Territorial autonomy and popular sovereignty: Historical differences, political convergences and dialogues in the construction of alternatives and territorial defenses in Latin America

Abstract

Territorial autonomy and popular sovereignty: Historical differences, political convergences and dialogues in the construction of alternatives and territorial defenses in Latin America

Abstract

The construction of territorial autonomy and popular sovereignty have different ontological origins, but they share the historical dimension of Latin American resistance and are part of the Onto-epistemic Paradigm of the Countryside, which involves different ontological, epistemic and political matrices. Built by indigenous and peasant socio-territorial movements, they mobilize resistance and territorial struggles against exploitation, violence and the multiple forms of spoliation produced by capitalist accumulation. They are political forces produced from the actions, practices and knowledge built by collective political subjects organized in territories and communities, and reflect the theoretical accumulation of socio-territorial movements. This article proposes to analyze and contrast these political forces, highlighting two emblematic socio-territorial movements in Latin America that build them, the National Indigenous Congress - Indigenous Council of Government (CNI-CIG) in Mexico, with its struggle for the autonomy of indigenous peoples and their territories, and Via Campesina Brazil, with the struggle for land and territory, agrarian reform and popular sovereignty. The analysis and theoretical debate on territorial autonomy and popular sovereignty contribute to highlighting existing political convergences, understanding historical differences and broadening the dialogue between territorial struggles in Latin America.