Introduction: Navigating Criminalisation: Visible and Hidden Resistances in Dangerous Contexts

Abstract

The special issue examines the paradox of visible and hidden resistance in dangerous contexts, exploring the conditions under which dissenting practices emerge and the effects they generate. Latin America is marked by deep economic and political inequalities, perpetuated through repressive practices inherited from authoritarian regimes. Despite democratic transitions, these practices have not disappeared; rather, they have shifted into more localised forms of repression, targeting residents and activists who oppose urban renewal projects, the expansion of agricultural frontiers, large-scale energy exploitation, or activities deemed illegal. In this context—where violence, intimidation and abuse persist in both urban and rural areas, in workplaces and factories—it becomes essential to understand the conditions that enable resistance to take shape. While extreme coercion typically reduces the likelihood of contention, mobilisation has not only persisted but also evolved in response to repression, adapting to shifting political landscapes and new forms of criminalisation (Varela Huerta and McLean, 2019).

Collective action is often organised within specific timeframes and led by established actors considered ‘legitimate’, such as NGOs, social organisations and unions with local roots, who engage with the state or corporations. However, beyond these structured mobilisations, resistance also unfolds through hidden practices among marginalised groups (Scott, 1990). While both visible and discreet forms of contention have been documented in resistance repertoires elsewhere (e.g., Caouette and Turner, 2009), little is known about how affected populations in Latin America experience and navigate repression in their daily lives. This issue seeks to fill that gap by highlighting pragmatic resistance practices and strategies shaped by a ‘dealing with’ approach. These actions operate along a continuum, from invisible tactics—often socially delegitimised due to their perceived archaic nature, such as rumours or accusations of witchcraft—to deliberate strategies of self-visibility aimed at protection against criminalisation.

This nuanced perspective is grounded in qualitative research based on extensive fieldwork in national contexts where activist criminalisation is a pressing concern. The articles on this issue examine the distinct tactics ordinary people employ to navigate repression. In the first article, Léa Lebeaupin-Salamon explores how Brazilian mining trade unionists resisted corporate oppression. Confronted with an environment dominated by the extractive industry, activists combined visible and covert practices to sustain their fight against injustice. For those resisting intimidation, activism extends beyond the political arena, permeating both professional and personal lives.

The second article examines ‘dissenting implementation’, a visible yet outlawed form of resistance that lies between civil disobedience and everyday mobilisation. Luis Rivera-Vélez analyses how cannabis users and producers in Mexico self-regulate the cannabis market, enacting their vision of what cannabis policy should be despite formal prohibitions. Given the trajectories and social capital of the activists, this form of resistance has generated a set of rules that highlight the ambiguities of outlaw activism highly visible to the authorities.

The third article investigates the impact that cocaine production and trafficking has on Indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon. Hernán Manrique López argues that resistance in this context is often more pragmatic than strategically planned. Given Peru's strong centralisation, weak legal protections for Indigenous communities, and limited activist networks, resistance takes the form of tactical manoeuvres and daily survival practices that, paradoxically, may reinforce the criminalisation of community members.

Finally, in another study in Peru, Dorothée Delacroix examines how villagers deal with pressures to embrace reconciliation, even at the risk of opposing pacification processes. By analysing underestimated subjectivities—such as rumours, suspicions of witchcraft and accusations of poisoning—she highlights ongoing resentment linked to past crimes and denunciations from the period of political violence. Moving beyond the work of institutionalised NGOs promoting conciliation policies, Delacroix explores the role of everyday violence in rural post-conflict Peru.

Together, these articles reveal that visibility and secrecy may function as both swords and shields against the criminalisation of activism, shaping the landscape of resistance in Latin America.