Mandar obedeciendo is a leadership principle according to which those in positions of coordination should obey the direction of those with the least power and those most affected by disaster [@madrcorevalues2019].
Within emergent disaster response, the term matters because horizontal response still requires coordination, but refuses the idea that coordination should rule from above. Mutual Aid Disaster Relief presents this Zapatista principle as a way to center the leadership of disaster survivors, especially those in the most marginalized communities [@madrcorevalues2019].
Mandar obedeciendo is therefore a political answer to the question of leadership. It permits leadership roles while reversing their direction of obligation.
Related terms
- Leaderful Coordination - a distributed coordination form that can embody this principle
- Subsidiarity - a related principle about decision-making close to the problem
- Self-Determination - the survivor-centered end that this leadership principle protects