Making Tarefero Pride:  The Collaborative Construction of Portable Photomurals for Farmworker Empowerment in Misiones, Argentina

Design and Implementation of a Workshop for Evaluation of the Role of Power in Shaping and Solving Challenges in a Smart Foodshed

“…The role of differences in the level of power between small farmers and large corporations [4,8] or between farm laborers and landowners within the foodshed has been a central focus of agrarian studies, particularly about food sovereignty. For instance, in Argentina, there are many farm laborers whose livelihoods depend on landowners' willingness to hire and pay them [13]. This is not an uncommon phenomenon; it is also an issue for migrant workers in North America [14], where employers exert power over undocumented workers, leveraging the threat of deportation.…”

“…Similarly, power and related conflicts are common themes in the literature on natural resource management and international agricultural development across the Global South [15,16]. In social work, power relations are typically described on a local or individual scale in terms of oppression and empowerment of the oppressed [13]. From a political economy perspective, the role of power during policy formulation and implementation [2] is a central concern.…”

“…Power imbalances are ubiquitous across the food system, crossing local, regional, national, and global scales. These imbalances have consequences, often leading to adverse social, economic, and health outcomes, political marginalization, impoverishment, and exploitation of those with less power [2], and reinforcing inequalities and injustices, leading to social tension and, sometimes, civil unrest [4,13]. In the case of Tareferos, a group of farmworkers in Argentina, exploitation by farm owners meant the laborers had limited access to healthcare or retirement funds.…”