Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta
Huanta, known as “The Emerald of the Andes,” is a historical epicenter of radical mobilization in southern Peru, where resistance has emerged against a state perceived as absent and repressive. This study aims to analyze the radicalization of protest through three key events: the 1969 Rebellion oppo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sociology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1602160/full |
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| author | Fernando Gari Huayhua Lévano Bruno Kadafi Cardenas Morales Rubén Ñaupari Molina Saríah Fanny Oré Gálvez Alex Quispe Quispe Ivet Danitza Coronado Illanes Fernando Félix Huayhua Aguirre Amilcar Tacuri Gamboa Jhon Ivan Ramos Malpica |
| author_facet | Fernando Gari Huayhua Lévano Bruno Kadafi Cardenas Morales Rubén Ñaupari Molina Saríah Fanny Oré Gálvez Alex Quispe Quispe Ivet Danitza Coronado Illanes Fernando Félix Huayhua Aguirre Amilcar Tacuri Gamboa Jhon Ivan Ramos Malpica |
| author_sort | Fernando Gari Huayhua Lévano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Huanta, known as “The Emerald of the Andes,” is a historical epicenter of radical mobilization in southern Peru, where resistance has emerged against a state perceived as absent and repressive. This study aims to analyze the radicalization of protest through three key events: the 1969 Rebellion opposing educational reforms under Velasco Alvarado’s regime; the burning of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in 2022 as an act of popular justice; and the 2024 indefinite strike in the Razuhuillca watershed against mining expansion. Using a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews, documentary analysis, and thematic coding, this research identifies three dimensions: historical memory of resistance, crisis of state legitimacy, and communal territorial defense. Drawing upon theories of structural, symbolic, necropolitical, and territorial violence, the study explores how multiple forms of exclusion intersect to produce radicalized collective action. The findings reveal that radicalization in Huanta is rooted in intergenerational memory, community cohesion, and self-governance, rather than spontaneous impulses. This suggests that plebeian protest is not an anomaly but a structural response to exclusion and state violence, offering insights into broader dynamics of resistance and community governance in the Peruvian Andes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-becfd359f6134457948b54fa708457c4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2297-7775 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sociology |
| spelling | doaj-art-becfd359f6134457948b54fa708457c42025-08-20T02:38:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sociology2297-77752025-05-011010.3389/fsoc.2025.16021601602160Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of HuantaFernando Gari Huayhua Lévano0Bruno Kadafi Cardenas Morales1Rubén Ñaupari Molina2Saríah Fanny Oré Gálvez3Alex Quispe Quispe4Ivet Danitza Coronado Illanes5Fernando Félix Huayhua Aguirre6Amilcar Tacuri Gamboa7Jhon Ivan Ramos Malpica8Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Huanta, Ayacucho, PeruEscuela Profesional de Ingeniería y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Huanta, Ayacucho, PeruEscuela Profesional de Ingeniería y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Huanta, Ayacucho, PeruEscuela Profesional de Ingeniería y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Huanta, Ayacucho, PeruEscuela Profesional de Educación, Especialidad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, PeruIndependent Researcher, Huanta, PeruIndependent Researcher, Huanta, PeruEscuela Profesional de Ingeniería de Minas, Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga, Ayacucho, PeruIndependent Researcher, Huanta, PeruHuanta, known as “The Emerald of the Andes,” is a historical epicenter of radical mobilization in southern Peru, where resistance has emerged against a state perceived as absent and repressive. This study aims to analyze the radicalization of protest through three key events: the 1969 Rebellion opposing educational reforms under Velasco Alvarado’s regime; the burning of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in 2022 as an act of popular justice; and the 2024 indefinite strike in the Razuhuillca watershed against mining expansion. Using a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews, documentary analysis, and thematic coding, this research identifies three dimensions: historical memory of resistance, crisis of state legitimacy, and communal territorial defense. Drawing upon theories of structural, symbolic, necropolitical, and territorial violence, the study explores how multiple forms of exclusion intersect to produce radicalized collective action. The findings reveal that radicalization in Huanta is rooted in intergenerational memory, community cohesion, and self-governance, rather than spontaneous impulses. This suggests that plebeian protest is not an anomaly but a structural response to exclusion and state violence, offering insights into broader dynamics of resistance and community governance in the Peruvian Andes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1602160/fullprotest radicalizationpopular justicesocio-environmental conflicthistorical memoryself-governanceplebeian mobilization |
| spellingShingle | Fernando Gari Huayhua Lévano Bruno Kadafi Cardenas Morales Rubén Ñaupari Molina Saríah Fanny Oré Gálvez Alex Quispe Quispe Ivet Danitza Coronado Illanes Fernando Félix Huayhua Aguirre Amilcar Tacuri Gamboa Jhon Ivan Ramos Malpica Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta Frontiers in Sociology protest radicalization popular justice socio-environmental conflict historical memory self-governance plebeian mobilization |
| title | Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta |
| title_full | Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta |
| title_fullStr | Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta |
| title_full_unstemmed | Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta |
| title_short | Popular justice and territorial resistance in the Peruvian Andes: the case of Huanta |
| title_sort | popular justice and territorial resistance in the peruvian andes the case of huanta |
| topic | protest radicalization popular justice socio-environmental conflict historical memory self-governance plebeian mobilization |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1602160/full |
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