Understanding artisanal fishing as a complex socioecological system allows for an integrated perspective of the activity, with the aim of promoting its sustainability. However, information regarding its socioeconomic dimensions remains scarce. For this reason, the objective of this study was to analyze the socioeconomic profile of artisanal fisherpeople in the Southwestern region of Buenos Aires Province, based on the collection and analysis of semi-structured surveys. The activity has a deeply rooted family tradition, in which the participation of women is limited. Fisherpeople generally have an average level of education, and their households are not vulnerable to climatic conditions. Catches are mainly sold through intermediaries from other localities, although to a lesser extent, direct sales are also made in the local market. In most cases, the activity is carried out informally, associative forms of organization are not predominant, and fisherpeople generally do not take part in decision-making processes related to the management and governance of the activity.
Historically, so-called financial services have never been a matter of interest for the poorest populations. However, in 1995, the Programa Nacional de Fortalecimiento de la Agricultura Familiar (PRONAF, National Program for Strengthening Family Farming) emerged, operating as a rural-based credit policy aimed at family farmers. Therefore, this article seeks to analyze how the financing policies of Agroamigo-through PRONAF-impacted on the development of rural territories in the high hinterland of Sergipe and Alagoas. From this perspective, a brief regional analysis will be carried out. To this end, the Northeast region was used as an empirical-analytical basis, with emphasis on the states of Sergipe and Alagoas. Furthermore, it is necessary to add that, even with its limitations, the volume of credit granted has an impact on the reality of these territories. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight the public policies of income transfer (such as Bolsa Familia), which jointly complement these transformations and expand the possibilities for the reproduction of rural families.
The capitalist model of the territorial Nation-State imposed worldwide by European modernity after its colonial expansion has been in a crisis for several decades, within the framework of the globalization process. In this scenario, postneoliberal movements and governments have proposed and even in some cases have instituted alternative forms of political-territorial organization, challenging hegemonic colonial thinking. First, this article analyzes the conventional notion of State inherited from the European socio-political construction. Then, the basic concepts used by Geography and territorial reference discourses are discussed to address the relationship between the territory and the State, expressed institutionally in the Nation-State. Finally, the creation of new state institutions is considered within the framework of the Latin American integration process that starts in the first decade of this century, questioning that Eurocentric notion of the nation-state and proposing an alternative, that of the Plurinational State.
In the 21st century, the fair energy transition- which aims to promote environmental sustainability alongside social inclusion in South America-has become a subject of political debate. In Argentina and Chile, distributed schemes based on renewable sources are gradually expanding to counteract the shortcomings of centralised systems. Individual distributed renewable energy installations, driven by residential and commercial users, are multiplying. At the same time, community-based renewable generation is emerging, based on local projects with socio-environmental benefits and shared energy management. Local/provincial governments, NGOs, residents and service cooperatives drive this alternative model forward. Within this network of actors, the aim of this article is to highlight and analyze the role of cooperatives in community generation initiatives in Argentina and Chile, which seek to counteract the injustices of the conventional system. The research is based on a qualitative methodology, involving documentary analysis and interviews with key informants for the case studies. The community-based photovoltaic generation initiatives examined reveal emerging energy supply and management schemes which, driven by cooperatives in partnership with other local actors, generate benefits for vulnerable social groups, contributing to distributive justice.
This article is intended as a working paper for the Study Group of which the author of this work is a founding member. The group focuses on the resignification of everyday spaces and the situational nature of knowledge-approaches that, despite the ground gained in recent decades, still require greater attention in academic scholarship. In this sense, this text explores the affective bond that a group of urban women who have become agricultural producers in the Central Valley of Catamarca (Valle Viejo department) develop in the territory where they practice agroecology. We understand this act of "being-there" in Heidegger's sense, which implies creation and not merely the repetition of an action. Given that the production of knowledge is always a situated experience, we are interested in observing how Eurocentric biases seep into this daily practice as a subtle perpetuation of colonial relations of domination that continue to this day in renewed forms of political practice. In response to this, our interlocutors deploy creative responses and imagine other ways of organizing work and living spaces. We access these ways of instituting new realities -which they unfold through their practice- through conversation, a methodological strategy that runs throughout the ongoing research project, grounded in the pedagogy of commitment and the experience of collective learning.
