Social movements and the circulation of agroecology in Madrid’s policy and sociopolitical landscapes

The policy mobilities framework aims to understand the things, spaces, moments and people that contribute to the diffuse, non-linear and power-laden processes involved in the circulation and mobilization of ideas in cities. Recent contributions work to strengthen the framework’s ability to capture the role of social movements and civil society members therein, notably when it comes to the mobilities of counterhegemonic ideas. Here, we investigate the circulation of agroecology in Madrid, Spain, using a combination of participatory and non-participatory observations, semi-directed interviews and documentary research. Our results highlight a dual role played by movement actors in the circulation of the agroecological framework: on the one hand, they disseminate the project while, on the other, they protect its transformational imaginary by limiting its circulation. These results attest to the contribution of ordinary practices and spaces in the dissemination and infiltration of counterhegemonic ideas, as well as to a wide range of new ideas and practices arising from a social movement’s interactions with local administrations.