Latin America is undergoing processes of ethnic politicisation. Some argue that it makesgovernments more responsive to calls for social justice. Others reason that ethnic discourses are used by political elites to keep prevailing power... more
Latin America is undergoing processes of ethnic politicisation. Some argue that it makesgovernments more responsive to calls for social justice. Others reason that ethnic discourses are used by political elites to keep prevailing power structures and draw the poor away from the battle for equality. This study also explores how the struggle for social justice – asf ought by indigenous-peasant movements – has been affected by ethno-politics (the strategicu se of ethnicity for
politicalpurposes). It uses a comparative historical socio-political
approach focused on structural change and strategic agency. The point of departure is that the activity of the movements in the political arena is ultimately determined by economic and political structures. The literature tends to understand the ethnic politicisation in relation to a continent-wide move from a ‘national-popular’ and ‘corporatist’ socio-political order towards political and economic liberalisation. The shift has supposedly liberated ethnic identities that previously were blocked due to the way in which indigenous communities were ‘incorporated’ and subordinated politically. This study stresses the need to analyse
ethno-politics and social justice in relation to partly enduring, partly changing oligarchic structures. The selection of Guatemala and Ecuador mainly rests on the divergent composition of their oligarchic classes. While Guatemala for much of the past century was dominated by despotic agrarian oligarchs, the Ecuadorian oligarchy was divided into a traditional agrarian and a modernist fraction.
The study shows that dramatic openings for ethnic politicisation occurred in societies where corporatism had been weak and oligarchic features in relations over land and power endured. Due to the oligarchic legacies, however, the elites were unable to use ethnicity as a tool for exercising hegemonic control. They could not prevent discourses based on class from being reproduced and those based on ethnicity from being politicised in a way that was dysfunctional to the efforts to disarm the indigenous-peasant movements politically. The movements certainly acted differently. In Guatemala, the continued weight of the agrarian oligarchy made it more focused on the distribution of land and more unwilling or unable to allow itself to be fully integrated into the political arena prescribed by those in control of the state. In Ecuador, the demise of the agrarian oligarchy in the 1970s and the transfer of power to a neo-liberal fraction constituted the framework within which the movement moved away from the land struggle and towards ethno-development and plurinational political representation. In so doing, it accessed the ethno-political spaces more firmly, but it resembled the Guatemalan movement in keeping its strategy of mass mobilisation and contestation.
politicalpurposes). It uses a comparative historical socio-political
approach focused on structural change and strategic agency. The point of departure is that the activity of the movements in the political arena is ultimately determined by economic and political structures. The literature tends to understand the ethnic politicisation in relation to a continent-wide move from a ‘national-popular’ and ‘corporatist’ socio-political order towards political and economic liberalisation. The shift has supposedly liberated ethnic identities that previously were blocked due to the way in which indigenous communities were ‘incorporated’ and subordinated politically. This study stresses the need to analyse
ethno-politics and social justice in relation to partly enduring, partly changing oligarchic structures. The selection of Guatemala and Ecuador mainly rests on the divergent composition of their oligarchic classes. While Guatemala for much of the past century was dominated by despotic agrarian oligarchs, the Ecuadorian oligarchy was divided into a traditional agrarian and a modernist fraction.
The study shows that dramatic openings for ethnic politicisation occurred in societies where corporatism had been weak and oligarchic features in relations over land and power endured. Due to the oligarchic legacies, however, the elites were unable to use ethnicity as a tool for exercising hegemonic control. They could not prevent discourses based on class from being reproduced and those based on ethnicity from being politicised in a way that was dysfunctional to the efforts to disarm the indigenous-peasant movements politically. The movements certainly acted differently. In Guatemala, the continued weight of the agrarian oligarchy made it more focused on the distribution of land and more unwilling or unable to allow itself to be fully integrated into the political arena prescribed by those in control of the state. In Ecuador, the demise of the agrarian oligarchy in the 1970s and the transfer of power to a neo-liberal fraction constituted the framework within which the movement moved away from the land struggle and towards ethno-development and plurinational political representation. In so doing, it accessed the ethno-political spaces more firmly, but it resembled the Guatemalan movement in keeping its strategy of mass mobilisation and contestation.
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This article analyzes the experiences of the small Shuar community of Kenkuim (Congüime) in the Ecuadorian Amazon that since 2016 carries out gold mining through the communitarian company Exploken Minera. The case is unique in South... more
This article analyzes the experiences of the small Shuar community of Kenkuim (Congüime) in the Ecuadorian Amazon that since 2016 carries out gold mining through the communitarian company Exploken Minera. The case is unique in South America, not only for being the only example of indigenous mining granted formal state concession, but also for its green profile, without the usage of chemicals or heavy metals. Within a setting of expanding extractivism conditioned by global capitalism and a theoretical framework of a decolonial and postcapitalist approach to sustainability, this ethnographic study deals with the expressions of resistance and adaptation of the Kenkuim community and how socio-cultural, ecological, and economic values are articulated by Shuar actors in relation to the new indigenous mining project. The results indicate that this mining experiment constitutes a meaningful alternative to destructive extractivism in line with decolonial and postcapitalist reasoning.
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Desde 2016, la comunidad indígena Shuar de Congüime en la Amazonía ecuatoriana tiene la concesión para extraer oro en su territorio mediante su empresa comunitaria Exploken Minera. Con su misión de una minería socio-ecológicamente... more
Desde 2016, la comunidad indígena Shuar de Congüime en la Amazonía ecuatoriana tiene la concesión para extraer oro en su territorio mediante su empresa comunitaria Exploken Minera. Con su misión de una minería socio-ecológicamente responsable, invirtiendo los ingresos en la comunidad y sin usar químicos o metales pesados, este modelo único se contrasta con la extracción minera transnacional e ilegal en territorios indígenas. Con inspiración teórica y metodológica de la ecología política, justicia ambiental y el post-desarrollo, así como la conceptualización de utopías reales, este estudio etnográfico trata de las experiencias de gobernanza y justicia socioambiental de la empresa comunitaria y los dilemas, disputas y desafíos que emergen en la comunidad con esta nueva situación. El resultado indica que varios desafíos estructurales siguen sin resolverse. Si bien las experiencias de responsabilidad socioecológica de Exploken constituyen una opción ante el extractivismo destructivo y considerando la mejora de las condiciones de vida de muchas familias Shuar, surgieron nuevas tensiones sociales en Congüime, incluso transformaciones de las estructuras de poder social.
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This article analyses the contentious liaisons between the indigenous movement and the state in Ecuador during the government of Alianza PAIS under the presidency of Rafael Correa (2007-2017). The research question examines to which... more
This article analyses the contentious liaisons between the indigenous movement and the state in Ecuador during the government of Alianza PAIS under the presidency of Rafael Correa (2007-2017). The research question examines to which measure, how and why the shift from neoliberal to leftist administrations could have affected the principal strategic repertoire of the indigenous movement. Leaning on a political economy approach and social movement theorizing, and accentuating the relative power balance between the indigenous movement and the state, it focuses on indigenous oppositional strategies and the ambivalent attitude of the state regarding participatory democracy and the rights of the indigenous peoples. By contrasting this period with the neoliberal 1990s – considered the heyday of the indigenous struggle – we examine contemporary strategic responses of the movement amidst the new political setting characterized by hyper-presidentialism and a systematic effort to de-corporatize the state. A central finding is that, while retaining its powerful organizational network which could be reactivated during critical situations, the indigenous movement weakened in relation to the 1990s. This relative decline is manifested in three types of social movement relationships: between leaders and grassroots (mobilizing capacity); between the movement and its alliance partners (alliance politics); and between the movement and the legal institutional terrain of the state (institutional participation).
Key-words: Alianza PAIS, Citizens’ Revolution, CONAIE, de-corporatization, Indigenous movement, Indigenous societal corporatism.
Key-words: Alianza PAIS, Citizens’ Revolution, CONAIE, de-corporatization, Indigenous movement, Indigenous societal corporatism.
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This study deals with the tensions and contradictions between resource governance, welfare policies, and the constitutionally recognized rights of nature and the indigenous peoples in Bolivia and Ecuador. We have identified a certain... more
This study deals with the tensions and contradictions between resource governance, welfare policies, and the constitutionally recognized rights of nature and the indigenous peoples in Bolivia and Ecuador. We have identified a certain reductionism in current debates on these issues and propose a more systematic analytical focus on class and the class-ethnicity duality, as expressed in historical and contemporary indigenous struggles, and also confirmed via our ethnographic material. Drawing on the double bind as expressed in Joseph Heller´s Catch-22 wherein the protagonists face situations in which they do not have any choice to achieve a net gain, this article centres on how national governments have to choose between the protections of rights – in this case ethnic and environmental rights-and welfare provision financed by extractive revenues. From the perspective of ecologically concerned indigenous actors, the Catch-22 is articulated in the choice or compromise between universal welfarism on the one hand, and ethno-environmental concerns on the other hand. The article draws primarily on ecosocialist arguments and on indigenous-culturalist perspectives on Good Life (Sumak Kawsay or Vivir Bien). A central finding is the existence of awareness among involved actors-oppositional movements and government authorities-that the Catch-22 quandary and joint class-ethnic concerns are unavoidable ingredients in their discourses, struggles, and understandings of Good Life.
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Resumen El punto de partida del presente estudio está en una comprensión decolonial de la conceptualización ético-filosófica indígena de la Buena Vida: Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir. Argumentamos que debemos analizar este concepto como... more
Resumen
El punto de partida del presente estudio está en una comprensión decolonial de la conceptualización ético-filosófica indígena de la Buena Vida: Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir. Argumentamos que debemos analizar este concepto como integrado por dimensiones culturales, socioeconómicas y ecológicas; valores e identidades separados pero interrelacionados que a veces chocan entre sí. Se enfatiza, entre nuestros argumentos, que la perspectiva de la clase a veces está relativamente subordinada en los debates sobre Buen-vivir y por lo tanto prestamos atención particular al elemento de justicia social, el cual también es central en la teoría decolonial sobre la matriz colonial capitalista de poder y las estrategias para desconectarse de estas estructuras de dominación y marginalización. Consideramos que la contribución indígena del Buen-vivir más que todo debe verse como un discurso y proyecto decolonial. Para la comprensión de las diferentes interpretaciones y expresiones de Buen-vivir, también debemos considerar particularidades de los pueblos indígenas en términos de variaciones en la identidad étnico-cultural, es decir, las comprensiones relativas situacionales de la indigeneidad. Metodológicamente, debemos enfatizar décadas de trabajo de campo etnográfico, así como la lectura crítica del debate sobre Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir y las contribuciones teóricas en el campo del pensamiento decolonial.
Palabras clave: Decolonialidad; Indigeneidad; Justicia; Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir; Universalismo/Particularismo.
Decolonial Reflections on Sumak Kawsay and Social Justice
Abstract
This study departs in a decolonial understanding of the Indigenous ethical-philosophical conceptualization of the Good Life: Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir. We argue that we need to view this concept as integrated by cultural, socio-economic, and ecological dimensions, separate but interrelated values and identities that sometimes clash. One of our arguments likewise emphasizes that the class perspective is sometimes subordinated in the debates on Buen-vivir and therefore we pay special attention to the element of social justice, which is also central in decolonial theory on the capitalist colonial matrix of power and the strategies to disconnect from these structures of domination and marginalization. We view the indigenous contribution of Buen-vivir as a decolonial discourse and project. For the understanding of different interpretations and expressions of Buen-vivir, we must likewise consider particularities of indigenous peoples in terms of varying ethnic-cultural identity, that is, the relative and situational comprehensions of indigeneity. Methodologically, we should emphasize decades of ethnographic fieldwork, as well as critical reading of the debate on Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir and the theoretical contributions in the field of decolonial thought.
Keywords: Decoloniality; Indigeneity; Justice; Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir; Universalism/Particularism.
El punto de partida del presente estudio está en una comprensión decolonial de la conceptualización ético-filosófica indígena de la Buena Vida: Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir. Argumentamos que debemos analizar este concepto como integrado por dimensiones culturales, socioeconómicas y ecológicas; valores e identidades separados pero interrelacionados que a veces chocan entre sí. Se enfatiza, entre nuestros argumentos, que la perspectiva de la clase a veces está relativamente subordinada en los debates sobre Buen-vivir y por lo tanto prestamos atención particular al elemento de justicia social, el cual también es central en la teoría decolonial sobre la matriz colonial capitalista de poder y las estrategias para desconectarse de estas estructuras de dominación y marginalización. Consideramos que la contribución indígena del Buen-vivir más que todo debe verse como un discurso y proyecto decolonial. Para la comprensión de las diferentes interpretaciones y expresiones de Buen-vivir, también debemos considerar particularidades de los pueblos indígenas en términos de variaciones en la identidad étnico-cultural, es decir, las comprensiones relativas situacionales de la indigeneidad. Metodológicamente, debemos enfatizar décadas de trabajo de campo etnográfico, así como la lectura crítica del debate sobre Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir y las contribuciones teóricas en el campo del pensamiento decolonial.
Palabras clave: Decolonialidad; Indigeneidad; Justicia; Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir; Universalismo/Particularismo.
Decolonial Reflections on Sumak Kawsay and Social Justice
Abstract
This study departs in a decolonial understanding of the Indigenous ethical-philosophical conceptualization of the Good Life: Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir. We argue that we need to view this concept as integrated by cultural, socio-economic, and ecological dimensions, separate but interrelated values and identities that sometimes clash. One of our arguments likewise emphasizes that the class perspective is sometimes subordinated in the debates on Buen-vivir and therefore we pay special attention to the element of social justice, which is also central in decolonial theory on the capitalist colonial matrix of power and the strategies to disconnect from these structures of domination and marginalization. We view the indigenous contribution of Buen-vivir as a decolonial discourse and project. For the understanding of different interpretations and expressions of Buen-vivir, we must likewise consider particularities of indigenous peoples in terms of varying ethnic-cultural identity, that is, the relative and situational comprehensions of indigeneity. Methodologically, we should emphasize decades of ethnographic fieldwork, as well as critical reading of the debate on Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir and the theoretical contributions in the field of decolonial thought.
Keywords: Decoloniality; Indigeneity; Justice; Sumak Kawsay/Buen-vivir; Universalism/Particularism.
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A partir de 2008, con la promulgación de una nueva Constitución, Ecuador es formalmente un Estado Plurinacional e Intercultural, el resultado de décadas de luchas reivindicativas de los pueblos indígenas. En la fase post-2008, o... more
A partir de 2008, con la promulgación de una nueva Constitución, Ecuador es formalmente un Estado Plurinacional e Intercultural, el resultado de décadas de luchas reivindicativas de los pueblos indígenas. En la fase post-2008, o post-reconocimiento, uno de los desafíos centrales de las organizaciones indígenas trata de las visiones y modelos para la implementación práctica e institucional del Estado Plurinacional. Hay diferentes interpretaciones y posturas hacia la plurinacionalidad y la interculturalidad que se reflejan en los discursos de los actores. No sólo tiene que ver con la manera de cómo se expresan esas posiciones hacia adentro, es decir, dentro de la organización, igualmente nos interesa examinar cómo se expresan hacia fuera. En este artículo, nos referimos a este segundo proceso hacia fuera como el diálogo deliberativo intercultural. El objetivo principal del presente texto es analíticamente problematizar los desafíos y dilemas asociados al proyecto de Estado Plurinacional desde las perspectivas de voceros de los pueblos indígenas. Adicionalmente, el estudio ofrece un argumento teórico para analizar las expectativas relativas de las organizaciones indígenas de promover sus demandas políticas a partir de sus posturas hacia el encargo de poner en práctica los principios de la plurinacionalidad. La pregunta investigativa principal es: ¿Cómo se reflejan las complejidades del proceso de implementación del Estado Plurinacional e Intercultural en los discursos de los actores involucrados? Reconocemos que este proyecto se ha insertado contextualmente en la relación compleja entre la territorialidad y la auto-identificación étnica. Debemos enfatizar la centralidad de la territorialidad en la indigeneidad y como estrategia en los procesos organizativos y discursivos de las organizaciones indígenas. En estas disputas discursivas sobre la territorialidad, diferentes grupos indígenas se posicionan según su relación histórica con la sociedad blanco-mestiza. De tal manera se construyen temporalidades diferentes desde la territorialidad. Metodológicamente, a parte de la lectura crítica de la literatura existente sobre el tema central del estudio, la presente investigación tiene como base el trabajo etnográfico en Ecuador mediante lo cual se han realizado centenares de entrevistas entre 2001 y 2018 con políticos, intelectuales y voceras y voceros de las organizaciones indígenas.