Núcleo Disca

Diana Carolina Vallejo, Jaime Ramírez Fuentes, Gonzalo Schmidt Martínez, Constanza López-Radrigán and Juan Andrés Pino-Morán

Key points:

• This article studies two organizations of people with disabilities: ASODISG in Ecuador and CONADIS in Chile. The goal is to understand how these organizations fight for their rights and how they take part in politics to raise issues and demands of people with disabilities.
• Historically, people with disabilities have been excluded from important decisions. That is why disability social movements seek to have a voice and to change public policies based on their own experiences.
• Disability movements have started using a human rights approach to defend the dignity, equality, and participation of people with disabilities. This approach sees people with disabilities as rights-holders, not as objects of charity.
• The International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was very important for disability movements in Latin America. Although many countries signed it, there is still a big gap between the promises and what is actually done.
• Ableism is a form of discrimination that treats people with disabilities as less valuable. Current policies favor more “productive” people and exclude those who do not fit that model.
• The article highlights that the bodies of people with disabilities are not “passive objects”, but have the power to change reality. Marches, protests, and meetings are examples of this.
• The article uses a qualitative case study approach. Interviews, focus groups, and direct participation in the organizations were done to understand the experiences of activists and how they organize to defend the rights of people with disabilities.
• Although the International Convention is important, disability movements in Ecuador and Chile have gone further, creating their own ways of fighting that are also connected to other social movements in their communities.

Notes:

• The following summary was prepared by Núcleo Milenio DISCA and is based exclusively on the original publication. Therefore, it should not be used for citations or references.
• This article was originally published in Spanish.

• Participación política

Vallejo, D. C., Ramírez Fuentes, J., Schmidt Martínez, G., López-Radrigán, C., & Pino-Morán, J. A. (2025). Trayectorias de luchas de la Asociación de Personas con Discapacidad del Guayas, Ecuador y del Colectivo Nacional de la Discapacidad de Chile. En A. A. Donini (Ed.), Democracia, derechos humanos y paz: Encrucijadas y desafíos desde el Estado y las organizaciones sociales (1ª ed., pp. 255–300). CLACSO.

http://clacso.org/categoria/becas/productos-de-las-convocatorias/democracia-derechos-humanos-y-paz-encrucijadas-y-desafios-desde-el-estado-y-las-organizaciones-sociales-en-curso/