"This is the government for people with calluses on their hands. The government for the nobodies of Colombia." So said Francia Marquez, who recently became Colombia's first-ever Black vice president in a regime headed by Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement.
Marquez comes from Yolombó, a small village in the remote western state of Cauca. She trained as an agricultural technician, got a law degree and became an environmental activist and lawyer who organised a 350-kilometre-long march of 80 Afro-Colombian women from Cauca to the capital, Bogotá, to protest against illegal mining in their state.
Marquez could serve as a poster child for the rise of the marginalised across much of Latin America, a region which has been dominated by a male, white urban elite since the “conquest” of the continent by European colonists. These groups - be they indigenous peoples, women or inhabitants of far-flung regions such as the vice president’s home state - are increasingly finding their voice. A shift to the left in many countries and the election of a number of indíginas – such as Marquez or the former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales – has led to more political representation and overt attempts to further inclusivity, even if the results of these policies are yet to lead to measurable improvements in the lives of the underprivileged.
Newly confident communities and demographics are asserting themselves through soft power and – as we increasingly see in our work with consumers across Latin America - are becoming more and more influential in setting trends, and reshaping how Latin Americans see themselves. The immense creative energy of diverse, previously suppressed voices is giving rise to new businesses along with a vibrant cultural scene across music, art and design, and entertainment. A host of creators and progressive enterprises are tapping into a wealth of indigenous materials, practices and intellectual resources.
Artesanos Don Bosco, based in the cool Barranco neighbourhood of Peru’s capital, Lima, sells highly contemporary furniture which incorporates Inca and Mesoamerican designs from Peruvian craftworkers using Amazon-sourced materials. The business is run as a charitable operation, with all profits going into educational and training programmes back in the highlands.
In fashion, local expertise is leading to fresh new styles and designs that are making waves beyond Latin America. Fashion designer Amelia Toro splits her time between her stores in Bogotá and New York’s Chelsea. Her signature is the red embroidery she uses to finish off white garments which is influenced by indigenous Colombian needlework. Toro has trained and employs seamstresses in her atelier, many of whom are single mothers.
Mexican film has been particularly successful in making indigenous people more visible – from Oscar winner Yalitza Aparicia, who played the lead in Roma, told from the perspective of an indígena housemaid, to Tenoch Huerta who plays the hero of Black Panther Wakanda Forever and is also an activist behind the Poder Prieto movement which fights racism in the entertainment sector. He talks about taking new pride in his origins, having been made to feel embarrassed about them in the past.
This new pride extends not only to ethnic origins but to coming from the region in general. In an interview on art and entrepreneurship in Colombia, the artist and costume creator Dayra Benavides told us: "Before we were somehow ashamed. Of our country-side mentality, of our lack of sophistication. But now we realise that our know-how makes so much more sense"!
The know-how she mentions extends beyond fashion and entertainment. In fact, many Latin Americans are beginning to tap into latent indigenous wisdom for the benefit of consumers – and even the planet.
On a macro level, Argentina’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries has created a National Directorate of Agroecology to promote traditional farming methods such as organic pest control, the conservation of natural predators and the development of biological corridors over the use of fertilisers and other agrochemicals to create self-sustaining ecosystems.
In addition, spiritual tourism, including ayahuasca retreats, is on a steep growth curve, while there has been a re-evaluation of shamanism in Peru, Colombia and Mexico.
And in the Colombian Amazon, local indigenous groups, supported by WWF, are busy developing so-called impact enterprises which both protect the natural environment and provide life benefits to communities. One such venture is the company Bioincos in the border state of Putumayo which has developed a sustainable use for two Amazonian fruits – sacha inchi and cacay – with nutraceutical properties in cosmetic skin products.
At the same time, making use of the huge diversity of local experiences and of traditional practices and experiences can amount to a real challenge to the hegemony of White and US, culture. As a result, young people are forging identities that are rooted in their own countries rather than aspiring to emigrate, or even to travel. “It´s more interesting now to have a local personality – raza o barrio, than to be white and to have travelled the world” as a Mexican consumer recently told us in vox pop research.
This does not mean that Western culture does not play a role any longer. Latin Americans are mixing US cultural references into native folklore, giving birth to local fusions – both proudly asserting their own culture and simultaneously challenging conservative expectations of women in their communities.
In the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, a group of young women have formed Imillaskate, a collective of female skateboarders. They sport the usual white Van trainers but pair them with polleras, voluminous, colourful skirts, traditionally worn by the Aymara and Quechua indigenous women. Wearing this attire, while also styling their hair the traditional way, the skaters make strong statements of pride in their origins and promote further acceptance of their often-discriminated-against ethnic culture, affirming their own empowerment as women.
This confluence of ethnic inclusivity on the one hand, and female (and gender) emancipation on the other, is particularly striking on a continent strongly influenced by conservative values of the church and macho cultures and subject to polarisations between progressive ideas and regression that is not unfamiliar to those of us living in Western societies.
In some countries, like in Colombia, the economic contribution of women is actively encouraged through active state aid for female entrepreneurship. Argentina has seen years of reproductive rights activism known as the Marea Verde (Green Tide) which saw women take to the streets in protest wearing green scarves, culminating in the Argentine senate voting to decriminalise abortion in 2020. That movement has spread to other Latin American countries, with the Mexican Supreme Court ruling in 2021 that the penalisation of abortion is unconstitutional.
Again, there is pride in this sort of progress, especially given the recent US Supreme Court decision. “It could be funny if it was not tragic” a Mexican woman told us as part of a study on Millennials “that now American women can come to Mexico for an abortion …Who would have thought that?”
However, there’s clearly also a backlash. Argentinian-born and London-based
Fernando Desouches, Managing Director of brand and cultural transformation agency New Macho at BBD Perfect Storm, states that ‘despite a lot of progress in the years before the pandemic, more recent figures show that men’s, especially young men’s, attitudes towards equality are regressing. “
And given a backdrop of narco violence and widespread corruption in some of the countries, political progress still feels febrile. Evo Morales fled Bolivia and sought political asylum in Argentina following a disputed election. Peru’s President Castillo, who hails from a peasant family in the impoverished Cajamarca region, was ousted late last year through an impeachment process, a move interpreted by his supporters as a coup. The country’s poor, who had voted him in, have taken to streets and been involved in often-violent clashes with the authorities.
Where does this hugely diverse and dynamic continent that seems so much in flux leave brands trying to market to its 650 million inhabitants, including its 160 million young people?
Some are actively harnessing the vibrancy and wealth of diverse ideas that is being unleashed by disadvantaged groups.
Local players like Mexican clothing chain ¡Ay Güey!, Guatemalan liqueur brand Quetzaltaca, but also big players like Brazilian footwear brand Havaianas and global companies like Absolut Vodka are using a colourful, maximalist aesthetic, actively inspired by local cultures and the legacy of ancient American civilisations.
Others are involved in brand activism, with PepsiCo supporting moves against gender violence, and others, such as Unilever, the owner of Dove, ensuring more diverse representation in their advertising. Nike has launched a campaign Juntas Imparabales (Together Unstoppable) promoting female empowerment.
“Some big brands realise that they’ve been part of the problem, now they want to be part of the solution,” states Desouches.
However, other international brands are treading very carefully, uncertain how to use local codes without making mistakes and nervous of falling foul of what may still be a conservative majority, irrespective of gender.
However, the role of research is clear. With our knowledge of people on the ground, ethnographic tools and culturally attuned sensibilities, we can help our clients both to navigate potential minefields and to develop messages rooted in topical local themes with delicacy and authenticity.
The potential gains for companies are huge, not only for campaigns that tap into the exciting wealth of Latin American culture, but also for developing businesses and new products which may help to make better use of our planet’s resources.
By Sabine Stork, Founding Partner at Thinktank International Research, Jimena Martinez of Lemon Lab and Graciela Silva of Dragonflower Consulting
