LTC Reprint No. 101 August 1973 U.S. ISSN 0084-0807 New Patrons for Old: Changing Patron-Client Reiationships in the Bolivian Yungas by Dwight B. Heath LAND TENURE CENTER University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706 Reprinted from Volume XI, No. 1, Jamuary, 1973 New Patrons For Old: Changing Patron-Client Relationships in the Bolivian Yungast Dwight B.Heath Brown University la are proud ben- campesinos of the yungas region of BL, The Aymara century South America. of the first social revolution in twentieth eficiaries 2 that brought the Nationalist Although they took no oart v, the fighting to power in 1052, they are still militant Revolutionary Movemenit (MNR) of the party that they say "gave [them] the conquests in support of tlat nationalization of namely: agrarian reform, universal suffrage, revolution, ' the most telling indication of mines, and educational reform." Perhaps the of the traditional quasi-feudal the quality of change since the overthrow which camrpesinos assert that "now system is the depth o,feeling with human beings!"' we are becoming or "victims" -to those affect!d--either as beneficiaries It is difficult for a revolu­ the pervasiveness of change in such do other than overestimate tht social scicntist who never suffered tionary setting. Neveitheless, a. a nor the anguish and discomfort of losing pain and humiliation of serfdom, in marked continuity in terms of firnctions, land and laboiers, I discern of when analyzing what has become spite of appreLiable formal change, in the yungas region of Bolivia. patronage, clientage, and power structures THE Sf'rnwr, in Bolivia, th, and immensely varied ecological niches Among the many uniiersal that their Aymara name has come into yungas are !o distinctive eastern of rugged montane iungle in the usage. They are areas arc. geographic in climate, and as spectacular as they range of the Andes-semitropical snow-fed peaks o,o0,0 feet high, towering over tortuous, with mountain feet valleys, sometimes little as 2,000 rivers that rush through narrow 8o covered (sometimnes as much as above sea level. The steep slopes are they have not been cleared for the per cent) with dense vegetation where coca ranged in narrow terraces cultivatinn of coffee or, more spectacularly, the contours of the hills. that follow of them free- the yungas are small-scale farmers, most Scattered through divided haciendas that used to predominate were holders since the large The of the agrarian reform enactcr' in x953. among former serfs as a result 75 76 ETHNOLOGY farmers are mostly Aymara-speaking few campesinos,5 although there settlements where Negroes predominate;o are a the Aymara my discussion will focus in the Province of Nor YUngas.7 on diverse: perhaps Their residence patterns are a third of them live in scattered equal numbers homesteads, with roughly living in towns (old commercial ters, dominated and administrative by whites and mestizos" cen­ 2,500), with total populations and in hamlets (with populations under under 150, including few non. campcsinos). There has been no ar:heological work in the horticultural Lecos area, but apparently the were driven northward when from the altiplano groups of Aymara came as nmiinaes (forcibly relocated the latter years communities) (luring of the Inca Empire. The cultivatio, portant of coca has been im­ ever since, providing a labor-intensive the mar in the densely popalarej crop easily transported to altiplano (about 6o miles the mountains). Only one community west, across chartcred in the region claims to have by the rown as a cornt,'ldad been indigena (an "indigenous com­ 11lity," with special (ollective divided into rights); most of the rest of the haciendas where the traditional area was quasi-feudal system of colonato prevailed until the Hacien(las MNR rvrlition. in th yuolgas were not as large as in many less mountainous areas,' and the beneficent made their homes climate was sitch that many there-in contrast with the of the hacendaldos predominant pattern of ab­ sentee landlords in other areas .'\ few sc.ittcred of colonato. gold mines in the arcs. were cr,.-"il period, worked bhiefly during the but only one is still aclive. Lumbering few isolated camps, is carried on in a which, like the mine, employ other mostly mestizos from areas. Ilnting and fiyhing animal husbandry play no role in the consists of a few pigs and local economy, and tended" chickens that scavenge unat­ and mules that are used for to the transport from thourghout the single road that provides a perilous region connection with the rest of the cotlntrv. In contrast with the altiplano and temperate no peasant uprisings valleys regions, there were in t.,c ",ungas throughut the pericds. The sporadic colonial "-rdrepublican sieges, massacres, and other served as periodic violent activities that outbursts against intercaste oppression unknown. Many or elsewhere were the rmost vocal and active patricia;; the War of Independence (anti-Royalists) in were from the yungas, refuge for beleaguered and the area served as a guerrillas during the the altiplano see-saw fighting that raged on for fourteen years before the Republic of Bolivia was estab­ lished in 1825. Throughout history, from the Inca period to the present, tributed little to the the yungas con­ rest of the country except coca-and taxes derived from it-and the ever-increasing got little in return." A railroad La Paz, the de facto capital intended to link of the country and also the major center, with the cattle-rich Department commercial to of Beni in the eastern lowlands have passed through the yungas, was but the project was abandoned ades ago before dec­ work had progressed that far. BOLrVMAN YUNGAS 77 One of the few material achievements of the Chaco War construction, by Paraguayan in the 1930s was prisoners of war, of a road connecting gas with La Paz. 12 Nevertheless, the yun­ the people of the yungas are like everywhere in decrying Bolivians that wasteful war that left both in political as well as countries bankrupt economic terms. However much they Bolivians also may deplore it, recognize the Chaco War as a critical that somehow event in their history laid the groundwork for the Revolution few have thought it through of 1952; although in such detail, most would probably the percep*vt- an-ilyses agree with of Patch (i96o) and Klein (1968) 3 One cannot on this subject.' understand any revolution except in ant revolts had historical context. Peas­ flared sporadically throughout the colo.ial period, Andes all during the and they continued in the republican characteristically period. They were violent, hut they were usually grievances, -ind in reaction to specific local were ciuickly and ruthlessly suppressed. communication There was little and less community of interest that among the peasants, so a successful revolution on the part of the Indians was out of the question. There were others who felt oppressed in a very different manner the Indian peasants. The from traditional coalition of landed gentry military shared a monop(ly and the of political power, in an oligarchic where few others had any access context to wealth." With commercial and istrative expansion came admin­ a growing middle class with rising They becane especially restive aspirations. when the C:hnco War clearly demonstrated that the traditional leailership was weak and that the old values did not with modern problems. The lo4os fit sow odivia opened as never before influences fmm withot; the to Allies wanted her rubber and tin, Axis spoke of the aliplano and the as "an unsinkable aircraft carrier." also brouthr deas. and Foreigners the Trotskyite Revolutionarv Workers' (Iartido (O:rro A.Rrolttcionario) Party Was founded at that time, Ma rxist Pa tv ,f tire Revolutionary as were the Left (Patrtito dt la lzquierda cfonaria) and 1h, e!cectic Rer'olu­ Nationalist Revollt nary Movement rliento,;Nacwr! ia (Movi­ Ree'ohu-ionario). This last part,, '1s a loose coalition the MNR, emerged of iOdividulals with a wide range left of tire of outlooks toward the political spectrum. Their first practical lid-Q. experience came in the 1 os when v'ictor Paz Lstenssoro and the ot!ier MNR activists served in cabinet of Mii. Gualherto Villarroel grcssive and pnr)pseO a variety of pro­ social legidaion. Trade unions were the readily established among miners, and the Interamerican Indigenist its congress Instittie was invited to hold in Bolivia. In conrection vith tie tional latter niet ing, the first Na­ Indian Congress was called, at which four decrees were issued that would have inderiined colonato if they had not been throughout generally ignored nearly aHlof When the country.n Villarroel's government fell to revolution n went into a year later, Victor Paz exile in Argentina. Virtually all Bolivians still were surprised when­ in exi lc-lie gaineld a Irlrality n the presidential election of 1951, hut the decision was referred to Congrcss because lie did not have an actual majority of the votes. A military junta intervened, but was deposed when .1".i 78 ETHNOLOGY the MNR finally came to power in a bloody revolution in the capital city, April 9-11, 1952. The accession to power of this party did not represent, as had many of Bolivia's previous so-called "revolutions," a mere changing of the palace guard and transfer of political incumbency from one Upper-class clique to another. The ievolution of 1952 wcs the basis of a real social revolution. It significantly altered the status of the former elite, and resulted in immediate and far-reaching modifications of political life and government policy that were subsequently codified in constitutional changes. The formal organiza­ tion of government continued much the same as before, although the locus of effective power was greatly altered.