“Gender Ideology,” Refeudalization, and the Reproductive Reconquista: A (G)local Perspective

Abstract

The expansion of extremely conservative social and political movements has gained attention in recent years. However, this sociopolitical phenomenon is not new. In certain aspects, it has been gestating for more than fifty years, particularly with the rise of the Christian Right in the United States and the instrumentalization of religious narratives and emotions for geopolitical purposes. At the same time, other facets of the new right in Latin America have deeper historical roots that can be traced to persisting colonialist projects. Different terms have been used to describe these movements: neo-conservatism, anti-rights movements, anti-globalization movements, ethno-nationalisms, left- and right-wing populism, among others. A more productive way to name this phenomenon, though, is refeudalization (which I define later).