After Mass Mobilization: Feminist Movements and the Politics of Resistance

Over the last decade, feminist and reproductive justice movements have become central actors in struggles over democracy, citizenship, and social justice. The expansion of the Green Wave across Latin America demonstrated the capacity of feminist mobilization to generate transnational solidarities, reshape public debates, and achieve significant legal and political transformations. Yet the current context is increasingly marked by democratic backsliding, the electoral consolidation of right-wing and anti-gender actors, and growing attacks on feminist, LGBTQ+, and human rights agendas.

This panel starts from the premise that social movements do not disappear when their moments of mass mobilization recede from public view. Rather, periods of backlash and political closure invite movements to adapt, reorganize, and experiment with new repertoires of action. How do feminist movements persist and reproduce themselves under increasingly hostile political conditions? How do they sustain organizational infrastructures, collective identities, and transnational solidarities during periods of reflux? What forms of strategic adaptation emerge in response to authoritarian tendencies, shrinking civic spaces, and conservative counter-mobilization?

We invite contributions that examine the temporalities of feminist activism beyond moments of protest and success. Particular attention will be given to the everyday practices, infrastructures, affective ties, and strategic innovations through which movements endure and continue to shape political life. By shifting analytical attention from moments of emergence to processes of persistence and adaptation, the panel seeks to contribute to broader debates on social movements, democratic resilience, and the changing politics of gender and reproduction in turbulent times.