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, Feminicide: A Global Phenomenon. From Brussels to El Salvador, Brussels, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Report, 2015, pp. 39

Edited every two years on the occasion of the European Union and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) Summit, this fifth edition of the series ‘Feminicide: A Global Phenomenon’ addresses the chapter on gender from the Action Plan, and points to other initiatives aiming at eradicating feminicide/femicide, and also inspiring the implementation of the Action Plan EU-CELAC on this matter.

, Extractivism In Latin America, Action Fund of Latin America, 2016, pp. 59

This report by the feminist civil society body, Urgent Action Fund of Latin America and the Caribbean, focuses on the role of women in protecting and defending nature, and warns of increasing risks to their lives and environment. The report discusses ‘the extractive model’ and the social-environmental conflicts it creates, and also the disturbing militarization and violations of women’s rights, including those defending their environment. The report outlines proposals made by women for defence of territory, and also stresses the diversity of the approaches, organizations and activities developed by Latin American women.

, Rita Segato on political feminism: ‘There is no prince, TeleSur, 2018

Rita Segato, an Argentine-Brazilian academic and one of the most celebrated Latin American  feminists, comments on the biases still affecting cases of femicide in Latin America due to the hyper machismo culture. She also discusses the need to unite academics working in the field of Communication, journalists and editors in order to promote discourses that encourage women to be seen as political actors rather than merely as victims.

, The Big Story: Black Lives Matter, [March 2018], New Internationalist, 2018, pp. 12-25

Introductory article by Amy Hall summarises the growth of BLM in the USA, discusses its global potential and spread to other countries, and notes the relevance of BLM in the UK.  Jamilah King comments on the US movement, both on its strengths and the divisions within it. Other articles examine how BLM relates to a history of  'a policy of black extermination' in Brazil, and to the struggle by Aboriginal people in Australia.

, Across Latin America, women fight back against violence in politics, UN Women, 2018

Reports on how women in Bolivia, Brazil, Honduras and Mexico who are willing to hold public offices experience violence and do react against intimidation.

Relevant document on political violence against women for each of these countries can be found below.

International: INCLUDE PDF; http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm

Bolivia: http://observatorioparidaddemocratica.oep.org.bo/ (Spanish). For further readings, please see http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/11/take-five-katia-uriona

Brazil: http://www.brasil5050.org.br/ (Portuguese)

Mexico: https://www.gob.mx/conavim/documentos/protocolo-para-la-atencion-de-la-violencia-contra-las-mujeres-en-razon-de-genero-2017; http://mexico.unwomen.org/es/digiteca/publicaciones/2017/10/protocolo-oaxaca

, The brave young people fighting for human rights in Bolsonaro’s Brazil, Amnesty International, 2019

In the aftermath of Jair Bolsonaro’s election on an openly anti-human rights agenda, a climate of fear remains in Brazil. Yet, young people are rising up and making their voices heard. Amnesty International met seven human rights activists who reveal what life is like in Salvador, Brazil, and how they’re tackling violence against women, racism and homophobia.

, 'Habitable Earth': The Big Story, Climate Justice, May-June 2019, New Internationalist, 2019, pp. 15-37

Examines a range of technical issues relating to reaching carbon zero emissions targets, but focuses primarily on different forms of campaigning.  These include Buddhist temples disinvesting from fossil fuels in Japan, and the often effective use of the law in Latin America, as well as examples of direct action. There is also a brief account of the Costa Rican government's programme to be carbon neutral by 2050.

, Our territory, our body, our sprit: indigenous women unite in historic march in Brazil, Amazon Frontlines, 2019

As part of the indigenous movement across the Amazon, thousands of indigenous women demonstrated in Brazil’s capital city in August 2019, joining the first Indigenous Women’s March. Carrying banners with the slogan “Territory: our body, our spirit”, women took to the streets to make their voices heard and to denounce the policies of Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, which have set the stage for escalating violations of indigenous rights, racism, violence and the most alarming Amazon deforestation rates in recent memory.

, Black Lives Matter in Brazil, YouTube Video, UCLA Latin American Institute, 20203

In Brazil, which has the second largest Black population in the world, Brazilian police kill at least six times more people annually than the US police, and most of those dying are young Black men.  In the video an interdisciplinary panels of Brazilian and US scholars examine the development of Black Brazilian mobilization against police violence, and compare police violence in Brazil with the position in the US and South Africa.  The video then focuses on how Black LGBTQ+ Brazilians are affected by police violence.   

See also: https://www.thedialogue.org/events/online-event-race-and-policing-in-the-us-and-brazil/

Reports on Inter-American Dialogue event 'Race and Policing in the US and  Brazil' examining what recent cases of  police violence revealed  about systemic racism in both countries.

Alonso, Angela ; Costa, Valeriano ; Maciel, Deborah, Environmental Activism in Brazil: The rise of a Social Movement, ed. Thompson, Lisa, Tapscott, Chris V., In Thompson, Lisa ; Tapscott, Chris V., Citizenship and Social Movements: Perspectives from the Global South London, Zed Books, , 2010, pp. 304,

Antoine, Charles, Church and Power in Brazil, London, Sheed and Ward, 1975, pp. 275

Baird, Vanessa, What's sex got to do with it?, (part of 'The Big Story' on Brazil'), New Internationalist, 2017, pp. 21-22

Examines how women's rights are under attack since the ousting of President Dilma Rouseff, with scrapping of Ministry of Women and the Ministry on Racial Equality, and notes the Siempre Viva Feminist Organization opposition to dismantling government bodies to protect LGBT+ people.  The article also discusses the prevalence of rape culture, and the general impact on women of race and class. Notes growing cultural movement of women of colour, and prominent role of women's movement in protests against Temer's presidency. 

Barkham, Patrick, Can planting billions of trees save the planet?, The Guardian, 2019, pp. 10-11

Barkham notes the major potential value of reforestation to limit global warming and preserve biodiversity as well as local economic benefits. But he also stresses the dangers of ignoring the importance of planting local species or relying on technologies that may require minerals under old forests. His article focuses on the role of the 'TreeSisters' charity founded in 2014, which funds tree planting in India, Nepal, Brazil, Kenya, Cameroon and Madagascar. In Madagascar the focus is partly on replanting lost mangroves (providing multiple environmental benefits).

Basu, Amrita, Women’s Movements In The Global Era. The Power Of Local Feminism, New York, Routledge, 2017, pp. 560

This book provides a study of the genesis, growth, gains, and dilemmas of women's movements in countries throughout the world. Its focus is on Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, USA, as well as more generally covering Europe and Latina America. The authors argue that women's movements have engaged in complex negotiations with national and international forces, and challenge widely held assumptions about the Western origins and character of local feminisms. They locate women's movements within their context by exploring their relationships with the state, civil society, and other social movements.

Bitterly, Jennifer, How Latin American Activists are Harnessing the Black Lives Matter Movement, The Progressive, 2020

The article starts with protests about police killing of an Afro-Columbian man in Bogota the same week George Floyd was killed, noting the general impact of the BLM movement on anti-racist and Afro-Latino organizations. The author also sketches in the historical background of the Spanish colonies enslaving millions of Africans, and subsequent treatment of racial issues, including the 'myth' of multiculturalism.

See also:

Valencia, Jorge, 'Black Lives Matter Protests Renew Parallel Debates in Brazil, Columbia', The World, 15 June 2020

https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-06-15/black-lives-matter-protests-renew-parallel-debates-brazil-colombia

Across the Americas police violence disproportionally targets young Black men.  The protests sparked by Floyd's death in Minneapolis shone a light on police brutality in South America and led to demonstrations in Brazil and other countries.

Boldrin, Juliana ; de Moraes, Hermínio Salati Mar ; Silva, Danilo Soares, Participation in Brazilian feminist movements on social networks: a study on the campaign Meu Amigo Secreto (My Secret Santa), Informaçao & Sociedade, Vol. 27, no. 2, 2017, pp. 219-234

Recently, many women’s movements in Brazil sought internet as means of expression and claim, and held campaigns of national and international impact through it, disseminating information using the hashtags #meuamigosecreto (#mysecretsanta) and #meuprimeiroassédio (#myfirstharassment) to denounce situations of various types of harassment they have experienced. The authors of this study aimed to identify which are the elements that influence the intention of women’s participation in online feminist movements by surveying 185 Brazilian women who took part in the #meuamigosecreto campaign. The survey provides relevant information for better understanding of feminist movements online, demonstrating that the participants believe that the campaigns strengthen the feminist movement, assist in raising awareness of men about their macho attitudes, can result in a decrease of cases of violence against women and can contribute to the debate on violence against women.

Branford, Sue ; Glock, Oriel, The Last Frontier: Fighting over Land in the Amazon, ed. Borras, Saturnino M., Edelman, Mark, Kay, Cristobal, London, Zed Books, 1985, pp. 336

Branford, Sue ; Rocha, Jan, Cutting the Wire, London, Latin American Bureau, 2002, pp. 305

Well researched account of MST.

Branford, Sue ; Wainwright, Hilary, Ructions in Rio, Red Pepper, no. Aug/Sept, 2013, pp. 40-41

Bratman, Eve Z., Contradictions of Green Development, Human Rights and Environmental Norms in light of Belo Monte Dam activities, Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 46, no. 2 (May), 2014, pp. 261-289

Brown, Carrie ; Gielen, Uwe P. ; Gibbons, Judith L. ; Kuriansky, Judy, Women's Evolving Lives: Global and Psychosocial Perspectives, ed. Alexander, Amy, Cham, Switzerland, Springer, 2018, pp. 296

This wide-ranging collection analyzes the status and progress of women both in a national context and collectively on a global scale, as a powerful social force in a rapidly evolving world. The countries studied―China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, Italy, France, Brazil, Belize, Mexico, and the United States―represent a cross-section of economic conditions, cultural and religious traditions, political realities, and social contexts that shape women’s lives, challenges, and opportunities. Psychological and human rights perspectives highlight worldwide goals for equality and empowerment, with implications for today’s girls as they become the next generation of women. Women’s lived experience is compared and contrasted in such critical areas as: home and work; physical, medical, and psychological issues; safety and violence; sexual and reproductive concerns; political participation and status under the law; impact of technology and globalism; country-specific topics.

Camara, Helder, Spiral of Violence, London, Sheed and Ward, 1971, pp. 83

Statement of case for nonviolent, as opposed to violent, resistance by Archbishop known for his support for the poor and opposition to racism and militarism.

Campos, Nauro F., What drives protests in Brazil? Corruption, ineptitude and elections, VOX, 2013

Economics professor suggests three main causes of the protests.

Carter, Miguel, The Origin of Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement MST: the Natalino Episode in Rio Grande do Sul (1981-84) – a case of ideal interest mobilization, Working Paper Series CBS-43-2003, Oxford, University of Oxford Centre of Brazil Studies, 2003, pp. 71

Child, David ; Soares, Joao Pedro, Brazil: Thousands of women rally against far-right Bolsonaro, ed. Brown, Carrie, Gielen, Uwe P., Gibbons, Judith L., Kuriansky, Judy, Al Jazeera, 2018

Describes the #EleNao (‘Not Him’) demonstrations led by women in Brazil against sexist statements made by President Jair Bolsonaro, sparked by his remark to 63-year-old  fellow congresswomen, Maria do Rosario: "I would never rape you because you do not deserve it". These remonstrations have been connected also to the lack of political representation of women within the Brazilian Parliament. Despite making up 52 percent of Brazil's electorate, women hold just 13 of 81 seats in the country's upper house senate.  Fewer than 11 percent of the 513 seats in the lower house Chamber of Deputies are held by women.

See also https://thetempest.co/2019/01/18/news/meet-the-powerhouse-women-leading-brazils-new-era-of-feminist-activism/

Corradi, Juan E. ; Fagen, Patricia Weiss ; Garreton, Manuel Antonio, Fear at the Edge: State Terror and Resistance in Latin America, ed. Corradi, Juan E., Fagen, Patricia Weiss, Garreton, Manuel Antonio, Berkeley CA, University of California Press, 1992, pp. 301

Documents impact of state terror on society in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay from 1950s to 1980s, and the emergence of resistance in various sectors.

Davis, Nathaniel, The Last Two Years of Salvador Allende, London, I.B. Taurus, 1985, pp. 480

Account of evolving crisis by former US ambassador to Chile.

De Avila, Thiago, Facing domestic violence against women in Brazil: advances and challenges, International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy (IJCJ&SJ),, Vol. 7, no. 2, 2018, pp. 15-29

This article offers a critical overview of the Brazilian legal framework for confronting domestic violence. Intimate partner homicides are epidemic in Brazil: there are four deaths of women per day. In 2006, the Maria da Penha Law (MPL) introduced integrated polices and transformed criminal procedures to deal with the complexities of gender violence. Reforms included the establishment of The House of Brazilian Women, women‐only police stations, specialised courts, intervention orders, interdisciplinary experts, and perpetrator programs. In 2015, a new law established the crime of femicide and was designed to prevent ‘honour killings’ defences in cases of intimate partner homicides and to avoid impunity. Despite the legal reforms, the structure and articulation of the networks of services remains a challenge. The MPL led to great social change in Brazil by raising awareness of violence against women, and facilitating a broader discussion about gender equality.

de Carvalho, Jesus Mario, Firmeza Permanente: Labor holds the line Brazil, In McManus; Schlabach, Relentless Persistence: Nonviolent Action in Latin America (E. IV.1. General and Comparative Studies), Philadelphia PA, New Society Publishers, pp. 33-47

Account by labour activist of protracted struggle from 1962 in PETRUS cement factory in Sao Paolo against strikebreaking, police repression and an employer-created ‘union’.

Della Porta, Donatella, Social Movements in Times of Austerity: Bringing Capitalism Back into Protest Analysis, Cambridge, Polity and Wiley, 2015, pp. 216

Analyzes movements since 2008 (Iceland) challenging corruption and inequality and situating them within the crisis of neoliberalism. Covers Spain, Greece and Portugal anti-austerity movements, but also Peru, Brazil, Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Ukraine.

Dent, Alexander S. ; Pinheiro-Machado, Rosana, Protesting Democracy in Brazil, Hot Spots. Cultural Anthropology website, 2013

Series of 22 posts covering numerous aspects of protests, their cause, and issues of policing.

Drake, Paul, Labor Movements and Dictatorships: the Southern Cone in Comparative Perspective, Baltimore MD, John Hopkins University Press, 1996, pp. 253

In addition to detailed analysis of Argentine, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, has comparative discussion with European dictatorships – Greece, Portugal, and Spain.

Elsey, Brenda, Fútbol feminista, NACLA Report on the America, Vol. 50, no. 4, 2018, pp. 423-429

It examines the patriarchal structure of the football game that excludes women all across Latin America from the history of football.

Engler, Mark ; Engler, Paul, This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the Twenty-First Century, New York, Nation Books, 2016, pp. 368

The book examines how contemporary movements are using strategic nonviolent action to promote social change, covering a range of protests including climate change, immigrant rights, gay rights, Occupy and Black Lives Matter. The authors argue that nonviolent uprisings are becoming more common than violent rebellion, and look back to twentieth century antecedents in the Indian Independence and US Civil Rights movements, examine the nature of effective strategy and discuss organizational discipline. Their analysis includes the Arab Spring, but notes its discouraging implications.

Erikson, Kenneth P., The Brazilian Corrporate State and Working Class Politics, Berkeley CA, University of California Press, 1977, pp. 225

Gatehouse, Mike, To end gender-based violence (GBV). Children Aid’s campaign in Latin America and the Caribbean, LAB, 2018

Report on grassroots initiatives promoted by Christian Aid and Latin America civil society aimed at developing a national system of data and statistics on violence against women in El Salvador. It also discusses women’s deprivation of citizen rights in the Dominican Republic; the struggle of women defending their community in the Brazilian Amazon; the need to protect the rights of LGBTIQ people in Colombia; the need to enhance the participation of women in the labour market in Guatemala, and to tackle gender based violence and its legitimisation by the Church in Bolivia.

Gatehouse, Tom, Copa de Cash: saying this is a World Cup for everyone is a cruel joke, Red Pepper, no. Jun/Jul, 2014, pp. 38-39

On the negative impact of preparations for the World Cup and increasingly repressive police tactics.

Gedicks, Al, International Native Resistance to the New Resource Wars, ed. Taylor, Bron Raymond, In Taylor, Ecological Resistance Movements: The Global Emergence of Radical and Popular Environmentalism (C.1.a. General and International Studies), Albany NY, State University of New York Press, pp. 89-108

Covers resistance by Cree and Inuit, supported by Kayapo Indians in Brazil and transnational green groups, to major hydro-electric project in Quebec.

Hammond, John L., Law and Disorder: The Brazilian Landless Farmworkers Movement, Bulletin of Latin American Research, Vol. 18, no. 4, 1991, pp. 269-289

See also Hammond, John L., The MST and the media: Competing images of the Brazilian Landless Farmworkers’ Movement Latin American Politics and Society, 2004, pp. 61-90

Hammond, John L., The MST and the media: Competing images of the Brazilian Landless Farmworkers’ Movement, Latin American Politics and Society, Vol. 4, no. 4 (Winter), 2004, pp. 61-90

Higgins, Polly, Eradicating Ecocide: Exposing the Corporate and Political Practices Destroying the Planet and Proposing the Laws to Eradicate Ecocide, 2nd ed., 2015, pp. 204 (pb)

International lawyer and expert on ecocide Polly Higgins sets out the full case for an international ecocide law which would hold corporations and governments to account for actions and policies that result in massive harm to the environment. She also examines how law has operated effectively in other contexts. The book is linked to the international campaign she headed to broaden the remit of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include ecocide as a crime (alongside genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity). An example of ecocide was the massive oil spill of 134 million gallons by BP in the Mexican Gulf in 2010. Higgins died from cancer in 2019, but an international campaign continues. See: stopecocide.earth

See also: Cooke, Ben, 'Could Ecocide become an International Crime?', New Statesman, 16 Mar. 2020. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/environment/2020/03/could-ecocide-...

Useful overview of possible examples of ecocide, such as the 2019 Amazon forest fires and tar sand oil extraction , and of the goals and current strategy of the campaign, now headed by Jojo Mehta. The campaign now focuses on getting support from states most vulnerable to climate change (any ICC signatory state can propose an amendment to the Rome Statute governing the court, and the votes of all states are equal). The South Pacific island state, Vanuatu, has indicated it might initiate the process - if two thirds of the signatories agree the ecocide law would apply to them. Cooke notes that the idea now has support from Extinction Rebellion activists, and that Pope Francis indicated in 2019 that he was considering making ecocide a sin

Hooker, Juliet, Black and indigenous resistance in the Americas: from multiculturalism to racist Backlash, Lanham, U.S., Lexington Books, 2020, pp. 340

This book is the outcome of long term research by the Antiracist Research and Action Network of the Americas into rising racial intolerance, but also increasing resistance by both Black and indigenous people throughout the Americas. It covers six Latin American countries - Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico - as well as the US, and discusses the backlash against earlier gains in rights within nation states. The book argues that this nation-based strategy, pursued in a neo-liberal capitalist context, was inadequate and that the focus should now be on resisting ‘racial capitalism’ which bolsters white supremacy. The rise of militant anti-racial activism in the US and around the world in 2020 makes the book especially relevant.

Hurley, Judith, Brazil: A Troubled Journey to the Promised Land, In McManus; Schlabach, Relentless Persistence: Nonviolent Action in Latin America (E. IV.1. General and Comparative Studies), Philadelphia PA, New Society Publishers, pp. 174-196

The author, who founded a US support group for the landless, provides excerpts from her journal of visiting sites of land struggle in 1987. She notes intensified confrontations in 1980s between the landed elite and the landless, who resorted to lawsuits, demonstrations, fasts, vigils, marches, mock funerals and, above all, land occupations.

Jarrin, Alvaro ; Caldwell, Kia Lilly, Beyond #MeToo, Brazilian women rise up against racism and sexism, 2018

Examines the emergence of #MeuPrimeiroAssedio (‘My First Harassment’) in Brazil in 2015, aimed at tackling sexual violence but also other social evils. These include mass incarceration, deadly abortion medical neglect, and racism against the large portion of Afro-American women that compose Brazilian society (more than 25%).

See also https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/01/31/brazils-women-violence-begins-home

Khagram, Sanjeev, Dams and Development: Transnational Struggles for Water and Power, Ithaca NY, Cornell University Press, 2004, pp. 288

Focused particularly on the controversy over the major Narmada River dam projects, but also provides comparative perspective by considering dam projects in Brazil, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Lesotho, where the World Bank and other lenders were persuaded to withdraw funding.

Kingsnorth, Paul, One No, Many Yeses: A Journey to the Heart of the Global Resistance Movement, London, Free Press, 2003, pp. 355

Wide ranging exploration of campaigns in all parts of the world seen at first hand. Includes coverage of Sem Terra in Brazil, Cochabamba in Bolivia, township resistance to privatization in South Africa, the Zapatistas, opposition to mining in West Papua, and campaigning groups in the USA. See also his: Kingsnorth, Paul , Protest still matters New Statesman, 08/05/2006 , 8 May, 2006, discussing why the Global Justice Movement has dropped out of the news, the turn away from street demonstrations to social forums, and stressing that struggles still continue, especially in the Global South.

Klipic, Irma, Government responses to feminicides in Latin America, Växjö‎ & ‎Kalmar‎, ‎Småland‎ (Sweden), Linnæeus University, 2018

This thesis examines how government responses affected femicide rates in five selected countries: Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. The study is a qualitative comparative multi-case study using social inclusion and exclusion theory to understand if policies are inclusive or exclusive, and if the nature of legislation has an impact on the femicide rates.

Latin American Perspectives, Peasant Movements in Latin America, no. 4 (issue 167) (July), Vol. 30, Latin American Perspectives Inc, 2009, pp. 213

The whole issue is dedicated to ‘Peasant Movements in Latin America’ including 2 articles on MST.

Lewis, Simon ; Maslin, Mark, The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene, London , Penguin, 2018, pp. 480 (pb)

The authors are proponents of the theory that there is a geological epoch, which can be defined by the irreversible impact of human activity. The early stages of human development, from hunter-gatherers to settled farmers, had some environmental impact. But Lewis and Maslin trace the beginnings of a decisive human impact on the planet to the 16th-17th centuries when western colonialism, linked to the rise of global capitalism, began to transform the Americas, followed by the industrial revolution and the growth in population and consumption. The book concludes by calling for a new stage in human development involving radical economic change (away from profit-driven ownership of energy and food supplies), linked to comprehensive technological changes and much closer global cooperation. Two goals they set out are a re-wilding of half the planet and a universal basic income.

Lynn, Stephen, Women and Social Movements in Latin America: Power from Below, Austin TX, University of Texas Press, 1997, pp. 352

Covers six cases of grassroots activism in Mexico, El Salvador, Brazil and Chile, which use interviews with activists and provide histories of organizations and movements involved. The activists are concerned with economic and health issues, but also stress problems relating to contraception and abortion, rape and domestic violence.

Moreira Alvez, Maria Helena, State and Opposition in Military Brazil, Austin TX, University of Texas Press, 1985, pp. 352

Munoz, Sofia ; Pinto, Marian Hernandez, The *Black Lives Matter Movement in Brazil and the Organizations at the Forefront, Latina Republic, 2020

The authors provide a detailed account of the developing protests after Joao Pedro Matos Pinto, a fourteen year-old Black teenager, was shot 72 times by a police officer whilst playing in his cousin's backyard.  The article also examines the organizational initiatives that support victims of state violence.

See also: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/black-lives-matter-battle-cry-against-brazils-extermination-policy/

This May 2019 Open Democracy article explains the political context of President Jair Bolsonaro's security policy in Rio de Janeiro, especially in the favelas, where 25 per cent of the Black deaths were due to the security forces.

Mussi, Daniela ; Bianchi, Alvaro, Rise of the Radical Right, NACLA Report on the Americas, Vol. 50, no. 4, 2018, pp. 351-355

The authors contextualise women in the election of and resistance to newly elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in October 2018.

Neuwirth, Robert, Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters: A New Urban World, London, Routledge, 2006, pp. 335

Author lived in squatter communities in Rio, Bombay, Nairobi (where squatting was linked to building new homes) and Istanbul.

Novorro, Santiago ; Bessi, Renata, Fracking Expands in Latin America, Popular Resistance, 2015

Reports on the pressure from multinational companies to extract hydrocarbons from rocks through fracking in Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, and documents the harmful environmental effects including contamination of water supplies. The report also notes the growing resistance in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina to fracking, for example the No Fracking Brazil Coalition (Coesus) protests outside the offices of fossil fuel companies tendering for areas to frack in October 2015, with international support.

Paiva, Raquel, #MeToo, feminism and femicide in Brazil, Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, Vol. 10, no. 3, 2019, pp. 241-255

Paiva analyses the international #MeToo movement from the perspective of the Brazilian feminist movement; its historical approaches and new focus on using social networks. She also interprets #MeToo as one expression of new feminism and the related movements and collectives that stemmed from it. The author finally analyses #EleNão (NotHim) as an offshoot of #MeToo and its failure to prevent the 2018 election of Jair Bolsonaro, who represented misogynist and chauvinist movement in Brazil.

Paley, Dawn ; Weiss, Laura, Women Rising in the Americas, NACLA Report on the Americas, Vol. 50, no. 4, 2018

Introduction to the December 2018 issue, which presents, amongst other topics, essays and articles on the daily resistance against anti-Black state violence in Brazil; the demonstration of women wearing green handkerchiefs and claiming spaces in Argentina; the role of Ixil women in rebuilding communal structures post-genocide; the searches for the disappeared in Mexico; women’s struggle against oil exploitation; the organisation of LGBTI+ community members’ forms of resistance for immigrant justice; and the revisitation of the #NiUnaMenos movement.

Prandini, Mariana, Liberating abortion pills in legally restricted settings, in Henne, Kathryn and Rita Shah (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Public Criminologies, In , New York and London, Taylor & Francis, pp. 120-130

Mariana Prandini examines how Brazilian feminists mobilized against the criminalization of abortion in August 2018, when people from different countries in Latin America gathered for a week for the Festival for Women’s Lives. Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentinian activists exchanged information about their own struggles for abortion rights. Prandini also analyses the criminalization of the abortion pill and its effect on abortion activism in Brazil.

Raftopoulos, Malayna ; Morley, Joanna, Ecocide in the Amazon: the contested politics of environmental rights in Brazil, The International Journal of Human Rights, 2020

This article uses the 2019 fires in the Brazilian Amazon as a starting point to consider the political conflicts over environmental rights in Brazil. The authors argue that the concept of ecocide provides a useful focus for examining the social and ecological consequences of President Bolsonaro’s ‘extractive imperialism’. They also stress the failure of international bodies to prevent continuing destruction of the natural environment.

See also Devine, Jennifer (2020) ‘The Political Forest in the Era of Green Neoliberalism’ in Antipode, Vol. 52, issue 4, pp. 911-927. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12624

Resistencia, Mujeres Grabando, ¡Viva Nos Queremos! (Art) , NACLA Reports on the Americas, Vol. 50, no. 4, 2018, pp. 418-422

The initative of 14 women of capturing the feminist struggles through artistic production within the #VivaNosQueremos campaign. Many cities throughout the world joined the campaign and printmaking appeared in cities like Ciudad Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico State, Puebla, New York, Chicago, Montreal and Barcelona as well as other countries like Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Italy.

Reuters, Brazil: four women killed every day in 2019, human rights body says’, The Guardian, 2019

Reuters report on the alarming rate of femicides which occurred in Brazil since the beginning of 2019, leading to the initiative of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, supported by Human rights activists and civil society, calling on the Brazilian Government “to implement comprehensive strategies to prevent these acts, fulfil its obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible, as well as to offer protection and comprehensive reparation to all victims.” Between January and beginning of March 2019 Brazil counted 126 femicides and 67 attempts. (The full statement is available at this link http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2019/024.asp).

To see previous reports on femicide in Brazil, have a look at this link which states that the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (GEO) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) found that 2,795 women were victims of femicide in 2017 in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (https://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/nota_27_eng.pdf).

Ribeiro, Valeria, Sexual Harassment and Assault in Domestic Work: An Exploration of Domestic Workers and Union Organizers in Brazil, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, Vol. 24, no. 2, 2018, pp. 388-405

This article uses interviews with domestic workers and union organizers to investigate this issue in relation to the conditions that characterize domestic work and the racism and sexism in Brazilian society. The author argues that it is closely linked to the country’s slave-owning past and that women’s silence in relation to their experiences of sexual assault should be interpreted as a form of agency and resilience within a broader context of social oppression.

Rosset, Peter M. ; Patel, Roy ; Courville, Michael, Promised Land: Competing Visions of Agrarian Reform, ed. Latin American Perspectives, , Oakland CA, Food First, 2006, pp. 380

Includes chapters on Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, India, Mexico, South Africa and Zimbabwe (the latter refrains from discussing the human rights issues of the government sponsored post 1996 land occupations). Not all chapters discuss social movements, but the book does cover gender and indigenous issues.

Saad-Filho, Alfredo, Mass Protests under “Left Neoliberalism”: Brazil, June-July 2013, ed. Dent, Alexander S., Pinheiro-Machado, Rosana, Critical Sociology, Vol. 39, no. 5 (Sep.), 2013, pp. 657-669

Examines causes, range of demands, social base and ‘contradictory frustrations’ of the mass protests. Discusses political dilemmas and proposes ‘constructive alternatives for the left’.

Sardenberg, Cecilia ; Costa, Ana Alice Alca, State Feminism and Women’s Movements in Brazil. Achievements, Shortcomings, and Challenges, In Basu, Amrita, Women’s Movements In The Global Era. The Power Of Local Feminism, New York , Routledge, pp. 299-329

This chapter provides an overview of Brazilian feminist and women's movements since the 1970s, showing how dialogues with the state began and eventually led to the establishment of Women's Policy Agencies at different governmental levels, as well as in the different branches of government. It demonstrates that, despite these setbacks, state feminism in its participatory form continues to be an important instrument in the fight for gender equality in Brazil. The chapter deals with a periodization of feminist struggles in Brazil, tracing the emergence and consolidation of state feminism and the challenges it encountered up to more recent years. It examines how state feminism in Brazil has furthered women's struggles in combating their underrepresentation in formal politics, confronting violence against women, and advancing state support for the exercise of women's reproductive rights, focusing on the legalization of abortion.

Schock, Kurt, People Power and Alternative Politics, ed. Barnell, Peter, Randall, Vicky, In Barnell, Peter ; Randall, Vicky , Politics in the Developing World Oxford, Oxford University Press, , 2008, pp. 496, pp. 186-207

Pays special attention to Ekta Parishad (an Indian land rights organization), the Assembly of the Poor in Thailand and MST in Brazil.

Schock, Kurt, Land Struggles in the Global South: Strategic Innovations in Brazil and India, In Maney; Kutz-Flamenbaum; Rohlinger; Goodwin, Strategies for Social Change (A. 1.b. Strategic Theory, Dynamics, Methods and Movements), Minneapolis MN, University of Minnesota Press, pp. 221-244

Segato, Rita, Rita Segato on political feminism: ‘There is no prince’, TeleSur, 2018

Rita Segato, an Argentine-Brazilian academic and one of the most celebrated Latin American feminists, comments on the biases still affecting cases of femicide in Latin America due to the hyper machismo culture. She also discusses the need to unite academics working in the field of Communication, journalists and editors in order to promote discourses that encourage women to be seen as political actors rather than merely as victims.

Singer, André, Rebellion in Brazil, New Left Review, no. 85 (Jan/Feb), 2014, pp. 19-38

Analyzes varied class, age and political beliefs of the protesters (sometimes resulting in conflict between them).

SIPA, Violence against women in Brazil. Exploring the use of Twitter data to inform policy, Columbia University Capstone Project – UN Women, 2019, pp. 44

Capstone project, in consultancy with UN Women, explores how social media data —especially Twitter — can complement traditional data collection methods to help bridge gaps and influence policies on violence against women in Brazil. This report provides insights and recommendations regarding how this data can best be harnessed by civil society organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders to work more effectively towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.2—to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls. This will assist UN Women in developing a social media platform with the aim of monitoring progress made towards the achievement of SDG 5.2 goal.

Smith, Christensen, Lingering trauma in Brazil: Police violence against black women, NACLA Report on the Americas, Vol. 50, no. 4, 2018, pp. 369-376

This article points out the necessity of resisting anti-Black women policing practices, and argues that resistance must be organised by rethinking how we understand police violence in relation to the passage of time. Smith makes use of the term sequelae, which indicates ‘a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease’, to help shed light on the effects of police brutality on women, and its medium and long-term effects that are often overlooked. The article recalls four known Black women whose murder prompted vast public outcry - Claudia Silva de Ferreira; Marielle Franco; Luana Barbosa; and Aurina Rodrigues Santana – and articulates how sequelae are the combination of both physical and emotional trauma suffered by Black women.

Stedile, Joao Pedro, Landless Battalions, New Left Review, no. 15 (May/June), 2002, pp. 77-104

Account by participant in evolution of land seizures and of how MST eventually achieved legal possession.

Stepan, Alfred, Democratizing Brazil, ed. Stepan, Alfred, New York, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 404

Includes chapters on local social movements, and on the role of strikes in promoting popular unrest and encouraging move to elections.

Taylor, Julie, Leveraging the Global to Empower Local Struggles: Resistance and Efficacy in Transnational Feminist Networks, ed. Ross, Andrew, St Antony's International Review, Vol. 1, no. 2 (Nov), 2005, pp. 102-117

Three case studies of networks based in Latin America and Caribbean supporting garment workers (the Maquilla network created 1996) and domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago; and promoting women’s health in rural and urban Brazil.

Vergara-Camus, Leandro, The Legacy of Social Conflicts over Property Rights in Rural Brazil and Mexico: Current Land Struggles in Historical Perspective, Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 39, no. 5, 2012, pp. 1133-1158

Vinthagen, Stellan, A Theory of Nonviolent Action: How Civil Resistance Works, London, Zed Books, 2105, pp. 400

Vinthagen develops a new general theory of nonviolent action which embraces Gandhian concepts and commitments, but relates these to modern sociological theory (for example, Haberms's conception of rationality) and reinterprets them within a more contemporary ethos. Four key dimensions explored are: dialogue facilitation; 'power breaking': 'utopian enactment' - Gandhi's constructive programme; and nonviolent training. Theoretical analysis is illustrated by examples drawn from a range of movements such as US Civil Rights, Movimento Sem Terra and radical protests against nuclear weapons. 

Watson, Katy, Brazil’s racial reckoning: ‘Black lives matter here too', BBC, 2020

Reports that 14 year old Pedro Mattos Pinto, when playing in the street, was seized and later killed in a botched police operation in a Rio de Janeiro favela, a week before George Floyd’s death.  His body was later found dumped. Brazilians demonstrated chanting ‘Black lives matter here too’. Notes that in 2019 police in Brazil killed nearly six times as many as in the US, and most of them were black.

See also: Libardi, Manuella, ‘Racial cleansing in Brazil: a 21st century genocide?’, OpenDemocracy, 27 September 2019.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/limpieza-racial-en-brasil-genocidio-versi%C3%B3n-siglo-xxi-en/

Investigates the indiscriminate killing of blacks and the poor and argues that it is a historical and institutionalized event in Brazil: the perpetuation of an attempt at racial cleansing engrained in the history of the country.

See also: ‘Brazil: 80% killed by police in Rio de Janeiro in 2019 were Black’, TeleSur, 8 February 2020.

http://civilresistance.info/biblio-item/1998/walking-wind-memoir-movement

Watts, Jonathan, Hydroelectric is not Clean Energy - it is Mixed with our Blood, The Guardian, 2017, pp. 29-28

This article covers a major struggle for indigenous rights and environmental protection in Brazil, opposing construction of 49 dams on the Tapajos river and its tributaries to generate electricity and to create a canal to a major new container port. The scheme is backed by the Brazilian government and includes finance and engineering from Chinese and European companies, and would provide power to soya growers and mining companies.  It threatens the home of the Munduruku tribes and an area of pristine rainforest. The protesters gained a partial victory in 2016 when the Brazilian environmental agency suspended the license for one dam, but the local people fear renewed pressure.

Watts, Jonathan, Yes. We. Canopy: Can alliances between indigenous people and young climate activists help to save the Amazon?, Guardian Weekly, 2019, pp. 15-17

Account of preparation by indigenous communities to resist the destruction of the rainforest by farmers, miners and loggers backed by far right President Jair Bolsonaro. The article focuses on the discussions, held in the small riverine community Manolito in Terro do Meio, between indigenous people and international activists, including Extinction Rebellion UK organisers, Belgian activists in the School Strike and from the Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot. Watts outlines the wider Brazilian context, and discusses how international participants revised their ideas and campaigning plans as a result of the meeting, which was named 'Amazon: Centro do Mundo'.

Watts, Jonathan, Yes. We. Canopy: Can alliances between indigenous people and young climate activists help to save the Amazon?, Guardian Weekly, 2019, pp. 15-17

Account of preparation by indigenous communities to resist the destruction of the rainforest by farmers, miners and loggers backed by far right President Jair Bolsonaro. The article focuses on the discussions, held in the small riverine community Manolito in Terro do Meio, between indigenous people and international activists, including Extinction Rebellion UK organisers, Belgian activists in the School Strike and from the Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot. Watts outlines the wider Brazilian context, and discusses how international participants revised their ideas and campaigning plans as a result of the meeting, which was named 'Amazon: Centro do Mundo'.

Welch, Cliff, Movement Histories: A Preliminary Historiography of the Brazil Landless Laborers Movement (MST), Latin American Research Review, Vol. 41, no. 1, 2006, pp. 198-210

Willow, Anna, Understanding ExtrACTIVISM. Culture and Power in Natural Resource Disputes, London and New York, Routledge, 2019, pp. 312

The author analyzes the nature and power of extractive industries,  their impact on local people, and how they prompt active resistance in North and Latin America. The book covers a wide range of extractive industries, including logging, hydroelectric dams, mining, and oil and natural gas.

Winters, Matthew S. ; Weitz-Shapiro, Rebecca, Partisan and Nonpartisan Protests in Brazil, Journal of Politics in Latin America, Vol. 6, no. 1, 2014, pp. 137-150

Uses evidence of two surveys to examine effects of protests on party-alignment and suggests a drop in support for the ruling Workers’ Party, but that no other party gained in support.

Wright, Angus ; Wolford, Wendy, To Inherit the Earth: The Landless Movement and the Struggle for a New Brazil, Oakland CA, Food First Books, 2003, pp. 357

Situates MST in the broader context of Brazilian history but also based on first hand research at MST settlements.