Indigenous Rights in Bolivia

From WolfWikis

Background on Political Conditions

http://www.elca.org/countrypackets/bolivia/photos/bolivia.jpg

In approximately 1450, the Quechau-speaking Incas entered the area of the highland Bolivia and added it to their empire. This specific indigenous group of Incas controlled this area until the Spanish conquest in 1525. During the colonial period the area was called "Upper Peru" or "Charcas" and under control of the Viceroy of Lima. However during the Napoleonic wars the Spanish royal authority weakened, as sentiment against colonial rule grew. Independence was then proclaimed in 1809, but before the establishment of the republic followed on August 6, 1825, Bolivians had to endure 16 years of struggle. However the achievement of independence, followed nearly 60 years of coups and short-lived constitutions dominating Bolivian politics. Through economic changes Bolivia gained relative prosperity and political stability thereafter. Throughout all of the political changes the living conditions of the indigenous people remained deplorable, though they constituted most of the population. They were forced to work under primitive conditions in mines and in almost feudal status on large estates, they were denied access to education, economic opportunity, or political involvement. The outcome of the Chaco War against Paraguay changed Bolivia's politics, as from the war to the revolution of 1952, the emergence of contending ideologies and demands of new groups unsettled Bolivian politics.

Katarista Movement

Tupac Katari

http://www.argia.com/fitx/13/b_pertsonaiak01handia.jpg

Katari, born Julian Apasa in approximately and died on November 15, 1781, was a leader in the rebellions of indigenous people in Bolivia in the early 1780's. As the Aymara leader Apasa took the name Tupac Katari in honor of two rebel leaders, Tomas Katari and Tupac Amaru II. He raised army of about 40,000 and laid siege to the city of La Paz in 1781, as he led the uprising against the Spanish colonizers. However the siege was soon broken by colonial troops. Thereafter, though defeated, tortured, and executed he is still remembered as a hero by modern indigenous movements in Bolivia.

The Movement

The Katarista Movement, an indigenous movement that started in the 1960's, took its inspiration from the aforementioned former Aymara leader Tupac Katari. The modern Katarist movement was successful in the 1970's and from 1989 to 1991. The Aymara's in the Bolivian highlands maintained strong cultural ties to collective land-holding and strong traditional social organizations. The unions were yet still perceived as externally taxed. In those areas Indians continued to feel excluded from the nation and struggled against the state, forming allies with radical worker's union during all of the years of the military dictatorships. This sense of exclusion also gave rise to the Katarist movement, which linked rural and urban Aymaras, while pushing their demands for cultural difference, special education, and political admittance. In the 1970's and 1980's the Aymara's from the highlands were among the most vocal opponents of the government through the CSUTCB and through miners' organizations and uprisings. They started pushing for political and cultural recognition of Indian people. The 1973 Manifesto of Tiwanaku by Aymara intellectuals condemned the economic and cultural oppression of indigenous people. In the 1990's the new indigenous forces onto the national scene, subsequently joining forces with an MNR (National Revolutionary Movement) party in the process of reorganizing the state.

CSUTCB Confederacion Sindical Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia = Bolivian Unitary Syndical Peasant Workers Confederation

Recent Occurrence

In an effort to improve service and guarantee supplies, the Bolivian government gave Italian corporation the rights to develop a local water system. Therefore the national government promised to privatize water rights and increase prices for many users, which arouses farmers who reacted in street protests. The protests spread into many cities, as the government sent military forces to stop the protest, as police officers walked off their jobs to display solidarity. The protests could only be stopped through Church-mediated negotiations and a government commitment to revoke the water contracts.

Annotated Bibliography

[1]This website gives basic information on Bolivia, such as politics, population, and history.

[2] This sources gives interesting facts about historical events, as well as events that happened recently in Bolivia. Altogether it is about the Aymara's struggles and dissatisfactions.

Postero, Nancy Grey & Zamosc, Leon. "The Struggle for Indigenous Rights in Latin America." This source illustrates the struggle indigenous people had to go through to gain rights in their own country.

Ströbele-Gregor, Juliana. 1994. "From india to mestizo...to india: New Indianist movements in Bolivia." p.106-123. This source explains various major indigenous rights movements in Latin America. It gave me information on the Katarista Movement.

Wiessner, Siegefried. 1999. "Rights and Status of Indigenous Peoples: A Global Comparative and International Legal Analysis." This source showed the rights and statuses of indigenous people all over there world. It gave me a vast understanding of the indigenous people in Bolivia.