From identity politics to political assemblage: Strategic displacements in abortion narratives

Abstract

In Bolivia and Ecuador, political strategies for the decriminalisation and destigmatisation of abortion have been shaped by diverse political identities associated with the struggle. Using the methodological approach of narrative productions with twenty-seven activists from eleven feminist collectives, this article analyses the configuration of political subjects that emerge from their political strategies. Three political subjects are recognised. The victim-subject is associated with the narrative of pain and vulnerability to challenge the state and demand rights. The autonomous subject supported by feminist abortion accompaniment networks. This subject contributes to challenging the dominant discourses on abortion. Finally, the body-territory, a strategy that links abortion with anti-extractivist and decolonial resistance. In the face of the current conservative offensive, the body-territory perspective is essential for developing aggregation policies that transcend identity and establish a common front for the sovereignty of life.