Government 1295 Chapter Notes - Chapter Van Cott: Indigenismo, Clientelism, Corporatism
18 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Among&the&key&influences&shaping&the&quality&of&democracy&in&Latin&America&
today&are&the&recent&political&mobilization&and&formal&incorporation&of&
indigenous&peoples
•
Indigenous&people&=&11%&of&Latin&America's&population&of&540&million
•
Many&men&today&must&spend&at&least&part&of&the&year&away&from&their&home&
communities&in&order&to&earn&income
•
Indigenismo:&promoted&the&preservation&of&indigenous&cultural&history&while&
mainstreaming&indigenous&children&into&Spanish&speaking&schools&and&forcibly&
"modernizing"&indigenous&social&and&economic&systems
•
Conservative&military®imes&of&the&1960's&and&70's&quashed&independent&
indigenous&political& activity
•
Even&states&that&held&elections&all&too&often&raised&various&legal&bars&against&
voting&by&indigenous&peoples
•
Even&after&literacy&requirements&were&dropped&and&indigenous&voters&were&
legally&enfranchised,&fraud,&barriers&to®istering&new&parties&or&gaining&identity&
documents,&plus&the&scarcity&of&nearby&polling&places,&restricted&indigenous&
political&participation
•
Indigenous&citizens&wishing&to&become&involved&in&politics&had&no&choice&but&to&
join&clientelist,&corporatist,&and&leftist&parties
•
Left&parties&embraced&the&socioeconomic&demands&made&by&the&indigenous&as&
peasants,&while&ignoring&the&oppression&of&their&cultures,&restricting&indigenous&
politicians&to&subordinate&candidacies&and&perpetuating&the&same&racist&
practices&as&conservative&parties
•
1970's&-indigenous&social&movement&organizations&began&to&spring&up&from&
Mexico&to&Argentina
•
Usually&begin&as&local&groups&looking&to&defend&land&rights
•
Some&of&these&national&organizations&had&little&money&and&only&tenuous&
connections&to&more&cohesive&local&organizations,&but&they&provided&a&platform&
for&interaction&with&national&and&international&actors®arding&economic&
development&and&human&rights&policies
•
1990's:&indigenous&social&movements&had&devised&networks&and&strategies&
capable&of&mounting&widespread&protests&and&marches&lasting&weeks&or&even&
months
•
Indigenous&movements&acted&as&both&interest-group&lobbies&and&protestors&and&
as&participants&in&constituent&assemblies&and&government&officeholders
•
The$efforts$of$elite$political$constitutions$inspired$indigenous$organizations$
and$their$supporters$in$the$academic$and$human$rights$community$to$mobilize$
in$order$to$secure$their$rights
•
2000&multicultural®ional&model (132)•
The&formation&of&political&parties
§
Had&to&overcome&huge&financial&and&logistical& barriers&to&elect& their&
own&delegates
§
Successful&national&level&political&experiences&gave&indigenous&
movements&the&confidence,&experience,&and&political&allies&to&move&
into&formal&politics&by&spawning&their&own&political&parties&or&
competing&in&elections&as&civil&society&organizations
§
Decentralization&created&political&spaces&in&which&geographically&
concentrated&indigenous&parties&could&successfully&compete
§
Some&constitutions&lowered&barriers&for&party®istration&in&order&
to&open&restrictive&party&systems&to&new&entrants
§
The&process&of&participating&effectively&in&constitutional&reforms&proved&
crucial&to&the&next&breakthrough&in&the&formal&inclusion&of&indigenous&
people
○
The$meteoric$rise$of$indigenous$movements$and$parties$should$be$
understood$in$the$context$of$the$collapse$of$the$political$left$in$the$late$
1980s$and$its$steady$recomposition$and$resurgence$in$the$last$decade
○
In&Colombia&and&Argentina,&indigenous&parties&entered&politics&in&the&
absence&of&a&viable&leftist&option,&attracting&votes&from&nonindigenous&
voters&searching&for&an&outsider&alternative&to&elite&parties&and&
neoliberalism
○
In¢ral&Andes,&Guatemala,&and&Mexico,&surging&indigenous&movements&
absorbed&the&flotsam&of&a&defeated&and÷d&left,&creating&cross-ethnic&
coalitions&that&promoted&the&expansion&of&democratic&participation&and&
curbs&on&neoliberalism
○
Indigenous&peoples'&dense&organizational&networks&provided&the&"mass-
mobilizing&capacity"&to&advance&socialist&critiques&of&capitalism&in&the&
absence&of&effective&class-based&movements
○
The&Rise&of&Indigenous&Parties•
Indigenous&parties&are&similar&to&populist&parties&in&that&there&base&is&made&up&of&
citizens&on&the&lower&spectrum&of&socioeconomic&status.&With&populist&parties&this&
usually&takes&form&through&a&charismatic&leader&winning&the&support&of&the&popular&
sector&by&promising&reforms&or&policy&changes&that&would&benefit&the&poor,&while&
denouncing&the&elites&and&their&neoliberal& economic&policies.&However,&indigenous&
parties&form&through&taking&advantage&of&party&collapse&and&promising&an&alternative&
to&elite&parties&and&neoliberalism&while
Van$Cott$Notes
Wednesday,& April&19,&2017
7:32&PM
Document Summary
Among the key influences shaping the quality of democracy in latin america today are the recent political mobilization and formal incorporation of indigenous peoples. Indigenous people = 11% of latin america"s population of 540 million. Many men today must spend at least part of the year away from their home communities in order to earn income. Indigenismo: promoted the preservation of indigenous cultural history while mainstreaming indigenous children into spanish speaking schools and forcibly. Conservative military regimes of the 1960"s and 70"s quashed independent indigenous political activity. Even states that held elections all too often raised various legal bars against voting by indigenous peoples. Even after literacy requirements were dropped and indigenous voters were legally enfranchised, fraud, barriers to registering new parties or gaining identity documents, plus the scarcity of nearby polling places, restricted indigenous political participation. Indigenous citizens wishing to become involved in politics had no choice but to join clientelist, corporatist, and leftist parties.
