Abstract:With the ratification of its new constitution in 2009, Bolivia was transformed into a “plurinational state” associated with ecologically oriented values, yet resource extraction has expanded ever since. Fieldwork conducted in communities in highland Bolivia shows how resource extraction sustains and is sustained by “revolutionary narratives” in which the state—led by President Evo Morales—is configured as the protagonist of the plurinational era. Examination of the challenges presented by Bolivia’s indigenous … Show more
“…The Bolivian political context during Morales's presidency was indeed characterized by environmental strains that could explain the rise of an environmental movement. The former government combined a rhetoric of the Rights of Mother Earth with a realpolitik involving a severe rate of deforestation, reinvigorated extractivism, the construction of a highway through a hotspot of biodiversity, and plans for a nuclear plant and large hydroelectric power stations, which gave rise to serious environmental conflicts (Burman 2014(Burman , 2017Kaijser 2014;Marston and Kennemore 2019;McNeish 2013;Postero 2017) around which the environmental movement mobilized.…”
Since at least the mid-20th century, social movements have been key actors in Bolivian society, causing governments to fall and redrawing the cartographies of power. Recently, a new movement emerged, a middle-class movement that articulated its demands in harsh opposition to the government of former President Evo Morales: an urban environmental movement. In its rhetoric, Morales was un burro (a donkey) and un ignorante (an ignorant man) steering the country towards ecological collapse. Subsequently, the movement played a key role in the social protests that led to Morales's fall in November 2019. In this paper, I aim to understand why this movement emerged and mobilized during the Morales administration and how colonially conditioned relations of power and contradictory images of the indigenous Other are articulated in this process. I argue that the emergence and mobilization of the movement ought to be understood in relation to: (1) the politically conditioned forms for legitimate political opposition; and (2) the challenge to coloniality implied by the coming to power of subalternized subjects. When the borders of seemingly fixed categories and spaces are blurred, the privileged develop novel ways of making social distinctions. One such way, I argue, is to display a 'taste for ecology.'
“…The Bolivian political context during Morales's presidency was indeed characterized by environmental strains that could explain the rise of an environmental movement. The former government combined a rhetoric of the Rights of Mother Earth with a realpolitik involving a severe rate of deforestation, reinvigorated extractivism, the construction of a highway through a hotspot of biodiversity, and plans for a nuclear plant and large hydroelectric power stations, which gave rise to serious environmental conflicts (Burman 2014(Burman , 2017Kaijser 2014;Marston and Kennemore 2019;McNeish 2013;Postero 2017) around which the environmental movement mobilized.…”
Since at least the mid-20th century, social movements have been key actors in Bolivian society, causing governments to fall and redrawing the cartographies of power. Recently, a new movement emerged, a middle-class movement that articulated its demands in harsh opposition to the government of former President Evo Morales: an urban environmental movement. In its rhetoric, Morales was un burro (a donkey) and un ignorante (an ignorant man) steering the country towards ecological collapse. Subsequently, the movement played a key role in the social protests that led to Morales's fall in November 2019. In this paper, I aim to understand why this movement emerged and mobilized during the Morales administration and how colonially conditioned relations of power and contradictory images of the indigenous Other are articulated in this process. I argue that the emergence and mobilization of the movement ought to be understood in relation to: (1) the politically conditioned forms for legitimate political opposition; and (2) the challenge to coloniality implied by the coming to power of subalternized subjects. When the borders of seemingly fixed categories and spaces are blurred, the privileged develop novel ways of making social distinctions. One such way, I argue, is to display a 'taste for ecology.'
“…On the other hand, populist leaders, movements, and parties do unequivocally proclaim themselves “nationalist.” Trump and Modi are prominent examples from the contemporary crop of populists. But Latin American populist leaders have also actively aligned themselves with national heroes and narratives — from Perón’s styling himself as General San Martín, the leader of Argentina’s independence; Chávez’s projection of himself as a successor to Simón Bolívar and his project of “national and continental liberation” (de la Torre 2017 : 9); or Morales’ presenting himself as the “reincarnation” of Túpac Katari, continuing his “cultural democratic” revolution to “decolonize” the state and restore Tahuantinsuyo (the Inca empire) (Marston and Kennemore 2019 ).…”
Section: Part 2: When Populism Meets Nationalismmentioning
This article builds an original, analytical framework to understand one of the most important developments of our times — the global ascendance of leaders who fuse populist anti-elite rhetoric with nationalist appeals. In contrast to arguments that treat populism and nationalism as either completely separate or essentially equivalent phenomena, I begin from an understanding of the two as distinct ideologies that grow from a shared foundational claim to represent an “us” versus a “them.” In part 1, I first juxtapose populism and nationalism around this common, undergirding us-them boundary to bring out their core features. I then analyze how populism and nationalism vary across the twin axes of intensity and inclusiveness to bring out their distinct sub-types. In part 2, I use this theoretical map of populism and nationalism to navigate the conceptual terrain of their intersection. I focus, in particular, on the implications of nationalist populism for those seen as “us” versus those viewed as “them,” where the “us” and “them” are determined by the dimensions of intensity and inclusiveness. In contrast to characterizations of nationalist populism in directional terms as negative, I suggest that it is instead better understood as an amplifying force that exacerbates both the positive and negative consequences of populism. All else equal, relative to populism, those beyond nationalist populist boundaries are subject to heightened hostility and discrimination, while those within benefit from enhanced life opportunities.
“…Whilst nominally a progressive move to take back state control over royalties surrounding strategic resources, the scalar imagination of the traditional sovereign state often came into conflict with the demands of (some) indigenous groups to control the resources of their territory (Laing, 2020). The latter has been a long‐held demand, and indeed, during the formation of the Pact of Unity, this was among the key proposals pushed by certain actors (Marston & Kennemore, 2019, p. 142). Regarding this conflict, Canessa (2014, p. 160) argues, that beyond the highland/lowland dichotomy that is often said to characterise indigenous tensions in Bolivia, the real tension involves a division between groups that remained territorialised (and thus prioritise autonomy), and those that are deterritorialised, and, prioritise a much more nationalised identity that, as a result, seeks to exploit national resources for broader purposes such as governmental social programmes.…”
Section: The Mas In Power: Passive Revolution In Indigenous Clothes?mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…To give one illustration of this, a major infrastructure initiative was simply named Evo Cumple reinforcing personalistic power, or what Anthias (2018: 137) has called ‘gas‐funded state patronage’. The narrative of progress also sought to silence critics who are opposed to resource extraction (Marston & Kennemore, 2019, p. 146). Pamela Cartagena (personal interview, 2019) from CIPCA, outlines the stark result of this,Today we no longer talk about the right to consultations.…”
Section: The Mas In Power: Passive Revolution In Indigenous Clothes?mentioning
From the period 2000 to 2005, Bolivia experienced a profound political convulsion as social movements rose-up to contest the neoliberal model of development. This was most markedly inspired by contestation over the control of natural resources, namely water and gas. The period of mobilisation brought down two successive governments and propelled the MAS, led by Evo Morales, to power in 2006. This period also helped to revalorise indigenous culture and held out hope for a reimagining of power, politics and political economy. The transformation that would result from this uprising, effectively re-founded Bolivia as a "pluri-national state," recognising 36 separate national groups with their own languages and cultures. This was, furthermore, a process based on the convergence of national-popular and indigenous struggles. However, following his disputed election for a fourth successive term in office, Evo Morales and other key leaders of the MAS have gone into exile, while right-wing, revanchist social forces are increasingly prominent. How do we begin to make sense of this turn of events, which include the swirling combinations of reactionary capitalist interests but also left-indigenous critiques of development from marginalised sectors? In this article, I argue that we need to situate Bolivia's indigenous social movements in the struggle between Pachakuti (an Andean term referring to the desire to turn the world upside down and forge a new time and space) and passive revolution (a state-led process of modernisation that seeks to expand capitalist social relations whilst incorporating limited demands from below, ultimately diffusing their radical potential). 1 | INTRODUCTION From the period 2000-2005, Bolivia experienced a profound political convulsion as social movements rose-up to contest the neoliberal model of dispossession. This was most markedly inspired by contestation over the control of natural resources, namely water and gas (Gutiérrez Aguilar, 2008; Webber, 2012a). This period of mobilisation *Chris Hesketh is a Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy in the School of Social Sciences at Oxford Brookes University. † I would like to thank Adam Morton as well as three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this article. Any errors remain my own. I also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Independent Social Research Foundation for supporting this research through a Political Economy Fellowship.
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