SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... PILGRIMAGES THROUGH MOUNTAINS, DESERTS AND OCEANS: THE QUEST FOR INDIGENOUS CITIZENSHIP (PUNO 1900-1930) A Dissertation Presented By Annalyda Álvarez Calderón To The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In History Stony Brook University December 2009 Copyright by Annalyda Álvarez-Calderón 2009 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Annalyda Álvarez Calderón We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Brooke Larson, Ph. D. - Dissertation Advisor Professor - History Department Paul Gootenberg, Ph. D. – Chairperson of Defense Professor - History Department Ian Roxborough, Ph. D. Professor - Sociology Department Sinclair Thomson, Ph. D. Associate Professor - History Department New York University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Pilgrimages through mountains, deserts and oceans: The quest for indigenous citizenship (Puno 1900-1930) by Annalyda Álvarez Calderón Doctor in Philosophy In History Stony Brook University 2009 At the dawn of the twentieth century, the initiative of a group of peasants from the province of Chucuito (Department of Puno, Southeastern Peru) produced a wave of peasant mobilization that shook the control hacendados had over the area establishing an unprecedented dialogue with the state. Peruvian peasants historically have been denied a political role in the nation: their political contributions being reduced to violent revolts. This study, focusing on a southern highland region characterized by indigenous majorities and ethnic diversity (Aymaras and Quechuas), aims at showing the existence of an alternative peasant national project based on ethnic citizenship. Peasants developed short and long term strategies and projects, which argue against the images of irrationality and millenarian thought that have characterized peasant studies. I will argue that revolts were far from being the main political tool of Puno’s peasantry. Instead, they countered abuse mainly through the means of litigation, civil disobedience, and renegotiation of the ‘tributary pact’ with the state. I have tried to retrieve the peasant voices that claimed justice and full citizen rights from 1900 to 1930, by drawing information from the documents presented by peasant representatives to the state, administrative reports, official correspondence, lawsuits, national and regional newspapers and secondary sources. Following the footsteps of traveling messengers, I have analyzed their proposals, petitions, and actions—particularly the building of communal schools and creation of defensive organizations. I have also tried to understand why this projected multiethnic nation slammed up against a wall of repression due to hacendado, peasant, and state misconceptions and clientelistic relations of power. By adopting hacendado racial prejudices, the Peruvian state forced the peasantry to abandon its discourses on ethnic citizenship and move on to class-oriented discourses with very different consequences for the country. iii iv Table of Contents List of abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………..........vi Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................................vii Introduction............................................................……………….......................................................1 I. The Indian and the Republic: the elusive rights of Puno’s rural masses (1867- 1900)………………………………………..........................................................................11 Endangered landholding……………………………...........................................................11 The Andean reserve: an indispensable labor force…......................................................17 Dealing the indigenous tribute card……………………………………………….……........22 Republicans without rights………………………………………………………………........33 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..….36 II. “It is justice that we expect from Your Excellency”: the rise of grassroots leadership networks...........................................................................................................................39 Traditional peasant defense strategies……………………………………………….……..39 Bargaining a new contract……………………………………………………………............43 Civilization versus barbarism…………………………………………………………….…..56 Leadership and cultural mediation………………………………………………………......62 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..73 III. Facts and fictions of organized rural violence (1909-1919)…………………………...…...76 Resistance and Revolt……………………………………………………………….……….76 The many faces of millenarian and messianic discourses………………………………..81 Local disputes, regional rivalries and national politics…………………………………….88 Spiral of violence……………………………………………................................................98 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..……..104 IV. “Escuelas Libres Indígenas”: The role of education in indigenous politics……….…....107 The maze of public education……………………………………………………………....107 Indigenous and Indigenista educative proposals…………………………………………114 The role of Adventist missions………………………………………………………..…....124 The overtaking of rural education……………………………………………………..........134 Conclusion…..…………………………………………………………………..…………….137 iv V. “La Patria Nueva”: Political alliances for a new beginning…………………..…………….141 “La Patria Nueva” and the Indian………………………………………………..………......141 Thriving Indigenismo……………………………………………………………………..……148 Rural political activities intensify…………………………………………………….……….155 The Comité Pro Derecho Indígena Tahuantinsuyo ………………………...…………….161 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………..…….174 VI. Hacendados strike back: Fears, threats and worn out discourses……………………….176 Hacendados besieged…………………………………………………………………..…….176 Hacendados strike back…………………………………………………………..…………..184 Internal obstacles………………………………………………………………………..…….190 Initiatives and responses radicalize……………………………………………………..…..197 The end of the CPDIT…………………………………………………………………..……..206 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..………….209 VII. Indigene and Indigenista legacies………………………………………………..………….213 The erosion of state pro-indigenous discourses…………………………..……………….213 The shortcomings of Indigenismo………………………………………………..…………..218 The evolution of the peasant movement……………………………………………...….....226 Puno after 1930……………………………………………………………………….……….231 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..………….234 Conclusions....................……………..............................................................................................237 Glossary………………………………………………………………………………………....………..240 Bibliography………………………......................................………………........................................241 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AGN: Archivo General de la Nación ARP: Archivo Regional de Puno CPDIT: Comité Pro Derecho Indígena Tahuantinsuyo DGAI: Dirección General de Asuntos Indígenas DGCC: Dirección General de Comunidades Campesinas MA: Ministerio de Agricultura MI: Ministerio del Interior MT: Ministerio del Trabajo PRI: Patronato de la Raza Indígena SAI: Sección de Asuntos Indígenas vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must start this section thanking the acceptance letter I received in 1997 from the History Department at Stony Brook University. It was the beginning of many achievements. To the professors and staff of the History department I owe three wonderful years of learning and teaching experience. Thank you for trusting in me. Roxanne Fernandez, graduate secretary, has all my gratitude for guiding me through all the procedures that were necessary to arrive to this point. Special thanks go to Brooke Larson, my advisor, who liked my project from the beginning and has provided me with priceless comments, corrections and encouragement. I am grateful for the seminars I took with Paul Gootenberg and the many discussions we had. I would also like to thank the other two members of my committee Professor Ian Roxborough from the Department of Sociology and Professor Sinclair Thomson from the History Department at NYU for their insights. I would like to thank the Social Science Research Council for the support and faith put in my work. Their financial support allowed me to spend several months doing research in Lima and Puno. In Lima, the staff of the Archivo General de la Nación and the Archivo Histórico Militar helped me find a great deal of invaluable information. And I am forever at debt with the staff of Puno’s Regional Archive. I look forward to share more hot chocolate, biscuits and sublimes with Grimanesa Ccori, Victor and Adolfo to scare away the damp cold of the Archive. Anita Pino and Martha Giraldo welcomed me into their houses and their libraries making my stay in Puno wonderful. The Giraldo family turned out to be wonderful hosts and I will never forget their quinoa soup that made up for Martha’s burnt toasts. Anita Pino’s “La Casa del Corregidor” was a great refuge for Puno’s cold and rains. I never expected to eat so well in Puno. I have received invaluable help, comments and support from my colleagues Nicanor Domínguez and Martín Monsalve