Determinants and Political Trajectories in the Construction of Women's Leadership in the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon in Contemporary Peru (1985-2015)

Indigenous organizations have emerged as central actor in the political system of Peru over the last thirty years. Faced with the traditional indigenous organizations set up during the land reform in the mid-twentieth century, have created new organizations in a context of development of extractive industries and with the ratification of Convention 169 of ILO the Peruvian State has opened institutional participation for the indigenous organizations. Although indigenous organizations have increased their role in the political debate, the exclusion of indigenous women`s persists. Faced with these problems, firstly, commissions were formed within indigenous organizations representing women's demands, but in many cases they reflect only a temporary commitment. Furthermore, indigenous women's organizations were created. The "organizational parallelism" is a response to the barriers faced by women within their own organizations. This research focuses on the political trajectories of indigenous women`s who manage to consolidate their leadership in the Peruvian indigenous movement, while assessing their impact on gender equality, as well as analyze how intersectionality between gender and ethnicity defines their political participation, particularly on the case of Luzmila Chiricente (indigenous Ashaninka, Nomatsiguenga and Kakinte), political leader of the Amazon at national level in the Council of Repairs Victims from the Armed Conflict between 1980-2000, and of Ruth Buendia (indigenous Ashaninka), political leader of the Amazon who preaches against the construction of the hydroelectric project win the Goldman Prize, in recognition of the defense of the Amazon natural resources. These research contrasts three determinants that directly influence the construction of these political leaderships: personal limits and resources, the internal dynamics of their indigenous peoples (Ashaninka, Nomatsiguenga and Kakinte) and organizations (CARE and FREMANK), and national processes (internal armed conflict, development of extractive industries) and international processes (politics and discourses of gender equality and human rights).