Effects of Female Political Participation on Insecurity in a Mining Area

Mining conditions in Brazil tend to be viewed as extremely insecure. Insecurity is a situation in which potential risks that already exist directly affect people’s lives and make them vulnerable to a number of threats. One of the consequences of such insecurity is fatalism, which is the belief that fate is predetermined, and everything happens in an unchangeable way. Fatalism has been associated with undemocratic social contexts. However, political participation or participation in political decision-making has been associated in the academic literature with a decrease in a sense of fatalism. This article analyzes insecurity and fatalism among women who have assumed political leadership in the fight against mining in a small city in Brazil. The research was conducted through on-site observations, workshops on mining with women, and five interviews. The main contexts of insecurity brought about by mining were related to the fear of dam rupture, urban problems such as crime and housing, mobility, and water scarcity. Women reported that before they started protesting against the mining company, they felt impotent and hopeless. After political participation, these women felt that their identity has changed, as well as their political consciousness. It also appeared that their fatalistic time perspective has also changed indicating that autocratic social relations may be central to the perception of insecurity in some social contexts.