This article analyzes how the Escuela-Ayllu of Warisata in Bolivia challenged the feudal system k... more This article analyzes how the Escuela-Ayllu of Warisata in Bolivia challenged the feudal system known as gamonalismo in the 1930s-1940s within the broader context of Indigenous struggle. It demonstrates that distinct currents of Indigenous education, including indigenismo, Caciques-Apoderados’ Centro Educativo de Aborígenes “Bartolomé de las Casas,” and Alcaldes Mayores Particulares’ escuelas particulares, informed the Escuela-Ayllu’s community-led education. It argues that Warisata’s community members turned the Escuela-Ayllu into a political space of communal democracy that undermined the rural order structured by internal colonialism.
This article analyzes popular experiences of the “Gas War,” a massive
popular uprising in Bolivia... more This article analyzes popular experiences of the “Gas War,” a massive popular uprising in Bolivia that took place in September-October 2003 against gas exportation promoted by the government of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (2002-2003). It focuses on the city of El Alto, the epicenter of the uprising. It contributes to the scholarly discussion on the Gas War by shedding light on how ordinary Alteños (people of El Alto) remember the war, or “the Massacre of September-October 2003” as many of them call it. The article investigates how their memories of the Massacre are tied to their struggles against discrimination, poverty, and racism, a struggle which shapes El Alto’s history as a city of migrants from the countryside and provincial towns. It presents the testimonies of ordinary Alteños, and the performance of Arriba El Alto, a theatrical work of the city’s troupe, in order to examine how their everyday experience of marginalization informs their memories of 2003. It explores how the discourse of the pueblo’s struggle against the colonial-neoliberal state acquired concrete meanings for Alteños in 2003, which had to do with their own life struggle on the urban periphery. To analyze how their struggle was articulated with a broader political process at the national level, it delves into the notion of “Bolivia’s Third Revolution in 2000-2005” proposed by several historians, and discusses meanings of democracy in El Alto, which relate to emancipatory projects of plurinational decolonization, as well as providing a discussion of the political conflict in Bolivia after the resignation of Evo Morales Ayma in November 2019. It argues that Alteños in 2003 made their city central to those projects by asserting their rights as citizens and creating their own space of democracy vis-à-vis the national state.
Fausto Reinaga was one of the most controversial writers in the
twentieth-century Bolivia. He is ... more Fausto Reinaga was one of the most controversial writers in the twentieth-century Bolivia. He is known as ‘the father of Indianism’ (indianismo) in Bolivia, which is an ideology of Indian selfemancipation. This article analyzes his works in the 1950s and 1960s, showing how Bolivia’s National Revolution in 1952 indelibly impacted his thinking. It sheds light on how his Indianism resulted from his search for an ideological solution to the contradictions and limits of the Revolution, which he initially supported and later criticized for imposing a fictious mestizo homogeneity upon Indians. It argues that Indianism was a nationalist ideology to redefine the Bolivian nation in racial terms of Indian power. Reinaga theorized Indian power based on his critical relations to the revolutionary process of the 1940s-1950s. It examines how his notion of Indian power relates to his utopian view of Indian-ness and anticolonial insurgency, which promotes an alternative version of national homogeneity. It concludes with remarks on his relations to the Aymara and Quechua movements in the 1970s-1980s and to contemporary debates on decolonization and race in Bolivia.
This article analyzes how the Escuela-Ayllu of Warisata in Bolivia challenged the feudal system k... more This article analyzes how the Escuela-Ayllu of Warisata in Bolivia challenged the feudal system known as gamonalismo in the 1930s-1940s within the broader context of Indigenous struggle. It demonstrates that distinct currents of Indigenous education, including indigenismo, Caciques-Apoderados’ Centro Educativo de Aborígenes “Bartolomé de las Casas,” and Alcaldes Mayores Particulares’ escuelas particulares, informed the Escuela-Ayllu’s community-led education. It argues that Warisata’s community members turned the Escuela-Ayllu into a political space of communal democracy that undermined the rural order structured by internal colonialism.
This article analyzes popular experiences of the “Gas War,” a massive
popular uprising in Bolivia... more This article analyzes popular experiences of the “Gas War,” a massive popular uprising in Bolivia that took place in September-October 2003 against gas exportation promoted by the government of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (2002-2003). It focuses on the city of El Alto, the epicenter of the uprising. It contributes to the scholarly discussion on the Gas War by shedding light on how ordinary Alteños (people of El Alto) remember the war, or “the Massacre of September-October 2003” as many of them call it. The article investigates how their memories of the Massacre are tied to their struggles against discrimination, poverty, and racism, a struggle which shapes El Alto’s history as a city of migrants from the countryside and provincial towns. It presents the testimonies of ordinary Alteños, and the performance of Arriba El Alto, a theatrical work of the city’s troupe, in order to examine how their everyday experience of marginalization informs their memories of 2003. It explores how the discourse of the pueblo’s struggle against the colonial-neoliberal state acquired concrete meanings for Alteños in 2003, which had to do with their own life struggle on the urban periphery. To analyze how their struggle was articulated with a broader political process at the national level, it delves into the notion of “Bolivia’s Third Revolution in 2000-2005” proposed by several historians, and discusses meanings of democracy in El Alto, which relate to emancipatory projects of plurinational decolonization, as well as providing a discussion of the political conflict in Bolivia after the resignation of Evo Morales Ayma in November 2019. It argues that Alteños in 2003 made their city central to those projects by asserting their rights as citizens and creating their own space of democracy vis-à-vis the national state.
Fausto Reinaga was one of the most controversial writers in the
twentieth-century Bolivia. He is ... more Fausto Reinaga was one of the most controversial writers in the twentieth-century Bolivia. He is known as ‘the father of Indianism’ (indianismo) in Bolivia, which is an ideology of Indian selfemancipation. This article analyzes his works in the 1950s and 1960s, showing how Bolivia’s National Revolution in 1952 indelibly impacted his thinking. It sheds light on how his Indianism resulted from his search for an ideological solution to the contradictions and limits of the Revolution, which he initially supported and later criticized for imposing a fictious mestizo homogeneity upon Indians. It argues that Indianism was a nationalist ideology to redefine the Bolivian nation in racial terms of Indian power. Reinaga theorized Indian power based on his critical relations to the revolutionary process of the 1940s-1950s. It examines how his notion of Indian power relates to his utopian view of Indian-ness and anticolonial insurgency, which promotes an alternative version of national homogeneity. It concludes with remarks on his relations to the Aymara and Quechua movements in the 1970s-1980s and to contemporary debates on decolonization and race in Bolivia.
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popular uprising in Bolivia that took place in September-October 2003
against gas exportation promoted by the government of Gonzalo
Sánchez de Lozada (2002-2003). It focuses on the city of El Alto, the
epicenter of the uprising. It contributes to the scholarly discussion on
the Gas War by shedding light on how ordinary Alteños (people of El
Alto) remember the war, or “the Massacre of September-October 2003”
as many of them call it. The article investigates how their memories of
the Massacre are tied to their struggles against discrimination, poverty,
and racism, a struggle which shapes El Alto’s history as a city of migrants
from the countryside and provincial towns. It presents the testimonies
of ordinary Alteños, and the performance of Arriba El Alto, a theatrical
work of the city’s troupe, in order to examine how their everyday
experience of marginalization informs their memories of 2003. It
explores how the discourse of the pueblo’s struggle against the
colonial-neoliberal state acquired concrete meanings for Alteños in
2003, which had to do with their own life struggle on the urban periphery.
To analyze how their struggle was articulated with a broader political
process at the national level, it delves into the notion of “Bolivia’s Third
Revolution in 2000-2005” proposed by several historians, and discusses
meanings of democracy in El Alto, which relate to emancipatory projects
of plurinational decolonization, as well as providing a discussion of the
political conflict in Bolivia after the resignation of Evo Morales Ayma
in November 2019. It argues that Alteños in 2003 made their city central
to those projects by asserting their rights as citizens and creating their
own space of democracy vis-à-vis the national state.
twentieth-century Bolivia. He is known as ‘the father of Indianism’
(indianismo) in Bolivia, which is an ideology of Indian selfemancipation.
This article analyzes his works in the 1950s and
1960s, showing how Bolivia’s National Revolution in 1952 indelibly
impacted his thinking. It sheds light on how his Indianism resulted
from his search for an ideological solution to the contradictions and
limits of the Revolution, which he initially supported and later
criticized for imposing a fictious mestizo homogeneity upon
Indians. It argues that Indianism was a nationalist ideology to
redefine the Bolivian nation in racial terms of Indian power.
Reinaga theorized Indian power based on his critical relations to
the revolutionary process of the 1940s-1950s. It examines how his
notion of Indian power relates to his utopian view of Indian-ness
and anticolonial insurgency, which promotes an alternative version
of national homogeneity. It concludes with remarks on his relations
to the Aymara and Quechua movements in the 1970s-1980s and to
contemporary debates on decolonization and race in Bolivia.
popular uprising in Bolivia that took place in September-October 2003
against gas exportation promoted by the government of Gonzalo
Sánchez de Lozada (2002-2003). It focuses on the city of El Alto, the
epicenter of the uprising. It contributes to the scholarly discussion on
the Gas War by shedding light on how ordinary Alteños (people of El
Alto) remember the war, or “the Massacre of September-October 2003”
as many of them call it. The article investigates how their memories of
the Massacre are tied to their struggles against discrimination, poverty,
and racism, a struggle which shapes El Alto’s history as a city of migrants
from the countryside and provincial towns. It presents the testimonies
of ordinary Alteños, and the performance of Arriba El Alto, a theatrical
work of the city’s troupe, in order to examine how their everyday
experience of marginalization informs their memories of 2003. It
explores how the discourse of the pueblo’s struggle against the
colonial-neoliberal state acquired concrete meanings for Alteños in
2003, which had to do with their own life struggle on the urban periphery.
To analyze how their struggle was articulated with a broader political
process at the national level, it delves into the notion of “Bolivia’s Third
Revolution in 2000-2005” proposed by several historians, and discusses
meanings of democracy in El Alto, which relate to emancipatory projects
of plurinational decolonization, as well as providing a discussion of the
political conflict in Bolivia after the resignation of Evo Morales Ayma
in November 2019. It argues that Alteños in 2003 made their city central
to those projects by asserting their rights as citizens and creating their
own space of democracy vis-à-vis the national state.
twentieth-century Bolivia. He is known as ‘the father of Indianism’
(indianismo) in Bolivia, which is an ideology of Indian selfemancipation.
This article analyzes his works in the 1950s and
1960s, showing how Bolivia’s National Revolution in 1952 indelibly
impacted his thinking. It sheds light on how his Indianism resulted
from his search for an ideological solution to the contradictions and
limits of the Revolution, which he initially supported and later
criticized for imposing a fictious mestizo homogeneity upon
Indians. It argues that Indianism was a nationalist ideology to
redefine the Bolivian nation in racial terms of Indian power.
Reinaga theorized Indian power based on his critical relations to
the revolutionary process of the 1940s-1950s. It examines how his
notion of Indian power relates to his utopian view of Indian-ness
and anticolonial insurgency, which promotes an alternative version
of national homogeneity. It concludes with remarks on his relations
to the Aymara and Quechua movements in the 1970s-1980s and to
contemporary debates on decolonization and race in Bolivia.