THINGS THAT WORK: A collaborative ethnographic project on persistent grassroots initiatives In many marginalized neighborhoods throughout Latin America residents are participating in community organizations that seek to make their daily life more livable. From soup-kitchens and agroecological gardens to women “collectives” against interpersonal violence or groups fighting environmental contamination, the relational dynamics of these grassroots community initiatives are not well-known. What are the mechanisms and processes that foster grassroots persistence and/or success? Coordinated by Javier Auyero, this project is a collaborative ethnographic study of eight community initiatives that, born from contentious collective action, have been able to persist in time and have contributed to a better life in the community where they took root. People Javier Auyero Javier Auyero is the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Professor in Latin American Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, and Ikerbasque Research Professor at the University of the Basque Country. He is the author of Poor People’s Politics, Patients of the State, and other books. He recently edited Portraits of Persistence. Inequality and Hope in Latin America. Allison Lang Allison Lang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas, Austin. Her research interests include the environment, social movements, and Latin America. She is currently working on a project investigating the persistence of grassroots environmental activism, taking the case of the Argentine anti-mining movement. She holds a Master’s in Social Policy from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina, as well as a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Political Science, Spanish, and International Studies from the University of Michigan. María José Álvarez María José (Majo) Álvarez Rivadulla is a Professor of Sociology at Universidad de los Andes. She studies social inequality using mixed-methods. Her book, Squatters and the Politics of Marginality (Springer, 2017), tells the political history of squatting in Montevideo. Her new book: Costly Opportunities (Cambridge Elements, 2024), studies the chutes and ladders of social mobility in segregated societies, paying attention to Ser Pilo Paga, a scholarship program for high-achieving underprivileged students in Colombia. She has also worked and published on residential segregation, popular neighborhoods and urban interventions, social housing, tolerance to inequality, middle classes, gated communities. She likes working collaboratively, especially with students. Águeda Ortega Águeda Ortega is a PhD candidate in the Sociology Department at the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently researching the growth of agroecology in Argentina, focusing on relational factors such as expertise, networks, resources, and opportunities. She is broadly interested in food politics, markets creation and establishment, responses to toxicity, and co-constructions of sustainability. Águeda holds a BA in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Wesleyan University and an MA in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. María Ximena Dávila María Ximena Dávila is a Colombian Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas, Austin. Her research interests include gender, care, reproductive health, state-making, and Latin America. She is currently investigating how women understand, experience, embody, and respond to crises, with a particular focus on the gendered dynamics of armed conflict and environmental degradation. María holds a B.A. in Law and an M.A. in Sociology from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Andrés Galeano Andrés Galeano is an M.A. student of Sociology at the School of Social Sciences of the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. He is interested in studying subjective inequality, urban conflicts, and social welfare policies. Recently, he has worked on projects related to distributive attitudes in Latin America, participatory urban planning and its conflicts in Bogotá, and social class integration and social mobility in elite universities. Tomás Capalbo Tomás Capalbo is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a B.A. in Sociology and an M.A. in Environmental and Territorial Policies from the University of Buenos Aires. As a master’s student, he developed a research project on the role of popular sectors in public-policy implementation. Based on an ethnographic study in a popular neighborhood in Buenos Aires, he analyzed the effects of participatory roundtables—which brought together different actors to work on an urbanization policy—on the right to the city of marginalized sectors. Tomás is currently studying how various institutions are working on substance abuse on the urban margins. He is interested in exploring how this problem is understood and addressed by institutions with dissimilar traditions, ideologies, and frames of reference, such as the Catholic Church, NGOs, and social organizations. Francisco Sánchez Francisco Sánchez is a Venezuelan Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Natalia Marín Natalia is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University of Antioquia. Militant of artistic and political processes in Medellin, Natalia is passionate about memory, politics, and community life. She is currently working with the National Center of Historical Memory to document and reconstruct social and political mobilization events in Colombia. Natalia is a sociologist and holds an M.A. in Political Science. At the University of Antioquia, she is involved in the “Networks and Social Actors” and the “Hegemony, War and Conflict” research groups under the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and the Institute of Political Studies -IEP-. Initiatives El Algarrobo Assembly (Andalgalá, Argentina) El Algarrobo Assembly is a group formed to protest mega-mining in Andalgalá, a town in northern Argentina. For nearly 25 years, Argentina’s first mega-mine polluted the water that fed into local rivers and streams. While the residents initially tolerated the Bajo La Alumbrera operations—they had little say in the matter and even less information about the potential health side effects—protest erupted when in 2009 they found out about the plans to open another one. Agua Rica is to be a mega-mine of gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum three times the size of Bajo La Alumbrera and only 14 kilometers from Andalgalá. In response, a few residents blocked the road leading to the project in the shade of an algarrobo tree. This road-block would become a permanent occupation and the home of the El Algarrobo Assembly. This horizontal organization makes decisions through direct democracy without any elected leaders. Operating in this way, the assembly has taken both legal action and occupied public space. Despite arrests and repression, residents march every Saturday, a tradition they have upheld since 2009. While preparations for the Agua Rica mine have continued, so too has the assembly persisted, doing their best to stand in the way and spread information through their radio program. Madres Poderosas (Caracas, Venezuela) Madres Poderosas is a group of women who have organized to seek justice for the executions of their children at the hands of the Venezuelan State. By promoting articulations in impoverished communities and lobbying public institutions, Madres Poderosas has sought not only to shed light on the deaths of their children but also to combat the acceptance of death as an indicator of citizen security in contemporary Venezuela. Vientos de Libertad (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Vientos de Libertad is a social organization created shortly after the 2001 economic crisis in Argentina. For more than two decades, it has provided services to people with substance abuse problems in marginalized communities. Vientos de Libertad initially started as a soup kitchen in the Conurbano Bonaerense. Twenty years later, it encompasses almost 100 workspaces, including neighborhood assistance centers and community houses. In these spaces, people facing drug abuse receive free support from teams that combine professional knowledge (such as psychology or social work) with the embodied expertise of people who had a problematic use of drugs and have now become referents within the organization. Semilla Urbana (Medellín, Colombia) Semilla Urbana is a Medellin-based eco-shop created in 2015 as part of the “Community Stores and Urban Gardens” project. Primarily focused on ensuring food security for low-income populations, Semilla Urbana also provides a space for small groups dedicated to sustainable agricultural production in urban and rural areas to receive technical training and engage in political activities. Semilla Urbana has made possible the development of women-led initiatives, community libraries, and grassroots political processes in Medellín’s Comuna 8. At the national level, Semilla Urbana is part of the “Ciudad en Movimiento” platform. Mesa Permanente por el Agua (Montes de María, Colombia) The Mesa Permanente por el Agua is a coalition of grassroots organizations working to defend water sources and guarantee the right to water in Montes de María, a war-affected region in Colombia. This initiative was created after several organizations and regional leaders came together to address the water pollution caused by palm oil monocultures and extractive industries. Over the years, the Mesa Permanente por el Agua has led pedagogical, legal, and political efforts to promote water preservation in rural communities. This coalition combines the defense of water sources with the defense of women’s rights, land redistribution, and food security.
