Feminist movements across Latin America have played a pivotal role in securing rights and advancing gender equality. Their collective strength has fueled profound transformations throughout the region and helped shape global discourse. Yet in recent years, these hard-won gains face growing threats: the shrinking of civic space, the rise of authoritarian governments, and anti-rights campaigns that obstruct organizing, participation, and political advocacy.
María MacGregor, Junior Consultant at Colectivo Meta
Current Challenges for Feminist Movements in Latin America
This moment demands a strategic rethinking. As civil society organizations, we must sustain political creativity, forge new channels for collaboration, and cultivate spaces that allow us to keep advancing without losing the progress we’ve already achieved. Across feminist movements, a shared concern has emerged: a sense of regression. Yet these challenges may also serve as an invitation—to rebuild from hope rather than fear.
Financial Sustainability: A Pressing Challenge
One of the most urgent challenges facing feminist movements today is financial sustainability. Many feminist organizations are operating at the margins—with minimal resources and under relentless pressure. Despite confronting structural violence, entrenched inequality, and democratic erosion, Latin America and the Caribbean remain sidelined in global funding priorities. From within civil society, we see a critical need to rethink funding models: we require flexible, long-term support that strengthens not only thematic agendas, but also the organizational structures that make sustained advocacy possible.
Narrative Strategies of Self-Care in the Face of Hate Speech
We are deeply concerned by the rise of hate-fueled narratives—particularly the so-called “gender ideology”—which have been weaponized to undermine fundamental rights such as abortion, LGBTQIA+ rights, and comprehensive sexual education. This discourse has spread across the region, falsely portraying feminism as a threat to families and children. As civil society organizations and movements, we must respond with clear, accessible information in the languages of our region, to counter misinformation and reinforce our legitimacy across diverse audiences.
Despite these challenges, feminist movements remain a powerful force. The struggle against gender-based violence remains a unifying force, and we believe that a care-centered agenda offers fertile ground for broader alliances. When we connect our struggles to key issues like climate justice and democracy, we unlock new pathways for advocacy, even in politically complex landscapes.
Emerging Leadership Within Feminist Movements
A powerful shift is underway: new leadership is rising within feminist movements across Latin America. Younger generations are broadening the scope of feminist struggles through a more intersectional lens. The voices of Afro-descendant, Indigenous, trans, and non-binary women are gaining visibility—and this is transforming not only our agendas, but also the ways we organize. Of course, tensions exist, but there is also fertile ground for more diverse dialogues and more collective, inclusive strategies.
Hope as a Political Strategy in Feminist Movements
At COMETA, we believe one of the most vital lessons of this moment is that we cannot move forward without hope. Crafting positive narratives, nurturing our relationships, and sustaining spaces of trust—among organizations, and with donors and international allies—is part of our strategy. For us, resistance is not only about holding the line; it is also about imagining and building possible futures.
