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- Convenors:
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Paolo Grassi
(University of Milano Bicocca)
Andrea Freddi (Universidad de los Lagos, Chile)
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- Chair:
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Tatiana Paz Lemus
(Universidad Maya Kaqchikel Vanderbilt University)
- Discussant:
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Malte Gembus
(Coventry University)
Short Abstract:
Central America is witnessing a period of epochal crisis that marks an overcoming of the historical phase defined as the "post-conflict era”. It is important for anthropology to realize in time the nature of these transformations and to be able to show its internal dynamics.
Long Abstract:
With their collective volume "Harvest of violence" (1988), a group of North American anthropologists working in Guatemala sought to make amends with respect to their lack of interest in the civil war then underway. The disappearances and deaths of their indigenous informants had forced them to turn their attention away from the classic themes of Mayan culture to show the effects of genocidal state violence in the context of the Cold War. In present-day Central America, in countries such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, we have witnessed authoritarian turns carried out through persecution of the press and opposition, co-optation of the justice system, arbitrary detention, and human rights violations. All this brings an end to the “post-conflict era” in Central America. Just as happened in the 1980s, it is important for anthropology to become aware in time of the epochal nature of these transformations and, through its presence in the field, to be able to show us its internal dynamics, highlighting local perceptions and dismantling stereotypical interpretations. We also believe that the Central American reality is paradigmatic of the current crisis condition and succeeds in highlighting the processes of making and unmaking of neoliberal policies, conflicts over environmental resources, dynamics of urbanization, financialization of daily life, and the authoritarian turns gone through by many governments in the global South and North. We therefore propose an "exploratory" panel, which can bring together contributions to analyse some of the dynamics described, or their intersection, from an ethnographic perspective.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 18 July, 2024, -Michele Grandi (La Sapienza Università di Roma)
Paper short abstract:
This paper aims to delve into the experience of the Indigenous Alcaldía of Nebaj during the demonstrations in support of the democratic transition from Alejandro Giammattei's government to that of Bernardo Arévalo, trying to give voice to the doubts, fears, and hopes of this complex mobilization.
Paper long abstract:
In 2023, elections in Guatemala recorded an unexpected result, leading to the victory of the presidential duo of Bernardo Arévalo and Karin Herrera of the Semilla party. Despite the outcome of the polls, the transition process from Alejandro Giammattei's government proved far from smooth, running into several legal and juridical impediments. The dreaded risk of an imminent 'technical' coup d'état prompted thousands of people to take to the streets, animating a protest that lasted more than 100 days and was articulated through several stages. From the beginning, note-worthing was the significant participation of the indigenous ancestral authorities, who, by leading these demonstrations, enshrined their prominence in the country's political life. As the result of ethnographic research in the Ixil Region, this paper intends to dwell on the experience of the Alcaldía indígena of Nebaj, both at an ideological and organizational level, trying to give voice to the doubts, fears, and hopes brought by these months of mobilizations, welcomed by many as a 'new phase' - or a new 'spring' - in relations with and within the state.
Jose Enrique Hasemann Lara (ISCTE-CRIA)
Paper short abstract:
Changes to the Honduran national health system evince oft unexamined dimensions of neoliberal policy. I focus on changes following the 2009 coup that limited the obligation of the Honduran government towards citizens by qualifying “deservingness” based on the inevitability of poverty and suffering.
Paper long abstract:
I address the sustained/ongoing crisis within the Honduran national health system (NHS) that intensified over the last decade, following a coup in 2009 that led to a constitutional crisis. I argue that the deterioration of the Honduran NHS over the last 15 years should also be related to changes in laws and policies that outlined the overall intent behind the existence of the NHS. Specifically, following the coup in July of 2009, the subsequent democratically elected right-wing government enacted constitutional changes in 2010 that sought to redefine concepts such as “health,” “universal health,” “citizenship,” and the “human,” as well as a reinterpretation of the overall capacity (and obligation) of the Honduran government to intervene on behalf of poor populations to safeguard their health. These changes sought to spur the participation of public-private partnerships and reduce the role of the Honduran Ministry of Health in the direct provision of services and administration of public monies. Although the changes to the NHS have so far been incomplete, these changes appear to have had an impact on the overall quality of service delivery as evinced through some individuals’ experiences when accessing public health services. This has affected how individuals understand both their right to health and their standing as citizens and serves as evidence of how economic speculation is accompanied by dehumanization (Bear 2020). To construct my argument, I rely on a review of the constitutional and legal changes over the last 15 years and in-depth interviews with poor individuals.
Celia Gonzalez (Universidad Iberoamericana)
Paper short abstract:
Propongo identificar el intento de producción de relaciones de intercambio entre artistas de Cuba y Nicaragua como una posibilidad distinta a las relaciones impuestas por el Partido Único: Partido Comunista de Cuba y Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional denominándolas relaciones destotalizantes.
Paper long abstract:
En junio de 2021 un grupo de artistas nicaragüenses contemporáneos montaron la exposición Telaplico en Managua. La motivación era muy específica, en abril de ese año la policía política cubana había destruido la serie de dibujos A pesar de ser un niño bueno, yo no conocí a los Reyes Magos del artista cubano Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara en San Isidro, La Habana, deteniéndolo con violencia. Los artistas desde Managua activaron una estrategia particular: producir réplicas de las obras destruidas del artista cubano para exponerlas en aquella ciudad. Me interesa analizar la réplica como elemento condensador de la escena de encuentro entre artista cubano y nicaragüense a su vez que protagonista de las relaciones de intercambio producidas entre ambos grupos de artistas bajo una situación contingente ¿Cómo el replicar asumido como estrategia artística y metodología curatorial permite producir relaciones de intercambio y propicia el encuentro bajo una situación contingente? Propongo identificar el intento de producción de relaciones de intercambio entre artistas de Cuba y Nicaragua como una posibilidad distinta a las relaciones impuestas por el Partido Único: Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) y Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) denominándolas “relaciones destotalizantes”. Me interesa comprender las prácticas artísticas como operaciones de intercambio y analizarlas a partir de las herramientas conceptuales producidas en el campo antropológico (Sansi 2015), para pensar qué tipo de relación de intercambio se produce entre artistas nicaragüenses y cubanos bajo la imposición totalitaria del Partido Único PCC y FSLN.
Marlen Ott (Universität Kassel)
Paper short abstract:
By centering on the pineapple industry, and the special role of the plantation, I aim to dissect the reputed success story of neoliberal agro-extractivism in Central America. I consider the conditions that made this expansion and thus the simultaneous exploitation of nature and labor possible.
Paper long abstract:
Non-traditional horticultural production in Costa Rica was expanded after the 1980s debt crises and must be placed within the context of the neoliberal agrarian transformation in the 1980s and 1990s. These products played a central role in state efforts to transform the export structure from a few primary products to a broader portfolio of agricultural products and high-tech production. Pineapples have since become one of Costa Rica's most important export products. They, and other horticultural products, have been celebrated for creating jobs for the otherwise economically excluded rural population, especially in the country's northern regions. These agro-extractivist enclaves heavily rely on migrant workers, especially from the neighboring Nicaragua.
By centering on the making of the pineapple industry and the unique role of the plantation, I aim to dissect the reputed success story of neoliberal agro-extractivism in Central America. I pay close attention to the economic and political conditions that made this expansion and, thus, the simultaneous exploitation of nature and labor possible. Here, I focus on the plantation to understand the historical continuities of this exploitation and place them into the regional context.
I draw on the results of a first fieldwork conducted in 2023.