Chair: Barbara Potthast (Mecila Director/ Universität zu Köln)

In this conversation, we propose a feminist, intersectional and decolonial reading of the difficulties, challenges and opportunities offered by the current political moment in countries such as Brazil, Chile and Colombia, where popular revolts have prompted profound institutional changes. During the wave of protests in Chile and Colombia, social actors fought against social inequalities and demanded a radicalisation of democracy for meaningful representation in institutional politics. With the rise of the extreme right in Brazil, social mobilisation culminated in a struggle for political representation by actors with little appreciation for democracy. The following analysis will be based on the discussion of these three cases: 1) The new place occupied by feminist and Afro-descendant women as interlocutors who in their rich diversity can negotiate their demands with the state; and 2) The intersectional and de(colonial) turn of feminist political agendas that articulate their historical demands to present-day questions: power and dominance based on class, gender, race/ethnicity, and sexuality, as well as unequal relationships between worldviews and epistemologies that guide ongoing social, political, and economic developments.

The lecture will be held online, and you can follow the presentation here!