lenged political exclusion and the
homogenizing ideologies of
mes-tizaje—the inclusive yet deceptive
idea that recognition of mixed racial
origins would lead to just racial orders.
However, despite the emergence
of strong leaders and movements,
Indigenous peoples are among the
most disadvantaged in the region.
They endure racism and high poverty
rates that keep them at the margins
of society. Indigenous political gains
also are still fragile—this despite a regional consensus to constitutionally
recognize their rights and guarantee
their political representation.
Examples from Mexico and the
Andes—areas where Indigenous
populations are largest and where
Indigenous movements and parties
have made the greatest gains—raise
concerns about the effects of government policies of Indigenous inclusion.
At the same time, political gains risk
being frustrated or undone by internal tensions and political conflict.
But the picture is not completely
bleak. Generations of struggle and
negotiation have transformed the
political environment for Indigenous
peoples. Their political participation
does not only—or even mainly—take
place in national congresses or munic-
ipal governments. Inroads are being
made through grassroots movements
and community actions that attempt
to remake the state “from below.”
Though there is a lack of reliable re-
gion-wide data on the precise num-
ber of Indigenous peoples that have
entered public office, since 1990 the
electoral viability of Indigenous par-
ties has improved dramatically. But
Indigenous parties do not only run
Indigenous candidates. Instead, such
parties have a membership and lead-
ership mostly of Indigenous peoples
and place Indigenous issues and in-
terests at the center of their electoral
platforms. Today, Indigenous parties
can be found in countries with sig-
nificant (Bolivia and Ecuador) and
small (Colombia and Venezuela) In-
digenous populations.
INDIGENOUS RIGHTS:
GLOBAL AND LOCAL
Themostdramatic transforma- tion is in Bolivia. Before the late 1990s, Indigenous par- ties never took more than 2
percent of the vote, but by the early
2000s, a mix of decentralization
laws, political crisis and the meltdown of several traditional parties
created room for Indigenous parties
to make impressive local, regional
and national inroads. This culminated in the 2005 landslide victory
( 54 percent) for Evo Morales and the
continuing electoral dominance of
his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Party in the 2009 elections.
Bolivia’s increased political representation resulted from pressures
from social movements and national
political reforms. By 2000, constitutions throughout the region recognized Indigenous collective rights,
languages and territories. Several
countries—including Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua,
and, to a lesser extent, Brazil and Venezuela—granted Indigenous territorial autonomy for particular regions.
Countries like Colombia and Venezuela reserve seats in elected office for
Indigenous representatives.
But the paths to these institution-
alized, multicultural regimes were
complex and varied. Yet, all these
cases were shaped by the interaction
of similar factors: the calculation of
political elites; the strength and ca-
pacity of Indigenous movements; alli-
ances with the Left; and transnational
networks that link local communities
with resources from nongovernmen-
tal organizations (NGOs) and interna-
tional organizations. This confluence
of social movements, shifts in (and
even the collapse of) party systems
and a growing recognition of the in-
ternational community has reshaped
Indigenous politics and policies.
The role of the international community has been critical. It supported
Indigenous rights by providing legitimacy and material resources to Indigenous and pro-Indigenous NGOs.
Adopted by the International Labor
Organization (ILO) in 1989, Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples—with its strong defense of
collective Indigenous rights—gave
Indigenous peoples a boost in global
support. Most Latin American states
ratified it during the 1990s. In 2007, after decades of debate, the United Nations approved a Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which
now has the support of every country in the region. Beyond prohibiting
discrimination and recognizing the
“right to remain distinct,” the Declaration builds on ILO 169 and enshrines
the rights of Indigenous peoples “to
maintain and strengthen their own
institutions, cultures and traditions,
and to pursue their development in
keeping with their own needs and
aspirations.”
National multicultural legal regimes are shaped by these international and domestic factors.
Surprisingly, stronger and weaker
forms of state recognition have not
been determined by the size of the
Indigenous populations. Countries
like Colombia and Venezuela with
small Indigenous populations—and
with presidents from contrasting
ideologies—have inaugurated unusually strong forms of Indigenous
