Date: Sat, 27 Apr 1996 07:32:46 GMT
Sender: Activists Mailing List <ACTIV-L@MIZZOU1.MISSOURI.EDU>
Subject: NACLA: Report on Indigenous Movements: Introduction
/** nacla.report: 246.0 **/
** Topic: Report on Indigenous Movements: Introduction **
** Written 12:50 PM Apr 18, 1996 by nacla in cdp:nacla.report **
Year's Day, 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation--a
predominantly Maya guerrilla force--stormed onto the
Mexican political stage, raising issues of democracy and
justice that the national government had hoped could be
forgotten. This February, the government and the Zapatistas
signed an indigenous-rights accord which recognizes the
autonomy of Mexico's ten million indigenous citizens, and
their rights to multilingual education and
political representation. The agreement breaks much less new
ground on economic issues such as control of natural
resources and land redistribution. Since local and national
Congresses will have to carry out the changes, it remains to
be seen how meaningful the accord will be in practice.
Before 1980, indigenous organizing was largely confined to local communities. Organizations which united different indigenous groups were not common. Indigenous people who became involved in politics usually did so under the banner of the traditional left, which considered the indigenous struggle to be subordinate--or even inimical--to the larger class struggle. While the Zapatistas have captured the lion's share of public attention in the United States, indigenous movements throughout the hemisphere have been asserting their presence in national politics in unprecedented fashion in the 1990s. As this NACLA report details, indigenous peoples are forging strong national movements that are bringing together local organizations and regional federations. They have mustered more support by building alliances with other progressive sectors both at home and internationally. Even as they become active at the national level, the movements generally continue to practice a grassroots model of consensus-building and decision-making.
The current era, marked by the twin phenomena of democratization and neoliberalism, offers new opportunites but imposes new constraints. While democratization has opened up new spaces for civil organizing, the near-universal embrace of neoliberalism poses lethal dangers to rural indigenous economies. With the traditional left in decline, indigenous groups have stepped into the breach in many countries, becoming protagonists in the struggle against the neoliberal onslaught. A nationwide indigenous mobilization in Ecuador in 1994 foiled the government's attempt to ram through a neoliberal agrarian reform without any public discussion. The government was forced to sit down with indigenous leaders at the negotiating table and revise the law to incorporate their concerns. In Chile, Mapuches have been in the forefront of opposition to Chile's inclusion in NAFTA.
Constitutional rights have become another focal point of indigenous organizing. Thanks to indigenous activism, the new constitutions in Colombia and Brazil enshrine a number of indigenous rights. A principal demand of indigenous organizations in both Guatemala and Ecuador is the revision of the constitution to recognize those countries as plurinational states. Constitutional rights, however, translate unevenly into on-the-ground protections. In the current battle over indigenous land rights in Brazil, private landed interests have proven adept at steering the judicial and political system to their advantage, chipping away at established constitutional protections in the process.
Indigenous organizations have also begun to try their hand at
electoral politics. Given the historically high voter
abstention rates in indigenous communities--fueled by deep
distrust of traditional politics as well as needlessly
cumbersome registration and voting processes--this is a tough
row to hoe. In elections last year in Bolivia and Guatemala,
indigenous activists took office in a number of
municipalities. Colombia's 1991 Constitution sets aside two
seats in the national Senate for indigenous representatives.
Indigenous people's inexperience at manuevering in the
traditional game of party politics has hindered their ability
to effect change. Many find themselves relegated to the
margins, while others fall victim to state co-optation. The
movement is not immune to the vices of
politics as usual
either. Political in-fighting and caudillismo continue to
rear their heads.
For the region's indigenous movements, economic issues--in
particular, indigenous land rights--are inextricably linked
to their cultural survival. Many have abandoned the sterile
debate over whether ethnic identity or class is more
important. Today, the emphasis is on the natural linkages
between the two. As one observer in Ecuador comments,
are many reasons to believe that at the heart of the present
crisis of civilization, the hour of the indigenous people has