Pitches wanted (plurinationalism) | $250 per article

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: NACLA REPORT

Deadline: 23 February 2024

Heather Gies, Managing Editor at NACLA, is looking for pitches:

CALL FOR PITCHES: PLURINATIONALISM FROM BELOW

On February 7, 2009, President Evo Morales declared: “On this historic day, I proclaim the new constitution of the Bolivian state. A unitary, plurinational, social and economically communitarian socialist state is in effect.” For many, this important event was an introduction to the politics of plurinationalism. However, these debates already had and continue to have enormous relevance across the region in diverse social movement spaces, including Indigenous, feminist, labor, environmental, and other movements.

At the institutional level, plurinationalism was recognized in Latin America through the constitutions of Ecuador in 2008 and Bolivia in 2009. These charters refounded the model of the nation-state as a state made up of multiple nations, including Indigenous or original nations. In these two countries, plurinationalism recognized ancestral territories. Especially in Bolivia , plurinationalism has entailed the restructuring of the state—to some degree, albeit limited—to create space for Indigenous representatives in different institutions of state power.

Even so, plurinationalism has not resolved the historical tensions between the state and Indigenous peoples. These states still depend on extractive economic policies and maintain colonial legacies that make the implementation of plurinationalism very contentious. In other countries, such as Chile, Peru, and Guatemala, to name just a few, Indigenous peoples are building his own version of plurinationalism while considering the risks of co-optation and maintaining a critical view of other examples of plurinationalism constructed “from above.” In sum, political organizations, intellectuals, and communities are working to build expressions of plurinationalism that resist extractive capitalism and the legacies of colonialism while also combatting racism, imperialism, sexism, and homophobia.

The Fall 2024 issue of the NACLA Report, guest edited by Roger Merino, Romina Green Rioja, and Nayla Luz Vacarezza explores these issues. We are especially interested in contributions that consider the diverse ways that plurinationalism is being reformulated and reimagined “from below” in Latin America.

We are interested in articles addressing topics including but not limited to:

• Tensions between plurinationalism and (neo)extractivism
• Constituent processes in pursuit of plurinational states
• Plurinationalism beyond the state: plurinational activism and international politics (RUNASUR)
• Plurinationalism in practice: territorial policies and democratic systems
• Antiracist, anti-imperialist, decolonial, feminist, and sexually dissident plurinationalisms
• Intersections between plurinationalism and environmental struggles
• Arguments against plurinationalism from the perspective of Indigenous intellectuals, organizations, and communities
• Discussions around identities not usually recognized in Latin American national imaginaries (Arab, Asian, etc.)
• Limitations of the concept of plurinationalism: Are there ways to think beyond the idea of nation?

We welcome submissions from scholars, journalists, activists, and other writers. For articles, we are interested in pieces that examine specific, narrowly defined topics and that are written in a lively, accessible manner. We give preference to articles that are based on original research and interviews. We also welcome artistic and creative proposals and are interested in working with artists to showcase their work in hybrid print and digital formats.

Pitches and accepted articles may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. NACLA offers a small honorarium of $250 to contributors who depend on writing as their primary source of income.

Please send a brief pitch (250 words) outlining the thrust and tone of your proposed piece and why you are well positioned to write it by February 23, 2024 to managing editor Heather Gies at hgies@nacla.org. We aim to respond to pitches March 1, 2024. Drafts of accepted articles (2,500-3,500 words) will be due May 1, 2024.

CONTACT INFORMATION (please do not share the email address publicly):

Questions/submissions: hgies@nacla.org

Website: https://nacla.org/

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