“When one comes out of the community, but the community never come out of one”: cultural capital and social capital in the trajectories of organized women trade unionists in Temuco

Abstract

La Araucanía, historically singular given the weight of colonialism and extractivism, presents particular socioeconomic and trade union traits: high levels of poverty, low levels of unionization. In order to understand the specific qualities of women’s unionization, we study the trajectories of four women union leaders from their incorporated cultural capitals and the social capital built and maintained. Solidarity, as a practice rooted in rural community life, emerges as a central element in these trajectories.