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“Living Well” in the Constitution of Bolivia and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Reflections on Well-Being and the Right to Development

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“Living Well” in the Constitution of Bolivia and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Reflections on Well-Being and the Right to Development International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Article “Living Well” in the Constitution of Bolivia and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Reflections on Well-Being and the Right to Development Karen Giovanna Añaños Bedriñana 1, Bernardo Alfredo Hernández Umaña 2 and José Antonio Rodríguez Martín 3,* 1 Department of Constitutional Law and the Institute of Peace and Conflicts (IPAZ), University of Granada, 18001 Granada, Spain; [email protected] 2 Faculty of Sociology and the Institute of Peace and Development (IPAZDE), Santo Tomas University, Bogota 110231, Colombia; [email protected] 3 Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 1 February 2020; Accepted: 18 April 2020; Published: 21 April 2020 Abstract: The article analyzes how approaches to “Living Well” as reflected in the Constitution of the State of Bolivia, the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Organization of American States (OAS) contribute to understanding the Andean cosmovision of indigenous peoples of the American continent. To do so, it first studied the most immediate precedents that led to incorporation of the notion of Living Well into Bolivian law. Second, it approached the right to development from the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which has as its source the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The paper thus proposes reflections on the Bolivian State and the American Declaration that advance understanding of Living Well, a notion comparable in the West to the right to development (political, social, economic, environmental, and cultural) that enables the individual and collective realization of the individual. Fullness, understood in terms of well-being, is related to the protection of health and of the environment. Finally, the paper employs a qualitative methodology with a well-documented hermeneutic focus, as well as the tool of a semi-structured interview with a Bolivian scholar familiar on the topic. Keywords: American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Bolivia; development; indigenous peoples; living well; mother earth; well-being 1. Introduction In 2017, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) counted 826 indigenous peoples, of which 200 live in voluntary isolation. In 2014, Bolivia had the largest proportion of indigenous persons in its total population of any country in the region, 62.2% or over 6 million people. Like Bolivia, other ECLAC countries have large numbers of indigenous inhabitants relative to their total population: Guatemala 41% or 5.9 million, and Peru 24% or 7 million [1]. As these territories are home to the largest indigenous populations on the American continent, Bolivia, like Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, can contribute considerably to building intercultural dialogue motivated by a culture of coexistence. By way of comparison, Bolivia’s National Statistics Institute (INE) cites the country’s population as 11.5 million [2]. According to Bolivia’s Plurinational Communication Agency (APC), 84% of the Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2870; doi:10.3390/ijerph17082870 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2870 2 of 25 population speaks (Castilian) Spanish, 28% Quechua, 18%Aymara, and 1% Guaraní [3]. Along with Spanish, all languages of indigenous nations and peoples are recognized as official languages. This policy means that nearly 50% of Bolivia’s total inhabitants speak an indigenous language. At the political–governmental level, the region has had only two presidents of indigenous origin, that of Benito Pablo Juárez García in Mexico and, more recently, Juan Evo Morales Ayma in Bolivia. At judicial level, Bolivia has one of the most advanced constitutions [4] internationally with recognition and legal protection of indigenous persons and their populations. Bolivia also has specific legislation that protects these populations, the land, territory, and natural resources, referred to collectively in everyday parlance as“Mother Earth.” Ecuador and its Constitution follow similar guidelines. These issues make Bolivia an ideal country for this study compared to the other Andean countries in South America (e.g., Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile), as Bolivia has made a significant contribution to understanding Living Well, or, in Ecuador’s terms, Good Living. This study demonstrates the dynamics of complementarity between international law and Bolivian national law. Within this conceptual framework, the Results section pursues two main focuses. The first is a documentary, judicial, national, international, and legal study. Its purpose is, on the one hand, to understand the social context of indigenous persons and their peoples in Bolivia and the main reasons for their continual vindications due to lack of a sufficiently inclusive policy on the part of the State; and, on the other, to conceptualize Living Well from the Andean cosmovision. We then examine Bolivian law as proof that it is possible to protect these vulnerable populations legally by including their rights and freedoms, the rights connected to Living Well (right to one’s territory, to land, to water, to health, to natural resources, to care for biodiversity, to a clean and healthy environment, to peace, to harmonious social relations, to social justice, to climate justice, to dialogue of knowledge, to solidarity among human beings, to complementarity and equilibrium, etc.). This idea also leads to the inclusion of other inherent principles, such as “amaqhilla” (do not be lazy), “amallulla” (do not be a liar), and “amasuwa” (do not be a thief), in the legal instrument par excellence of the entire democratic State, the Constitution. The second focus of this study is the “right to development” of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [5], which is a constituent element of Andean Living Well. This right is, however, compatible with and complementary to other rights (to identity and integrity, spirituality, health, protection of the healthy environment, peace, security, protection, etc.), in the American Declaration. These rights had previously been included in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [6], which encompasses the whole of Andean Living Well; that is, the concept of Living Well, understood in the West in terms of Development and Well-Being. All of this theoretical framework of results enables us in the Discussion section to analyze the points of agreement and disagreement—first within the understanding of Living Well from a Bolivian perspective, and, second, from an international perspective—in order to establish the contributions of Bolivian national and American international law. Finally, we stress the importance of indigenous people and care for Mother Earth. This importance is closely tied to the environment as it relates to Andean Living Well, or knowing how to live, which is synonymous with health and well-being. In this sense, the study concludes that there are points of agreement between the rights included in the Bolivian Constitution and the American Declaration concerning the term “Living Well.” Although each document approaches the issue from different points of view, the ultimate purpose of both legal texts is to ensure the recognition, promotion, protection, and guarantee of the rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples. Along these lines, Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2870 3 of 25 Finally, we note that the scenario is not encouraging for indigenous peoples on the American continent. According to the ECLAC Report, Social Panorama of Latin American in 2018, “Structural gaps in inclusion operate to the detriment of the rural population, women, young people, and indigenous and Afro-descendent persons.” Furthermore, ongoing problems such as “persistent inequality in access to well-being and in the exercise of political, economic, social and cultural rights” threaten not only the economy but also the most vulnerable groups, such as the indigenous community [7]. In this context, predictions are that it will be difficult for the region to make global progress on the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development [8]. Bidding for equality of rights, opportunities, capabilities, and recognition is thus a tremendous challenge (as well as an obligation) in the medium and long term in Latin America. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Case Study We chose to study Bolivia and its domestic law due to their distinctive political, social, and cultural characteristics, but especially for their remarkable advance in protection and guarantees of the rights of indigenous peoples, Mother Earth, and Living Well, relative to other countries in this South American region. These countries are considered Andean primarily because their geographies share the Andes, the mountain range that runs along the western side of the American continent. Since the Andes extend from Venezuela to Argentina, we can speak of Andean or indigenous culture
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