In contrast, villages in places like might have had the same grievances, but they lacked the strong social networks or the political space to turn their frustration into a national movement. The "Postliberal Challenge"
Here is a helpful story to illustrate the book's core arguments: The Story of the Changing Village Contesting Citizenship in Latin America: The Ri...
: The shift to neoliberalism unintentionally challenged their local autonomy, giving them a reason to fight back. In contrast, villages in places like might have
: A "crack" in the state’s control allowed them the freedom to gather and form significant political organizations without being immediately crushed. : The villagers already had deep, pre-existing connections
: The villagers already had deep, pre-existing connections through the Church or previous unions. These networks allowed them to organize quickly.
One day, the government changed the rules. It adopted , aiming to treat everyone as individual, equal citizens. While this sounded like "democracy," it actually stripped away the collective protections the villagers relied on for their local autonomy. Suddenly, their lands were at risk, and the "peasant" unions that once protected them were dismantled.