Silvia Cusicanqui: plurality and decolonization in Latin America

Abstract

This article analyzes the contributions of Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui to decolonial thought in Latin America, focusing on her notions of everyday resistance and critique of coloniality through the Aymara concept of ch’ixi. It explores how this perspective rejects the colonial binary logic, valuing the coexistence of multiple identities and knowledges in productive tension, as opposed to the homogeneous forms of subjectivation imposed by internal colonialism. Additionally, the text addresses the decolonial feminism proposed by Cusicanqui, which problematizes the coloniality of gender and advocates for a situated feminism rooted in the cosmovision of Abya Yala, breaking away from the universalist categories of Western feminism. Finally, the article highlights the importance of everyday resistance and decolonizing practices as essential strategies for cultural affirmation and political transformation in colonized contexts. It reaffirms Cusicanqui’s legacy as an invitation to plural reexistence and the creation of other ways of living and knowing, which are fundamental to contemporary decolonization.