Elactivism / Vereativismo: Merging Contradictory Antistate Social Leadership Roles and Elected Councilwoman Positions

The authors of this chapter—one of the first woman activists from the social movement of mothers of youth killed by state violence to be elected to office in Rio, and a scholar-filmmaker—focus on the switch from Black women grassroots organizers to elected municipal representatives. Black women whose children were victims of police violence have a place in formal politics, their role going beyond fighting for justice for their sons. They reinscribe new values into favela communities and fight against the created categories of being Black or favelado. The concept of elactivism/vereativista encapsulates a political praxis when a leader of these groups redeploys their grassroots experience into a campaign for elected office while keeping strong ties with their communities. Far from being translations of identity politics frameworks, elactivism/verativismo highlights the necessity of embracing a politics of presence, reaffirming the institution’s role as a public forum open to everyone.