A decolonial option: study on indigenous autonomies in contemporary Bolivia

Abstract

The present project has as its theme one of the indigenous self-government territories in contemporary Bolivia, called AIOCs (Indigenous Autonomous Peasants), in which the natives constitute their own legislative, executive and judicial authorities according to their traditions and worldviews. The territory on which the research will focus is that of Charagua Iyambae, which presents a vast history in the struggle for self-determination and which, in the survey's cut (2015 - 2018), has undergone decisive referendums, internal conflicts, debates etc., all related to the realization of autonomy. This right known as self-determination of a people / ethnicity / nation - arose as a result of the political struggle of indigenous social movements founded in the second half of the twentieth century, and the arrival of MÁS - Movimiento Al Socialismo - to power in 2006. This, together With other segments of the left, a new constitution for Bolivia was enacted in 2009, which envisaged the transition from the National State to the Plurinational model. Roughly speaking, the Plurinational State means that the State must respect and stimulate, through public policies, the linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity in Bolivia due to the massive presence of diverse indigenous groups. In this perspective, AIOCs are a vital and indispensable part of these public policies. Therefore, the research project's question is to analyze how the confrontation of certain Eurocentric cultural, racial and economic structures - inheritances of colonialism - in the process of implementation and autonomy of Charagua Iyambae.