In response to acts of racialized institutional violence that occurred in Chaco – Argentina, against the Qom community
Statement from the Working Group on anti-patriarchal struggles, families, genders, diversities and citizenship
The Working Group “Anti-patriarchal struggles, families, genders, diversities and citizenship” repudiates the extreme and unacceptable acts of racialized institutional violence suffered by young people of the Qom Community, in the Bandera Argentina neighborhood of the town of Fontana, Chaco province, which occurred in recent days.
What happened shows forms of cruelty that have become normalized and are protected by practices of impunity that demonstrate racism, discrimination and the consequent contempt for those who are different, attacking the human condition and denying the rights to well-being and a life free from violence.
The actions of the security forces reveal the historical, political, and cultural roots and persistence of a colonial order founded on expressions of hatred toward otherness and the inherent diversity of our peoples. In this sense, ethnic, gender, class, and generational differences are selectively and negatively perceived, reproducing a repressive and intimidating matrix similar to that which characterized state terrorism (and which remains in force even in democracies). Therefore, it is essential to understand that these are not isolated incidents; rather, the individual cases are indicators of an anti-rights model that attacks any attempt to democratize everyday life, a model that is also replicated and expanded in Argentina, in Latin America, and in other regions and countries around the world.
In response to these events, it is proposed to generate practices to eradicate from state structures these forms of contempt towards the human condition that arise with different nuances and threaten (especially) the popular sectors and subaltern groups (indigenous and non-indigenous; women, older adults, etc.).
That is why we raise our voices against the predatory onslaught of current capitalism.
That is why we raise our voices to promote new worldviews that challenge collective imaginaries where inclusion is only desired as a guarantee of a way of life based on unlimited consumption.
That is why we raise our voices to make visible other forms of the State and statehood.
That is why we raise our voices to challenge the hegemony of the prevailing order in other ways. Only in this way will events like the one we are denouncing cease to occur systematically.
We have a task ahead of us: opening up the possibility of building decolonized societies and institutions that reflect existing diversity in their structures, knowledge production, and practices. We will continue to generate visibility, counter-arguments, and collective organization to confront and modify the racist, anti-democratic, conservative, patriarchal, and colonial order.
June 25 by 2020
CLACSO Working Group
Anti-patriarchal struggles, families, genders, diversities and citizenship
This statement expresses the position of the Working Group on anti-patriarchal struggles, families, genders, diversities and citizenship and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
