Profil du Pays: Bolivie

Bolivian society is highly diverse. Ethno-linguistic differences account for much of that diversity, with 36 Indigenous languages formally recognized in the 2009 Constitution. Regional differences are also an important source of diversity, with strong regional identities that often act in combination with increasingly relevant political differences.

Similar to other countries in the region, persistent group-based inequalities in Bolivia are connected to intergenerational and multi-dimensional effects of policies that have historically privileged dominant groups since Spanish colonization. In Bolivia, policies targeting Indigenous peoples have historically focussed on differing degrees of discipline or assimilation into the dominant mestizo (white) society, reflecting Eurocentric ideologies that have in the past viewed Indigenous peoples as a hinderance to nation-building and economic development efforts.

In 1952, the National Revolution brought new forms of inclusion by instituting universal suffrage and ending literacy and property requirements. However, the National Revolution government looked to solve what early twentieth-century governing elites called the country’s “Indian problem,” which defined Indigenous culture and traditions as inherently backward and as an impediment to Bolivia’s transition to a modern nation. In 1952, Bolivia’s population was more than two-thirds indigenous. As part of assimilation efforts, the category “Indian” was replaced with peasant (campesino), eliding recognition of this cultural diversity for many Highland and Valley region groups.

In the 1990s, the term “Indigenous” gained new significance as a claim to group-based identity following the rise of Indigenous movements throughout the country initially led by Indigenous groups from the Bolivian Lowlands and the Amazon (represented by the national organization the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia (Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente Boliviano, CIDOB). This Indigenous organization led a series of marches for “Territory and Dignity” that played a central role in generating a national discussion around cultural identity, territorial claims and Indigenous rights to self-determination in Bolivia. In the Highland region, the formation of the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (the Consejo Nacional de Ayllus y Markas del Qullasuyu, CONAMAQ) by a conglomerate of Indigenous organizations in 1997 marked a break among many groups from traditional political representation following the corporatist union structure (and peasant identity category). With the stated aim of reconstituting precolonial governance institutions and territories as Indigenous nations (Charkas, Soras, Qhara Qhara, Killakas and Yamparas), the formation of CONAMAQ represents a landmark in national-level highland Indigenous organizations.

The Constitutional reforms of 1994 and 2004 included the formal recognition of the multicultural and plurilingual nature of Bolivian society but were limited in terms of addressing structural forms of group-based inequality. Yet, measures to include Indigenous peoples were positive in terms of generating new forms of political participation for decision-making based on Indigenous norms and procedures (usos y costumbres). Importantly, these measures would lead to the strengthening of formal Indigenous organizations and the formation of new political parties led by Indigenous representatives, as well as expectations of citizenship and inclusion that contributed to early calls for a Constituent Assembly by Indigenous organizations to rewrite the Constitution to better represent the plural character of Bolivian society.

In 2005, Evo Morales was historically elected as the country’s first self-identifying Indigenous president, following waves of popular protests throughout the country against unpopular neo-liberal economic policies. Shortly after Morales’ election, an alliance of Indigenous, peasant, and women’s organizations, called the Unity Pact (Pacto de Unidad), participated in the Constituent Assembly to put forth proposals for a new Constitution. Passed by popular referendum in 2009, the Constitution defines a new framework of plurinationalism based on ideals of intercultural dialogue and co-existence across the country’s pluralistic cultural, legal, judicial, economic and democratic systems. Indigenous rights included in the Constitution are also based on the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), with several articles in common. </p align= »justify »>

Ethnic Dimension

Of the 36 different languages officially recognized in Bolivia’s 2009 Constitution, Quechua and Aymara, both from the Andean Highlands and Valleys, are the most prominent groups, comprising almost 90 percent of the country’s Indigenous population. Thirty-three nations are located throughout the Bolivian Lowlands and in the Amazon representing the remaining 10 percent of the Indigenous population with the Chiquitano, Guaraní and Moxeño nations as the most prominent groups in these regions. Mainly for Quechua and Aymara Indigenous groups, membership in peasant and worker’s unions remains salient as a form of group inclusion and political participation. For Indigenous peoples in the Lowlands, membership is mostly through their Indigenous national-level organization and dozens of regional Indigenous organizations with affiliation by province or ethnic group.

Overlapping group identities are reflected in a new category of rights included in the 2009 Constitution, Indigenous Native Peasant (singular and without a comma) (Indígena Originario Campesino, IOC). The Constitution advances rights to IOC peoples on the basis of a “shared cultural identity, language, historical tradition, institutions, territoriality and cosmovision, whose existence is prior to the Spanish colonial invasion.” However, it is important to note the ambiguity around self-identification, notions of belonging and participation among Bolivia’s near majority IOC population. Such ambiguities lead to contradictory or inconsistent legal frameworks and contribute to intergroup conflict.

Indigenous women from all ethnic backgrounds in Bolivia experience intersectional forms of exclusion and structural disadvantages in terms of access to justice, health, education, income and employment. As a near majority of the population in Bolivia self-report as Indigenous (over 40 percent in the 2012 census), intersectional approaches that specifically consider forms of exclusion for Indigenous women are particularly salient for a wholesale analysis of pluralism in Bolivia.

Regional Dimension

Bolivia is a geographically diverse country comprised of areas of the Andean Altiplano, Valleys, Lowlands, Amazon and Chaco regions. Regional identities (camba, colla, chapaco, chaqueño, cochala, chicheño, etc.) reflect distinct perceptions of belonging as well as dynamics of intergroup relations. For instance, groups from the Lowland departments (or primary subdivisions) of Bolivia tend to see themselves as racially, ethnically and culturally different from Andean peoples, and these particularities have even produced important demands in favour of more autonomy, and recently federalism, which have been resisted by the central government. Those from the Lowlands have pushed for autonomy in response to what they view as an invasion from Highland migrants and the usurpation of land, natural resources and wealth. Similarly, Lowland Indigenous groups have been impacted by migration for economic activities such as logging, coca cultivation, land trafficking, agri-business and oil-drilling and mining within their territories, contributing to inter-ethnic conflicts.

The relative wealth of a department or municipality also informs the multi-dimensional character of group-based inequality. For instance, for many migrants from poor rural municipalities, access to land, economic opportunities and basic services inform migration patterns. Gender plays an important intersectional dimension in this context; men tend to migrate for longer periods of time to neighbouring countries, while women are more likely to migrate to nearby commercial or urban centres as merchants or to work as domestic labourers. The significant role of the informal economy within large cities, such as El Alto, in contrast, directly informs economic, political and social dimensions of emerging group identities. Understanding how group boundaries are defined by economic interests of these emerging influential group identities in urban centres throughout the country is also important for assessing pluralism in Bolivia.

Those who do not migrate and stay in rural areas have to endure inequalities in terms of basic services provision, education, health coverage, work opportunities, state protection services and individual rights. Human development values are consistently lower in rural areas compared to cities, and poverty tends to reproduce from one generation to the next for many in the countryside. Indigenous people in rural areas are usually able to maintain their traditional cultural practices better than those in urban areas, but migration has had a strong dispersion effect, leaving many rural Indigenous communities abandoned. While many Indigenous communities have been granted the communal property of their ancestral land under the form of Indigenous Native Peasant territories (Territorios Indígena Originario Campesinos), they have to face a number of development-related pressures that threaten the integrity of their territories, especially in the Lowlands and the Amazon.

Political Dimension

Membership in civil society organizations, such as peasant and worker’s unions or neighbourhood associations, among several others, play an important role in membership and inclusion in Bolivia. In rural areas, membership in community organizations is usually mandatory and takes a toll on individuals abilities to express themselves. For historically marginalized groups, affiliation to regional and national-level organizations also serves as a platform for political representation and participation following collective decision-making through internal deliberation and consensus. However, alliances across social organizations are fragile and political party affiliation is a source of fragmentation and conflict. In 2011, for example, organizations were divided following opposition to the Morales government by Indigenous organizations that opposed decisions to construct a highway through the Lowland Indigenous Territory and National Park (Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Sécure, TIPNIS), without prior consultation. This also resulted in two national-level Indigenous organizations (from the Lowlands and Highlands, CIDOB and CONAMAQ, respectively) breaking with the so-called Unity Pact among Indigenous and peasant organizations aligned with the government. Thus, the issue of direct representation for decision-making is an important grievance that distinguishes Indigenous groups from other social organizations that channel demands through political parties. The lack of direct representation also contributes to group-based inequalities for groups unable to participate in the design and implementation of public policies that directly impact them.

Party affiliation is thus a relevant dimension shaping intergroup relations, trust in institutions and group-based inequalities. In addition to CIDOB and CONAMAQ, nearly all the social organizations that formed the Unity Pact alliance were divided under the Morales administration, often through violent means. This was also the case for other social organizations at the regional and local levels, such as coca-growers’ unions and neighbourhood associations. The political tactics of corporatism, patronage and co-optation contribute to internal cleavages along political divides. As factions are divided between officially recognized Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Toward Socialism, MAS)–affiliated factions and “organic” organizations (whose leadership oppose the government) and even among factions within organizations aligned with the MAS government. The existence of multiple parallel organizations all claiming to be the sole authentic representative of national-level social organizations generates difficulty for monitoring group-based inequalities: while all groups may appear to be represented in official government discourse and policy, in practice, the interests of marginalized factions are discredited. These divisions have spawned the emergence of new political Indigenous political parties particularly at the subnational level, challenging the ruling party’s monopoly of representation of Indigenous and popular sectors of society.

However, party affiliation has a polarizing effect on Bolivian society that reaches well beyond the internal politics of social organizations. In October 2019, a political crisis erupted in Bolivia following Morales’ unconstitutional bid for a fourth term in office. Contested election results led to weeks of civil unrest that played out in violent confrontations between MAS supporters and civil society opposition groups throughout the country. As “organic” factions of Unity Pact social organizations were severely weakened, marginalized groups did not mobilize as a significant part of the opposition (marking a notable distinction in terms of social composition and outcomes when compared to the widespread mobilizations that first brought Morales to power in 2005). Polarizing discourses and policies have resulted in the escalation of tensions along political divides that also resonate along ethnic and regional lines. Mitigating growing cleavages between MAS-affiliated groups and opposition groups (including Indigenous and non-Indigenous) will be of vital importance for realizing a more pluralist society in Bolivia in the coming years.