In 2021, while we were facing the health, economic and social crisis of the pandemic and we continued to be convulsed by the Social Outbreak that began in October 2019, the presence of LGBTIQ+ activism and sexual dissidents became a benchmark when facing crises. At the same time that the precariousness, exclusion and violence they experience on a daily basis became evident, their activist action sprouted as seeds of organization, mutual support and solidarity. And this task multiplied throughout the territories, opening lines of flight for the future.
From this observation and the desire to understand and learn from these processes, the investigation Being an LTGBIQ+ activist and sexual non-conformist. An approach to the transformation of their political horizons.
Written by the decolonial anti-racist lesbofeminist researcher, academic and activist, Iris Hernández Morales , the study includes the voices and visions of 30 organizations and collectives spread throughout the territory and accounts for their strategies and actions during the crisis.
In this sense, the reflections collected open up a hopeful horizon: they show how in the face of so much crisis and so much death, the activists resolved obstacles by using their creativity and, above all, by strengthening their articulations and alliances, based on strong ties that are they built from the common experience, bearing in mind the sustainability of activism, with a view to Good Living.
«This investigation has everything to do with the journey of Fondo Alquimia. This year we celebrate our 20th anniversary and during this time we have worked together and as allies of the feminist movements. We are opening a deep reflection regarding activism, because it is our field and the space where we work from the mobilization of resources, the support in the delivery of tools and also from the generation of alliances. In that walk, we have raised many lessons. One of them is that the contexts in which the activisms take place are key , they are the hallmark of Fondo Alquimia. We are always very attentive to what is happening in the territories, regarding where the activists, the different communities, are active, and from there we modify and replan our work. Along with this, we consider the sustainability of activism another learning. It is a central theme for us, because for this we have incorporated other concepts, such as Good Living , which is something that we problematized in our last calls and in our work regarding walking and the lives of activists. This research addresses all these areas and that is why we consider it important, because it will give us clues, because it will allow us to talk and continue learning together"
Maria Paz Becerra.
Executive coordinator of Fondo Alquimia
Essential concepts within research
It is the system of domination imposed by colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy. It refers to its impact on Good Living, on activist sustainability -defended by Fondo Alquimia- and the fundamental axes to account for micropolitical and macropolitical aspects present in the transformations that pulsate on activist political horizons.
Defined as a “scene where the old does not finish dying and the new does not finish being born”, it acts as a trigger for the development of the study Being LTGBIQ+ activist and sexual dissident during the pandemic. An approach to the transformation of their political horizons. In this, a reflection is developed that questions the order imposed by the triple domination and himself with respect to the activist strategies and their impacts.
Listen to the central points of the investigation "To be an activist..." in the voice of its author, Iris Hernández Morales:
In the context indicated above, the activist voices pointed to a series of problems that emerged during the health, political and social crisis. Within this point, three stand out that synthesize what was exposed by LTGBIQ+ organizations and sexual dissidents: Centralism – Fundamentalisms – Social Control.
«They do not arise from an identity debate that focuses exclusively on their problems. No! This arises from encounters between complex differences, between knowledge that is culturally different and denied by colonialism (...) In the great community of differences, encounters are complex, because they are not between equals who think the same, that is, they go beyond of our own being and being, and that strengthens a relational sense of the struggles”, points out the author .
The study visualizes that the strategies implemented by the organizations are framed in the following actions: Calls to meet and production of conditions for them - Operate in community - Operate within the territories.
«In this way, I hope for the solidarity communion that resolved an endless number of demands. This communion went from imbalance -the activists forgot their own problems to solve, collaborate and accompany problems of their base communities- to put forward the importance of self-care in political, economic, and social dimensions. When this happens, a structural critique that marks the character of the transformation of their political horizons is exposed and that today more than ever assumes the importance of breaking with the fragmentation and identity hierarchies to incorporate a relational perspective that does not focus on what is human nothing more, but includes nature” , adds Hernández
Connected with the above, the calls to action established by the collectives and organizations are related to:
Meetings and the Community , because it is necessary to strengthen and increase meetings in all areas to build conditions that stimulate trust and affection for others, putting on the horizon a new community paradigm of care that includes humans and not humans.
Training and self-training, to develop training and self-training processes around triple domination and thus contribute to the balance that emanates from reciprocity and its imperative and potential flows.
Co-construction , in the sense of affirming logics of co-construction of common demands attached to the ethics of honesty in meetings with communities, training and political self-formation that cultivate affective listening to strengthen trust and regenerate the social fabric.
