Peruvian Peasant Women and Revolutionary Movements: La Convención’s Classist Revolution

Abstract This article examines the crucial yet underexplored role of indigenous peasant women in the struggle for agrarian reform and peasant liberation during the second half of the twentieth century in Latin America. Focusing on and re-examining the peasant movement of La Convención (Peru) and employing historical and anthropological methods, it argues that these women were far from peripheral actors. They actively engaged in unions, collective actions and even armed militias, performing both traditional and non-traditional gender roles to challenge the exploitative hacienda system and gender hierarchies. The article also analyses the impact of the Cold War on their rhetoric, alliances and broader struggle for social justice.