In the face of neoliberalist trends, Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life are, and have been constantly under threat. Women in particular face heightened discrimination and sexual violence. Holding...Show moreIn the face of neoliberalist trends, Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life are, and have been constantly under threat. Women in particular face heightened discrimination and sexual violence. Holding roughly half of the world’s biodiversity and 23% of global forests, Latin America plays a central role within this discussion (OECD 2023). The combination, then, of Latin America and Indigenous Peoples is paramount. This research embarks on the issue of climate change, and the resulting “Energy Transition”, starting with a broad lens and zooming into one specific and crucial component: the Indigenous world. Therein, Indigenous female positionality within the Energy Transition, and specifically the impacts that lithium mining have on them is discussed. This thesis aims to elucidate how green initiatives can have negative consequences, providing information which may be utilized to ensure that the transition does not “perpetuate the violations and abuses currently plaguing extractive and other fossil-fuel related projects” (United Nations, General Assembly 3, 2023). It does so by positing: “How have Indigenous women in Bolivia been impacted by the “Energy Transition”? The inspiring stories of empowered women that follow provide an insight into the resilience and determination that a historically overlooked societal group has, and continues to show in Bolivia. Key works of Decolonial Feminism and Colonialism are used throughout.Show less
