for practices of political clientelism without requiring the “foundational favor” noted in other contexts. Based on the encounter between ethnographies from two different communities of the Mesoamerican tradition in Mexico, the article argues that this lifeworld is forged by the habitual ways in which most collective tasks are carried out, that is, by forming and participating in networks. First, we offer a concrete description of the operation of two problem-solving networks of political clientelism in these communities. These networks are considered legitimate since they appear to be part of the communitarian practices. Second, we observe that the state often fails to reach out to the citizens with many social benefi ts, and we maintain that the problemsolving networks bridge the gap between the citizens and the state. Third, we argue that the ethnographic approach has been of paramount importance in reaching these fi ndings, which are hardly attainable without this method. We consider that the workings of the clientelist networks represent a deep expression of people’s communitarian lifeworlds.
Resumen es: En Mexico, Distrito Federal, existen unos 200 pueblos originarios, cuya vida social y... more Resumen es: En Mexico, Distrito Federal, existen unos 200 pueblos originarios, cuya vida social y religiosa se distingue de las colonias o complejos habitacionales e...
En este trabajo se explora el contraste entre identidades comunitarias y constituciones liberales... more En este trabajo se explora el contraste entre identidades comunitarias y constituciones liberales, tal como se ha desplegado en Mexico independiente. Los pueblos originarios del Distrito Federal son un ejemplo vivo de comunidades que no han desaparecido a pesar de los diversos intentos de acabar con ellas. Se presenta el caso de San Lorenzo Acopilco, con un resumen de la desaparicion de las autoridades comunitarias, la creciente proporcion de avecindados, y el desconocimiento de la existencia de las instituciones electorales. Por otro lado se hace una descripcion de las diversas practicas comunitarias, sobre todo en el ambito socio-religioso, y las practicas electorales de los nativos y los avecindados respectivamente. Se descubre que la poblacion nativa, que es la que participa en las practicas comunitarias, y que a la vez ha sido expuesta a los agravios de las practicas liberales, es la que tambien participa mas en las elecciones, sobre todo las mujeres. Se sugiere que la misma pr...
This book explores the issue of love and its place in the reproduction of gender asymmetry in Nic... more This book explores the issue of love and its place in the reproduction of gender asymmetry in Nicaragua. The theme is discussed in the context of specific religious and work practices, living arrangements, gender values and norms, and the gender practices and legislation of the Sandinista revolution. The study uses lifeworld phenomenology as its theoretical approach, placing people's own experience center stage. Therefore, a case study of the Esperanza sewing cooperative is presented, built on life stories, interview materials and participant observation with the cooperative women and their husbands. The material and discursive practices and emotional experiences of men and women are examined in this particular socio-cultural setting. How do we account for the highly unequal bargains the women strike with their husbands, accepting large material responsibilities and «time-share love even if they experience this as emotionally hurtful? The study testifies to women's autonomy ...
El artículo demuestra y analiza el hecho de que en Nicaragua hacia fines del siglo XX, había un p... more El artículo demuestra y analiza el hecho de que en Nicaragua hacia fines del siglo XX, había un porcentaje más alto de liderazgo femenino en los centros de trabajo, que en Noruega, patria de la autora. Noruega además es conocido por tener varias décadas de política pública de igualdad entre los sexos. El artículo explora algunas interpretaciones de este paradoja. Se destaca la capacidad de acción que demuestran las mujeres nicaragüenses en una cultura de género donde se enfatiza la diferencia. En el caso noruego se ha establecido una maquinaria de igualdad, en la cual se enfatiza la competencia directa entre los géneros, conllevando dilemas poco placenteros para las mujeres. Tanto las estrategias de diferencia, como las de igualdad, parecen reproducir la desigualdad de género. Tal vez sería mejor propagandizar como meta la justicia que la diferencia o la igualdad?
Resumen es: La autora explora en este trabajo el funcionamiento de los chismes y rumores como par... more Resumen es: La autora explora en este trabajo el funcionamiento de los chismes y rumores como parte de las practicas politicas del pueblo originario de San Lorenzo A...
Resumen es: la autora explora y argumenta como la metodologia etnografica —principalmente la obse... more Resumen es: la autora explora y argumenta como la metodologia etnografica —principalmente la observacion participante— arroja datos decisivos en la construccion de ...
Democracy is a concept often deployed with claims to universality. This paper argues, however, th... more Democracy is a concept often deployed with claims to universality. This paper argues, however, that research needs to include understandings of local constituencies’ own perceptions of democracy and participation. Nicaragua during the 20 century is presented as a case. Ethnic and cultural diversity, in conjunction with economic and social stratification, make for a case where universalist discourses of progress and development have served as a smoke screen covering various repressive practices. Thus, unless the democracy we have in mind is limited to formal procedures, we need to know something about local people’s political lifeworlds. In the case of Nicaragua, the paper argues that patronage constitutes an important aspect of the lifeworlds of considerable segments of the population throughout the century. Patronage seems to represent one of the ways in which “old everyday politics” may operate through formally democratic procedures. These practices, however, are in some cases con...
The principal question ro be explored in this article concerns the ways in which the elecroral pa... more The principal question ro be explored in this article concerns the ways in which the elecroral participation in a pueblo originario (native village) refleers the conrradierion between the liberal conceptions on which the constitutional elections are based, and the communitarian life world of the natives in the village. The author uses elecroral statistics, a survey, and qualitative data abour local notions of elections. It turns our that participation in the constitutional elections is about the same in the native village and the enrire Federal District, but that the natives vote more than the non-natives in the village, and the native women more than any other group. Elecroral participation, however, does not imply that the elections are seen as legitimate. People vote for other reasons, e.g. vote buying, all kinds of benefits ro be had, the obligation that many feel, and the notion that your vote may be srolen if you don't use it yourself. On the other hand, strangely, the nat...
... y el empleo estatal) equival?a aproximadamente a la tercera parte del costo de lacanasta b?si... more ... y el empleo estatal) equival?a aproximadamente a la tercera parte del costo de lacanasta b?sica, en 1991 unos US$55.00, mientras la canasta equival?a a unos US$157.00, manteni?ndose en ese nivel (calculado en d?lares ...
Ese texto se inscribe en los estudios de genero en America Latina, en el cual se explora el signi... more Ese texto se inscribe en los estudios de genero en America Latina, en el cual se explora el significado del discurso sobre "el sufrimiento femenino" y las relaciones de poder-subordinacion o victimizacion de las mujeres, tomando como ejemplo un estudio de caso de un grupo de mujeres nicaraguenses, duenas y trabajadoras de una cooperativa de costura en una ciudad pequena de Carazo, en Nicaragua, en el periodo 1983-1996. Se explora la capacidad de actuar y de gestion de este grupo de mujeres nicaraguenses trabajadoras, en donde demostraron un alto grado de gestion en diversos espacios sociales, incluida la posibilidad de contrarrestar la infidelidad de sus maridos. A la luz de este caso se discute el concepto del marianismo (o mecanismo de victimizacion femenina), en contraste con la capacidad de gestion de las mujeres nicaraguenses, que demuestran la capacidad de transformar el sufrimiento y el autosacrificio en influencia
The specifi c contribution of this study is to explore how a communitarian
lifeworld prepares the... more The specifi c contribution of this study is to explore how a communitarian lifeworld prepares the ground for practices of political clientelism without requiring the “foundational favor” noted in other contexts. Based on the encounter between ethnographies from two different communities of the Mesoamerican tradition in Mexico, the article argues that this lifeworld is forged by the habitual ways in which most collective tasks are carried out, that is, by forming and participating in networks. First, we offer a concrete description of the operation of two problem-solving networks of political clientelism in these communities. These networks are considered legitimate since they appear to be part of the communitarian practices. Second, we observe that the state often fails to reach out to the citizens with many social benefi ts, and we maintain that the problemsolving networks bridge the gap between the citizens and the state. Third, we argue that the ethnographic approach has been of paramount importance in reaching these fi ndings, which are hardly attainable without this method. We consider that the workings of the clientelist networks represent a deep expression of people’s communitarian lifeworlds.
Uploads
lifeworld prepares the ground for practices of political clientelism without requiring the
“foundational favor” noted in other contexts. Based on the encounter between ethnographies
from two different communities of the Mesoamerican tradition in Mexico, the
article argues that this lifeworld is forged by the habitual ways in which most collective
tasks are carried out, that is, by forming and participating in networks. First, we offer a
concrete description of the operation of two problem-solving networks of political clientelism
in these communities. These networks are considered legitimate since they appear
to be part of the communitarian practices. Second, we observe that the state often fails to
reach out to the citizens with many social benefi ts, and we maintain that the problemsolving
networks bridge the gap between the citizens and the state. Third, we argue that
the ethnographic approach has been of paramount importance in reaching these fi ndings,
which are hardly attainable without this method. We consider that the workings of the
clientelist networks represent a deep expression of people’s communitarian lifeworlds.
lifeworld prepares the ground for practices of political clientelism without requiring the
“foundational favor” noted in other contexts. Based on the encounter between ethnographies
from two different communities of the Mesoamerican tradition in Mexico, the
article argues that this lifeworld is forged by the habitual ways in which most collective
tasks are carried out, that is, by forming and participating in networks. First, we offer a
concrete description of the operation of two problem-solving networks of political clientelism
in these communities. These networks are considered legitimate since they appear
to be part of the communitarian practices. Second, we observe that the state often fails to
reach out to the citizens with many social benefi ts, and we maintain that the problemsolving
networks bridge the gap between the citizens and the state. Third, we argue that
the ethnographic approach has been of paramount importance in reaching these fi ndings,
which are hardly attainable without this method. We consider that the workings of the
clientelist networks represent a deep expression of people’s communitarian lifeworlds.