Indigenous Political Representation in Bolivia A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate in Political Science By TARA PARSONS Leslie Schwindt-Bayer, Dissertation Supervisor May 2013 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the Dissertation entitled INDIGENOUS POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN BOLIVIA Presented by Tara Parsons A candidate for the degree of Doctorate in Political Science And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Leslie Schwindt-Bayer Jay Dow Jonathon Krieckhaus Joan Hermson DEDICATION PAGE To my parents for their unwavering confidence in my abilities. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express great gratitude to Dr. Leslie Schwindt-Bayer for her guidance, assistance, and patience during this entire process. Additional gratitude is directed to Dr. Jay Dow, Dr. Jonathon Krieckhaus, and Dr. Joan Hermson for serving on my committee and providing support and constructive feedback along the way. The staff of the University of Missouri Political Science Department was instrumental in keeping me on track and sane during my time there. Field work was partially funded by the John D. Bies International Travel Scholarship facilitated through the University of Missouri Graduate School. I am thankful to Dr. Bies for his support of this project. I am particularly grateful for the assistance of David Stephenson, Executive Director of Engineers in Action, Mara Mamani, and Juanqui Pane. I am thankful to Bishop Eugenio Poma and Dr. German Crespo for their valuable time. I owe special gratitude to the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qollasuyu and the Bartolina Sisa Federation of Bolivian Peasant Women for opening their doors during my visit. Many personal thanks to my colleagues at the University of Missouri and James Madison University for their support, encouragement, and assistance. Even greater thanks to those who served as my rock throughout this entire process: my many family members as well as Nick Spina, Nathan Madden, Atreyee Sims, Christopher Raymond, Tucker Staley, Nicole Foster-Shoaf, Nisha Bellinger, and Melissa Connolly. Lars J. Kristiansen, this never would have come to fruition without your love and support. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ii List of Illustrations ............................................................................................................. vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................. vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Indigenous Peoples in Latin America ............................................................................ 2 Social Movements and Indigenous Parties .................................................................... 5 A Case Study of Bolivia ............................................................................................... 10 Organization ................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundations .................................................................................. 19 Parties and Party Systems ............................................................................................ 19 Functions of Political Parties ....................................................................................... 22 Origins of Parties ......................................................................................................... 23 Social Cleavages ..................................................................................................... 23 Social Explanations for Indigenous Political Party Emergence ............................. 26 Institutional Explanations ....................................................................................... 29 Institutional Explanations for Indigenous Political Party Emergence ................... 33 Recognition of Interactive Relationship....................................................................... 35 Weaknesses of These Explanations ............................................................................. 36 Incomplete Picture: Role of Context ............................................................................ 40 Indigenous Mobilization .......................................................................................... 41 Economic Pressures ................................................................................................ 47 Electoral Changes ................................................................................................... 48 iii Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter 3: Indigenous Party Emergence in Bolivia .......................................................... 52 Bolivia in Context ........................................................................................................ 52 Indigenous Social Mobilization ................................................................................... 53 Institutional Context ..................................................................................................... 60 Volatile Political Climate ........................................................................................ 60 Democratization ...................................................................................................... 63 Decentralization ...................................................................................................... 64 Economic Pressures ..................................................................................................... 66 Indigenous Political Parties .......................................................................................... 70 CONDEPA .............................................................................................................. 72 Eje Pachakutik ......................................................................................................... 73 MAS ......................................................................................................................... 74 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 78 Chapter 4: Indentifying Sources of Support ..................................................................... 80 Theoretical Explanations .............................................................................................. 81 Social Cleavages ..................................................................................................... 81 Electoral Rules ........................................................................................................ 82 Linkage .................................................................................................................... 85 Electoral Climate .......................................................................................................... 87 Bolivian Party System ............................................................................................. 89 Political Parties in 2002 Election ........................................................................... 90 Data and Method .......................................................................................................... 93 Dependent Variable ................................................................................................. 94 iv Independent Variables: Origins of MAS Support ................................................... 94 Results .......................................................................................................................... 98 Department Level .................................................................................................... 98 Province Level ....................................................................................................... 105 Electoral District Level ......................................................................................... 107 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 111 Chapter 5: Indigenous Party Representative Efforts ....................................................... 114 From Outsider to the Executive Branch ..................................................................... 115 Descriptive Representation ........................................................................................ 116 Indigenous Issue Areas .............................................................................................. 118 First Term Analysis .................................................................................................... 121 Education .............................................................................................................. 125 Capacity Development and Vocational Training .................................................. 126 Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property ................................................ 128