Xochitl Leyva has been living and working in Chiapas for over thirty years and is an active member of collectives and networks for local and global justice. In this talk, she will discuss the contemporary Mexican crisis, the electoral conjuncture, and the ways in which indigenous struggles against patriarchy, capitalism, and development are interwoven in one of the most creative political strategies in the continent at present.

Abstract

The National Indigenous Congress and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation have recently decided collectively to form an Indigenous Council of Government with an indigenous woman as their representative to take part in the 2018 national election process.This decision challenges formal democracy and exposes the continued crisis and brutality of the Mexican State and its profoundly exclusionary development model.

This colloquium is being held in association with the Anthropology Department.