Gender And Ethnic Identity In Rural Grassroots Development: An Outlook From The Huasteca Potosina, Mexico

Abstract

From the colonial to the neoliberal era, indigenous men and women have suffered from global expansionism. In Latin America, indigenous peoples and rural societies often resist, chal- lenge, and creatively interact with the processes of globalization. In this article, I examine a grassroots movement in the Huasteca region of Mexico that engages in a gendered model of participa- tory development. The men and women who are members of two local grassroots organizations cooperate with state institutions and NGO facilitators to adapt to a global economy. At the same time, they challenge cultural stereotypes and gender inequality. By trac- ing the history of this grassroots initiative, I will explore the char- acteristics and outcomes of gendered community participation and poverty alleviation projects as tools for empowerment in terms of challenging cultural stereotypes and gender inequalities while di- minishing aspects of economic marginalization. The process of empowerment that grassroots organizing offers to indigenous women comes to life as women talk about their struggle to fight oppression, marginalization, and submission to create new con- sciousness of themselves as women and as members of ethnic groups. Narratives of rural, indigenous, and mestiza women em-

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