Multicultural Market Democracy: Elites and Indigenous Movements in Contemporary Ecuador

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES D. BOWEN

AbstractThis paper bridges the gap between studies of subaltern social movements and elite politics by asking how political and economic elites respond to indigenous mobilisation in Ecuador. I argue that elites have developed a hegemonic project based around three core principles – multiculturalism, economic liberalism and democracy – that serves to incorporate indigenous peoples into the political system while simultaneously excluding indigenous movement demands that would undermine the political and economic sources of elite power. The paper develops this argument around a concept of what I call ‘multicultural market democracy’ based on historical analysis and in-depth interviews with 43 Ecuadorian elites.

Author(s):  
Ana Catarina Zema de Resende

Nos últimos 30 anos, a autonomia se tornou um novo paradigma na luta dos povos indígenas por descolonização. Organizações indígenas de todo o continente americano assumiram a autonomia como demanda central. No entanto, o debate em torno das demandas indígenas por autonomia tem gerado muitas polêmicas decorrentes da incompreensão sobre o que querem os movimentos indígenas quando reivindicam seu direito à autodeterminação e autonomia. Para melhor entendimento dessa questão, interessa-nos, aqui, trazer alguns elementos e conceitos que possibilitem apreciar as contribuições de três intelectuais indígenas a esse debate: Taiaiake Alfred, mohawk do Canada; Floriberto Díaz, mixe de Tlahuitoltepec eGersem Baniwa, do povo Baniwa do Alto Rio Negro e das propostas do Exército Zapatista de Libertação Nacional (EZLN). Veremos que a maneira como esses intelectuais e o EZLN vêm construindo suas ideias sobre autonomia funciona como veículo para suas críticas à imposição de controle por parte do Estado, levando esse último a perceber as inconsistências de seus próprios princípios e do tratamento que dá aos povos indígenas.Palavras-Chave: Autonomia Indígena, Pensamento Político, Autodeterminação, Movimento Indígena.Autonomía indígena en el pensamiento político de Taiaiake Alfred, Floriberto Díaz, Gersem Baniwa y en las propuestas del EZLNResumen: En los últimos 30 años, la autonomía se ha convertido en un nuevo paradigma en la lucha de los pueblos indígenas por descolonización. Organizaciones indígenas de todo el continente americano asumieron la autonomía como demanda central. Sin embargo, el debate en torno a las demandas indígenas por autonomía ha generado muchas polémicas derivadas de la incomprensión sobre lo que quieren los movimientos indígenas cuando reivindican su derecho a la autodeterminación y a la autonomía. Para entender mejor esta cuestión, nos interesa, aquí, traer algunos elementos y conceptos que posibiliten apreciar los aportes de tres intelectuales indígenas a ese debate: Taiaiake Alfred, mohawk de Canada; Floriberto Díaz, mixe de Tlahuitoltepec y Gersem Baniwa, del pueblo Baniwa del Alto Río Negro y de las propuestas del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN). Veremos que la manera como estos intelectuales y el EZLN vienen construyendo sus ideas sobre autonomía funciona como vehículo para sus críticas a la imposición de control por parte del Estado, llevando ese último a percibir las inconsistencias de sus propios principios y del trato que da a los pueblos indígenas.Palabras-clave: Autonomía Indígena, Pensamiento Político, Autodeterminación, Movimiento Indígena.Indigenous autonomy in the political thought of Taiaiake Alfred, Floriberto Díaz, Gersem Baniwa and in the EZLN proposalsAbstract: Over the last 30 years, autonomy has become a new paradigm in the struggle of indigenous peoples for decolonization. Indigenous organizations throughout the Americas assumed autonomy as a central demand. However, the debate over indigenous demands for autonomy has generated many controversies which were derived from the misunderstanding of what indigenous movements want when they claim their right to self-determination and autonomy. To better understand this question, we are interested here in bringing up some elements and concepts that make it possible to appreciate the contributions of three indigenous intellectuals to that debate: Taiaiake Alfred, mohawk from Canada; Floriberto Diaz, mixe of Tlahuitoltepec and Gersem Baniwa, from the Baniwa people of the Alto Rio Negro and of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) proposals. We will see that the way these intellectuals and the EZLN construct their ideas about autonomy functions as a vehicle for their criticism of the imposition of control by the State, leading the latter to perceive the inconsistencies of its own principles and the treatment it gives to indigenous peoples.Keywords: Indigenous Autonomy, Political Thought, Self-Determination, Indigenous Movement.


Author(s):  
Catalina Balmaceda

The political transformation that took place at the end of the Roman Republic was a particularly rich area for historical analysis. The crisis that saw the end of the Roman Republic and the changes which gave birth to a new political system were narrated by major Roman historians who took the Roman idea of virtus as a way of interpreting and understanding their history. Tracing how virtus informed Roman thought over time, the book explores the concept and its manifestations in the narratives of four successive Latin historians who span the late republic and early principate: Sallust, Livy, Velleius, and Tacitus. Balmaceda demonstrates that the concept of virtus in these historical narratives served as a form of self-definition which fostered and propagated a new model of the ideal Roman more fitting to imperial times. As a crucial moral and political concept, virtus worked as a key idea in the complex system of Roman socio-cultural values and norms which underpinned Roman attitudes about both present and past. This book offers a re-appraisal of the historians as promoters of change and continuity in the political culture of both the Republic and the Empire.


Author(s):  
Roberta Rice

Indigenous peoples have become important social and political actors in contemporary Latin America. The politicization of ethnic identities in the region has divided analysts into those who view it as a threat to democratic stability versus those who welcome it as an opportunity to improve the quality of democracy. Throughout much of Latin America’s history, Indigenous peoples’ demands have been oppressed, ignored, and silenced. Latin American states did not just exclude Indigenous peoples’ interests; they were built in opposition to or even against them. The shift to democracy in the 1980s presented Indigenous groups with a dilemma: to participate in elections and submit themselves to the rules of a largely alien political system that had long served as an instrument of their domination or seek a measure of representation through social movements while putting pressure on the political system from the outside. In a handful of countries, most notably Bolivia and Ecuador, Indigenous movements have successfully overcome this tension by forming their own political parties and contesting elections on their own terms. The emergence of Indigenous peoples’ movements and parties has opened up new spaces for collective action and transformed the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. Indigenous movements have reinvigorated Latin America’s democracies. The political exclusion of Indigenous peoples, especially in countries with substantial Indigenous populations, has undoubtedly contributed to the weakness of party systems and the lack of accountability, representation, and responsiveness of democracies in the region. In Bolivia, the election of the country’s first Indigenous president, Evo Morales (2006–present) of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS) party, has resulted in new forms of political participation that are, at least in part, inspired by Indigenous traditions. A principal consequence of the broadening of the democratic process is that Indigenous activists are no longer forced to choose between party politics and social movements. Instead, participatory mechanisms allow civil society actors and their organizations to increasingly become a part of the state. New forms of civil society participation such as Indigenous self-rule broaden and deepen democracy by making it more inclusive and government more responsive and representative. Indigenous political representation is democratizing democracy in the region by pushing the limits of representative democracy in some of the most challenging socio-economic and institutional environments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-85
Author(s):  
Nasir Uddin

Indigeneity, a concept and construct, is increasingly gaining currency in academia, in the political sphere, and in public debates. Indigeneity as an active political force with international support has become a resource in identity politics. This article focuses on the dynamics of how the transnational idea of indigeneity has been nationally installed and locally translated within the context of the ethnohistory of an Indigenous movement that stemmed from local–societal relations with the state. The idea of indigeneity is seen as both local and global because it is globally circulated but locally articulated as well as globally charged but locally framed. Focusing on the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in the borderlands of South and Southeast Asia and home to 11 Indigenous groups in Bangladesh, the article argues that the local translation of global indigeneity is necessary for ensuring the rights and entitlements of Indigenous Peoples.


2019 ◽  
Vol IV (I) ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Malik Adnan ◽  
Arshad Ali ◽  
Shahbaz Aslam

Journalists are expected to perform truthfully and ethically which contributes to the strengthening of democracy by sharing reliable information. However, the political economy of media suggests that political and economic elites use the media for their vested interests. Politicians and media owners exploit working journalists. Journalists are not well paid, and they are forced to do unethical practices. The present study explores the journalists’ economic issues at Gujranwala (A city of Punjab, Pakistan) and how economic issues affect the ethical practices of journalists. Data was collected through in-depth interviews of 13 working journalists of Gujranwala city. Findings revealed that journalists are facing serious economic issues and these issues are leading them to unethical practices. It is suggested that government, judiciary, NGOs and journalistic bodies should play an effective role for overcoming this alarming situation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONAS WOLFF

In recent years, socio-political crises have challenged democracy across South America. Social movements that succeeded in mobilising marginalised sectors are at the forefront of this turbulence, Ecuador's indigenous movement and the organisations of unemployed workers in Argentina being paradigmatic cases. Recent developments point to an intrinsic weakness of both indigenous and unemployed movements, in that democratic regimes have proved highly successful at ‘taming’ them. By comparing the two movements, in terms of their internal dynamics and interactions with the political system, this article argues that common characteristics that were crucial for successful mobilisation in the first place, at the same time, help explain their vulnerability to division and clientelist integration.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 543-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Petschelies

Abstract The beginnings of systematic ethnography in Brazil can be attributed to the German physician and psychiatrist Karl von den Steinen, who in 1884 led the first expedition to the Amazonian River Xingu. The ethnographies Durch Central-Brasilien (1886) and its sequel Unter den Naturvölkern Zentral-Brasiliens (1894), about the expedition from 1887 to 1888, made him the world's leading expert on Brazilian indigenous peoples. This article seeks to explore von den Steinen's expeditions and their results within a specific political and cultural context. On the one hand, his theoretical approach was related to German ethnology and anthropology. On the other, the expeditions took place in the context of the indigenous policy of the Brazilian Empire. The Brazilian government provided material aid and military staff, because it had interests in the researches, although these interests at times were conflictive. This article's objective is to contribute to a historical analysis of the political conditions of ethnography.


Author(s):  
Aia Beraia

The article concerns the political history of the post-Soviet Georgian state. The new post-Soviet nation-state is being created and gradually transformed into a political economy of liberal democracy and neoliberal capitalism. In this transformation, Georgia moves away from the Soviet Union and its successor Russia and acquires European identity via the discourse and practices of national political and economic elites. The discursive production of this hegemonic pro-Western nationalism is intertwined with the production of hegemonic masculinities. This article analyzes the discourses of these elites and reveals three types of hegemonic masculinity, which acquire their meaning alongside and through the processes of national independence, militarization, and/or neoliberal reforms and policies. These new masculinities aim to replace old, Soviet, hegemonic masculinities in Georgia and thus, a new kind of hegemonic culture and patriarchy is being created. Further, the historical domination of pro-Western nationalism can be interpreted variously: while Georgia is open, nearly from the outset, to the Western-style political system (liberal democracy), one can also look to certain historical moments as the turning points when an active neoliberal transformation and (discursive) attainment of European identity began in Georgia. Keywords: nationalism; masculinities; hegemony; post-Soviet Georgia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
Murid Murid

In response to the total reform of national political system, aristocrats and bureaucrats-politicians of North Maluku called for the establishment of North Maluku Province. They recited the sultanate's political system, which was claimed to be democratic, into a governance system implemented specifically in the region. As a result, they eventually found themselves in conflict before the establishment of the province. Bureaucrats-politicians rejected the Sultan's ideas because they considered such ideas that would revive feudalism so as to control the country's economic resources after the establishment of the province. This study reviews, understands, interprets and reflects why aristocrats and bureaucrats-politicians recited the political system of the sultanate in the republic era and then they entered the contest. By using a post-structuralism perspective, data were collected through in-depth interviews and casual conversation.  This study has found that political system is recited in order to provide antithesis to decentralization which is considered to have failed to advance development and prosperity of the people in the region. In addition, in the context of discourse, the recitation of the sultanate's political system is a new act of "historical creation" for the sultanate and themselves to achieve certain political interests. Therefore, the contestation between aristocrats and bureaucrats-politicians is caused by the process of socio-cultural and sociopolitical transformation they have made, whose traces are easily found in myths of the origin of the kingdoms and kings and historical data of European nations.


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