Right to Justice and Diversity of the Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia

Abstract

This chapter reviews the political upheavals in Bolivia and the responses of the Indigenous people to political change from the 1950s agrarian reforms to the current period. Since the fundamental transformation in the form of citizen participation, redistribution of the land, the control of the State over the natural resources and the economy, universal suffrage and agrarian reform, the Indigenous peoples have been making themselves ‘visible’ to the government and mobilising for their rights. However, their expectations have seldom been met. The chapter reviews this experience. It also presents an account of the principles of Indigenous conflict resolution pursued in Bolivia, focussing in particular on the Aymara people, as an alternative approach to engaging with the State. The chapter concludes with a discussion about multiculturalism and interculturalism for the Bolivian state.

Fabiola Stephanie Vidaurre Belmonte studied law at the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, La Paz. She is working as Academic Responsible at the Postgraduate International Relations Department, Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolivia; Email: fabita1586@gmail.com. In 2014 she was invited to the 25th IPRA General Conference on “Uniting for Peace: Building Sustainable Peace through Universal Values” held in Istanbul, Turkey, to present her paper on Indigenous Conflict Resolution: Right to Justice and Diversity of the Indigenous peoples in Bolivia.