Lennart Stephan, Bielefeld University, Germany:
The issue of great social inequality and unequal distribution of burdens remains a central problem in the Americas, exacerbated by the multiple crises of our time. This is evidenced not least by the continued importance of informal institutions such as clientelism, which supplement deficient universal social systems, albeit in a particularistic and often inadequate manner. In order to adequately understand and address the complexity of this situation, an inter- and transdisciplinary approach is required. Since many of the constitutive factors for the current situation are the result of past developments or exacerbate long existing problems, selected historical case studies can provide valuable impetus for the debate on how to meet the challenges of the present. The example of the residents’ organization UCI shows that crises can also be used as an opportunity to denounce previous deficits and inequalities and to fight to overcome them from within the marginalized population itself. External support can contribute to this. However, the paternalistic imposition of external “benefactors” and the subsequent decline of the UCIs are also vivid examples of the fact that local knowledge of needs and requirements remains the most important resource in determining the direction of this path in order to ensure the greatest prospects of mobilization and success.