La cultura sociopolítica de Baladre

Abstract

Introduction: The growing prevalence of precarity challenges Social Work to rethink its epistemological and ethical-political foundations. This research analyzes the sociopolitical culture of Baladre -Coordination of Struggles Against Precarity, Impoverishment, and Social Exclusion- a decentralized network of collectives, individuals, and autonomous community initiatives from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and South America. Its objective is to examine how their situated knowledge and practices of autonomy, mutual aid, and self-management enable a rethinking of dimensions of critical, anti-oppressive, and community-based social work and its emancipatory horizon. Methods: The research adopts a qualitative, ethnobiographical approach that combines the analysis of life narratives from 30 activists associated with Baladre, participant observation, and the analysis of 50 documents. The sample was selected using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling, along with criteria for diversity based on gender, age, region, and activist background. The inductive-deductive analysis was organized around the themes from the left, from below, and with the land. Results: The results reveal a sociopolitical culture grounded in a structural critique of precarity, the defense of dignity, and the building of autonomy through mutual aid, self-management, and horizontal forms of organization. The practices analyzed generate collective assessments, situated knowledge, community ties, and capacities. They also link territory, care, and the sustainability of life, although this dimension is less well-documented empirically. Autonomy is shaped by technological advances, institutional co-optation, gender inequalities, material precarity, and activist burnout. Discussion: The findings recognize social movements as producers of situated knowledge and broaden the understanding of social diagnosis and intervention from the standpoint of collective agency. The practices analyzed challenge critical, anti-oppressive and community Social Work by questioning the individualization of precarity, paternalistic forms of intervention and the distribution of power among institutions, professionals and communities. Conclusions: Baladre does not replace professional social work nor does it offer a model that can be directly replicated. Its contribution lies in showing how certain collective practices generate knowledge, connections, care, and capacities from the grassroots up. The study underscores the need to articulate community autonomy, public guarantees of rights, and social and eco-social justice, while avoiding both institutional paternalism and the transfer of responsibilities to precarious networks.