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At a time when General Augusto Pinochet's repressive legacy is being visibly
and legally denounced around the world, it seems important to reflect on
how the Pinochet dictatorship drastically changed the lives of thousands
of Chileans. The rural sector, in particular, has been tremendously impacted
by the social and economic forces that Pinochet set into motion. Some economists
claim that Chilean rural people are better off now than they were twenty-five
years ago, pointing to aggregate economic indicators as evidence. Economic
indicators, though, often reduce the complexities of people's lives and
hide gender difference.
In 1996, I spent three months in the Central Valley conducting interviews
with women agricultural workers, union activists, and non-governmental organization
(NGO) representatives. Trying to understand how women's lives had been affected
by neo-liberal policies and socio-economic change, I explored rural women's
organizational responses. It soon was obvious to me that the Chilean state
has failed to mediate between the export-oriented economy and its negative
impact on the rural population, especially rural women. NGOs, filling the
gap left by the government, often provided organizational assistance to
women facing social inequalities and difficult working conditions. I also
found that women workers organize informally, both inside and outside of
the workplace, because of the many barriers to formal unionization efforts.
Women organized around gender concerns as a way to confront the many challenges
presented by the status of "temporeras" (temporary agricultural
workers).
In temporary and part-time jobs, within both agricultural packing houses
and fields, women have been incorporated into the rural work force in unprecedented
numbers. Many sources estimate that there are somewhere between 400,000
- 600,000 agro-export workers in Chile, 50 per cent of which are women,
out of a total population of slightly over 14 million (interview with Francisca
Rodríguez, union organizer, 7/96). The majority of women are employed
within agricultural packing houses--the site of highly exploitative working
conditions.
Introducing a fierce vision of neo-liberal economic development (1973-1989),
the military government effectively displaced thousands of rural people,
and forced them to work in the ever-expanding fruit sector for large companies
(Cruz 1987). Pinochet established a capitalist, export-oriented agricultural
sector through 'counter-reform.' This process reversed land expropriation
laws which had successfully transferred 96,000 hectares to rural beneficiaries
(Jarvis 1991). Many poor rural families not only lost their land to private
agricultural firms, but suffered the disappearances of family members, as
the dictatorship worked to dismantle the tightly organized and mobilized
rural sector (Mark Kurtz, personal communication, 3/97).
While union organization is currently legal in Chile, collective bargaining
is illegal, stripping rural unions of their political clout. Also, black
lists often circulate between owners of fruit companies, documenting workers
who participate in union activities and excluding them from employment opportunities
(interview Francisca Rodríguez, union organizer, 7/96). Rural unions,
in front of a highly organized owner class, do not have the necessary legal
tools with which to effectively represent agricultural workers.
Besides these structural factors, unions historically have not taken women's
needs seriously, nor have they encouraged women's participation. Francisca
Rodríguez, past president of the Comisión Nacional Campesina
(the largest national peasant confederation), expresses this point:
Women's presence within the leadership of peasant organizations is not easily
accepted, not even by women themselves. It is difficult to organize, discuss,
and create specific policies for women workers. It's also hard to get the
compañeros (partners) to listen to you and to accept that
their attitudes towards women is unjust (Acuña and Molina 1992).
Women leaders spend much of their time convincing unions of the need to
address women's concerns. Institutionally, unions have been incapable of
analyzing and changing old practices of gender inequality, which has limited
their ability to attract female members.
For both men and women, the current rural labor market is unstable, precarious,
and informal, expanding according to the needs of commercial agriculture.
The flexibility of employment relations (e.g., long hours on demand, lack
of contracts, employers' obligations, etc.) characterizes the fruit industry.
For women, the instability of this relationship is even more pronounced,
as male workers often have the opportunity to secure a permanent position
within a fruit firm. Women's work within the agro-export industry, in general,
suffers from undervaluation, less prestige, and less pay.
Temporeras often have varied and burdensome responsibilities attached to
their identity. They are single mothers or spouses, daughters and mothers,
etc. within the private sphere, and paid workers in the public realm. Even
though packing fruit is arduous labor, women sometimes express satisfaction
with their jobs, which give them personal and economic independence from
traditionally circumscribed roles. On the other hand, obtaining child care
is often a source of stress for temporeras, and a main concern of their
organizational efforts. The conflict between the role as mother and worker
is serious, and not easily resolved through reliance on kinship or friend
networks. The "opportunity," then, to leave the domestic setting
is also a source of stress and tension. This is one paradox of rural women's
double workload.
Consciousness-raising efforts, combined with concrete community projects,
are an important NGO strategy for meeting the concerns of temporeras. The
strong and visible presence of women in the agro-export economy provides
an opportunity for NGOs to challenge the historical invisibility of rural
women's work (Valdés 1992). Consciousness-raising workshops address
the legacy of gender inequality in Chile--inequality that is often more
pronounced in the countryside. La Escuela de Mujer Rural (School for Rural
Women) exemplifies the strategy of raising awareness, by creating a space
for collective dialogue. The school is led by popular trainers who use self-reflexive
methodologies, often with a specifically feminist orientation.
I attended a session of La Escuela de Mujer Rural, in the southern town
of Talca. Activities filled the day of meetings, where the participants
were asked to do everything from create group murals, demonstrating how
women are portrayed in the media, to sharing stories about experiences of
inequality in the work setting. Throughout the day, women commented on the
difficulties of working within the packing house. Many said it was hard
for them to take on such overwhelming work loads, feeling like all they
ever did was work. Some described working eighteen hours a day for ten or
more days straight, through a three month period. My overwhelming impression
was that the facilitators provided a safe and fun environment for the participants,
discussing topics with collective resonance. During the closing activity,
women expressed a desire to continue the sessions in the future. As one
participant said, "Though its not easy to be here--I have to ask my
husband's permission, leave my housework, and find someone to take care
of my children--it has been a worthwhile experience." Through workshops
organized by NGOs, temporeras have the opportunity to challenge power relations
within the workplace, and society at large.
Community initiatives, by women workers, have also had a visible impact,
even if they are not always successful. A child care program in Talagante,
a town in the Central Valley, began with a small group of women agro-export
workers who had few child care options. To ensure long-term financial support,
participants attempted to promote a tripartite support system between the
local union, the state, and owners of packing firms in the region. The government
financed the project and replicated it in eight sites throughout Chile,
unfortunately with little success. Though the organizational effort originated
with women workers, the government later limited community participation.
Over the long-term, the lack of temporera involvement undermined the ability
of the day care project to provide effective services.
Informal and spontaneous organization by women is a common practice in the
fruit packing industry. At the height of the peak season (November-March),
women collectively decide to stop work or slow down production. The strategy
is used to combat low wages, set at the beginning of the harvest period--usually
at the same level of the previous year's wages. As one observer discusses:
More experienced women workers, those respected by the owners, are chosen
to represent the other workers in negotiations with the packing manager.
This is one way to better their salaries. Sometimes they will ask for a
common eating space or clean drinking water. Experienced women have a bag
of tricks that they can use to make deals in the packing house (Julia Medel,
NGO representative, interview 7/96).
These informal methods, within the confines of a single packing house, have
proved to bring little long-term collective gain. Even so these efforts
are important, showing women's ability to struggle against a gender stratified
rural economy.
Varied forms of informal organization represent women's responses to changing
social and economic conditions within the Chilean rural sector. For temporeras,
multiple strategies allow them to fulfill their roles as mothers and
workers within difficult material conditions. At the same time rural women
redefine restrictive social constructions of 'femaleness,' in both the domestic
and public realms. Ultimately, women are creating different identities for
themselves through organizational efforts and acts of resistance. Though
the larger outcome of such efforts is not immediately apparent, these strategies
potentially have broad implications for Chile's future. Rural women are
challenging power relations in the multiple spheres of their lives, a social
project that counters the negative legacy of the Pinochet regime.
References
Cruz, María Elena. 1987. "Pobladores rurales y cambio agrario
en el sector agricola chileno," Santiago: Estudios Rurales Latinoamericanos,
vol.10, no.3.
Jarvis, Lovell S. 1991. "Chilean Fruit Development since 1973: Manipulating
the Cornucopia to What End?" Paper prepare for XVI International Congress
of the Latin American Studies Association, April 4-6, Washington, D.C.
Valdés, Ximena. 1992. Mujer, trabajo, y medio ambiente: los nudos
de la modernización agraria. Santiago: Centro de estudios para
el desarrollo de la mujer (CEDEM).
This piece is based on a longer research
paper. The author can be reached at macaroberto@earthlink.net
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