  The First Encuentro convened in Bogotá, Colombia, over the course of four days in July 1981; more than two hundred women from over fifty organizations attended. The region-wide gathering brought together many strands of feminism, creating a heterogeneous movement with considerable tensions and conflicts. For instance, during the planning stages of the meeting, heated discussions emerged between independent/autonomous feminists, often identified as autónomas or feministas, and militant political feminists affiliated with political parties (e.g., socialist), often referred to as militantes. Independent feminists expressed concern over the possibility that feminists aligned with political parties might try to impose sectarian agendas diverting attention from issues central to feminist organizing (e.g., reproductive rights) (Saporta Sternbach et al. 1992: 407).