Indigenous Women and Political Representation. The Symbolic Dimension of Their Presence in the Public Space

Abstract

This article discusses the political representation of indigenous women considering its symbolic dimension. It assumes that analyses about the descriptive and substantive representation of groups underrepresented in the State (such as indigenous people and women) are important but insufficient to understand the way in which the politicization and participation of indigenous women in the public space develops. Hence, what is analyzed is how symbolic representation is shaped and the uses it acquires among indigenous peoples (as assertion or excuse) and within the State (as folklorization). This analysis is based on secondary (documentary) information for the Latin American region and primary information: life stories and in-depth interviews, carried out between the years 2001 and 2017, with social and political figures of different indigenous peoples from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Panama.