Understanding rural areas requires going beyond traditional approaches. Rural areas are no longer defined solely by agriculture or isolation. In this context, Rimisp—Latin American Center for Rural Development, through the work of its Network of Researchers, aims to ensure that the evidence gathered serves as a foundation for future studies and the design of more relevant public policies.

Below are the chapters our team has contributed to:

BOOK “IMAGINA RURAL”

• Chapter: “Conceptualizing the New Rurality: Formal Institutions, Informality, and Illegality”
• Publication: Book “Imagina Rural: Biocultural Sustainability for Rural Areas” (RGC Ediciones; edited by Pablo Díaz Meeks and Fabiola Leiva Cañete). Published by the ImaginaRURAL project.
• Authors: Rodrigo Yáñez and Valentina Fuentes.
• About this chapter: The text analyzes the rural population’s transition between three worlds. First, the formal institutional framework, which faces challenges in gaining recognition in the face of the worldviews of Indigenous Peoples and where gender gaps in access to land still persist. Second, the informal sector, which accounts for nearly 67% of rural employment in Latin America and arises due to the high bureaucratic costs of formalization. Finally, it addresses illegality, highlighting that these prohibited practices are often not driven by criminal intent but rather serve as subsistence strategies in the absence of state presence and due to a lack of connectivity.

The book “Imagina Rural” is available for free download at: https://rgcediciones.com.ar/libros/imaginarural/

BOOK: “DECENTERING GENDER”

• Chapter: “What Can We Say About Rural Women in Latin America Today?”
• Publication: Book “Decentering Gender: Inequalities and Territories in Chile” (RIL Editores; edited by Alejandra Ramm and Mateus Coelho). The publication was produced as part of the ANID ANILLO project “Decentering Gender Inequalities” (ANID/ANILLO/ATE220051), based at the School of Sociology at the University of Valparaíso.
• Authors: Natalia Slachevsky, Tatiana Aguirre, and Constanza Christian.
• About this chapter: This paper examines the current situation of women in rural areas of the region, integrating gender perspectives with territorial analysis to offer a critical perspective on conventional methods of measuring development.

The book “Decentering Gender” is available for purchase at: https://rileditores.com/producto/descentrar-el-genero-desigualdades-y-territorios-en-chile/