CENSUS 2012 - SURPRISING RESULTS

In November 2012, thousands of volunteers collected basic data about the Bolivian population in the latest census. Now, the official results are made public, and they offer some surprises.



Interviewing for the Census 2012 -
 source: http://www.opinion.com.bo/opinion/articulos/2013/0801/noticias.php?id=102037

First of all, the number of inhabitants in total and in the different states varies considerably between the preliminary results published in January and the now published official results (La Razón, 4 August 2013; Opinión 1 August 2013 a). The states of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz see the biggest loss of inhabitants between preliminary and official results (ibid.).

This inaccuracy points to problems such as interstate border issues that were not clarified before the census, and the late and insufficient briefing for those collecting the census data (La Razón, 4 August 2013). In any case, it is a political issue since part of the seats in the legislative organ, the Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional, is distributed to deputies from the different states according to the number of inhabitants in the states (Opinión, 1 August 2013 b).

A second surprising result is the question of ethnic self-identification (La Razón, 4 August 2013): 41 % of Bolivians self-identify as indigenous, 58 % as non-indigenous (ibid.). In 2001, 62 % of the population identified as indigenous (Eju, 5 August 2013), which gave impulse to the indigenous movement.

This information, first of all, will have to be scrutinized and compared with other census data such as language groups (La Razón, 4 August 2013), but it already has opened a debate about Bolivian indigenous politics.

“With the census, the lie was discovered”, says one commentator (Eju, 5 August 2013). Along these lines, the argument is that the government’s indigenous politics and the new Constitution have been inconsistent with Bolivia’s reality as a country that is not mainly indigenous (ibid.).

On the other hand, representatives of indigenous groups remark that it is worrying that self-identification as indigenous has diminished despite the rise of indigenous politics (ibid.). This shows the insufficiency of political action directed towards indigenous groups (ibid.).

President Morales is surprised by this result as well, debating that it shows either the decreasing importance of pertinence to social group, or it is a sign of “a bigger colonizing mentality” (ibid.). With this last comment, many members of the middle class have felt offended (ibid.).

The census data shows that Bolivia is a country of mestizos (i.e. people with mixed indigenous and non-indigenous roots), and that is has a considerable group of people self-identifying as indigenous. It is this reality that the government has not taken into account sufficiently, directing its discourse mainly towards the indigenous. The government needs to work for both mestizos and the indigenous and indeed work more strongly towards reconciling these groups.

 

REFERENCES

Eju (5 August 2013). Censo revela nuevo estado de mayoría mestiza y descoloca teoría indigenista del gobierno. Retrieved from http://eju.tv/2013/08/censo-revela-nuevo-estado-ahora-de-mayora-mestiza-no-indgena/

La Razón (4 August 2013). Dos sorpresas del censo. Retrieved from http://www.la-razon.com/opinion/columnistas/sorpresas-Censo_0_1882011784.html

Opinión (1 August 2013 a). Datos de Censo varían y Bolivia tiene menos habitantes. Retrieved from http://www.opinion.com.bo/opinion/articulos/2013/0801/noticias.php?id=102037

Opinión (1 August 2013 b). Cochabamba ganaría un escaño y Santa Cruz cuatro. Retrieved from http://www.opinion.com.bo/opinion/articulos/2013/0801/noticias.php?id=102036

BOLIVIA AFTER CHAVEZ

When Hugo Chavez died in early 2013, Bolivia’s Evo Morales was deeply shocked. He accompanied the coffin of his mentor and Bolivia, like Venezuela, held 7 days of mourning after Chavez’ death (Pulsamerica, 11 March 2013).

With Chavez, Morales did not only lose a mentor for his “Socialism of the 21^st century”, but also the guarantee for economic and international political support (Al Jazeera, April 2013). The important social programme “Evo Cumple” – “Evo keeps his promise” was funded by Venezuelan sources (ibid.). After Chavez’ death, the continuation of all these aspects of support was uncertain (ibid.).

Elections were called in Venezuela, and despite protests from the opposition regarding unfair elections, Nicolas Maduro was sworn in as the new president in April 2013 (BBC, 19 April 2013). Maduro, a former bus driver, functioned as foreign minister under Chavez (Huffington Post, 19 April 2013).

And Maduro has shown that Venezuela’s support for Bolivia will be kept up: bilateral contracts were continued in May 2013 (Eju, 31 May 2013). Maduro also declared that “who messes with Bolivia messes with Venezuela” (El Imparcial, 4 July 2013).

Thus, Morales has found a new ally in Maduro. But the money that keeps flowing from Venezuela is not a present; it is an international debt that Bolivia keeps accumulating (Eju, 31 May 2013). And it is money that the people of Venezuela that suffer from the scarcity of even the most basic goods like toilet paper or milk would need urgently themselves (Eju, 15 June 2013).

 

REFERENCES

Al Jazeera (April 2013). Bolivia without Hugo Chavez. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2013/04/20134764150239799.html

BBC (19 April 2013). Nicolas Maduro sworn in as new Venezuelan president. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22220526

El Imparcial (4 July 2013). ‘Quien se mete con Bolivia se mete con Venezuela’: Maduro Retrieved from http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Internacional/04072013/723398-Quien-se-mete-con-Bolivia-se-mete-con-Venezuela-Maduro.html

Eju (31 May 2013). Venezuela flaquea y Bolivia se endeuda. Retrieved from http://eju.tv/2013/05/venezuela-flaquea-y-bolivia-se-endeuda/

Eju (15 June 2013). Nexos entre Evo y Maduro. Retrieved from http://eju.tv/2013/06/nexos-entre-evo-y-maduro/

Huffington Post (19 April 2013). Nicolas Maduro to be sworn in as Venezuelan president. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/19/nicolas-maduro-sworn-in-venezuela-president_n_3115289.html

Pulsamerica (11 March 2013). Bolivia: Morales mourns Chávez. Retrieved from http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/2013/03/11/bolivia-morales-mourns-chavez-kidnapped-mennonites-oruro-airport-controversy/

SO, WHAT ABOUT RELIGION?

Maria has heard the calling. She spends every Saturday at her local Adventist church, praising the Lord. She has found a good husband who pays ten percent of their monthly income to this church. She is raising two children in the Adventist spirit, which also means that her kids attend the school run by the Adventists. Lately, she thinks that it would be best for everyone not to eat meat. For some time already, she has given up on alcohol and also wants her husband to do the same.

Like Maria, many people across Bolivia and Latin America in general have become members of a Protestant congregation. Be it the Adventists, the Pentecostal church, the Mormons, or smaller, locally founded congregations, protestant movements are growing in popularity in Latin America  (Dove, 2013). According to surveys, up to 25 % of the Bolivian population are part of Protestant congregations (Eju, 2011; La Razon, 2012). About 341 of such congregations are registered in the country at the moment (La Razon, 2012).

Politically and socially, these movements have filled niches in Bolivia: They are new actors that provide an alternative to the traditional synthesis of religion, politics, society, and economy (Knowlton, 1991). Also, these actors fill the considerable gaps in the provision of basic services such as schooling and nutrition, particularly in the countryside (ibid.).

The Protestant congregations are growing rapidly since they are more proactive than the Catholic Church in recruiting participants, and they are closer to people’s everyday worries (Peralta, 2013; SFChronicle, 2001). The Protestant priests usually stem from the local community and celebrate their faith in ways that fit with the local culture (SFChronicle, 2001).

Furthermore, the congregations function as “surrogate communities”, providing security in difficult socio-economic circumstances (Peralta, 2013). This explains why particularly migrants from rural areas are drawn to these communities (ibid.). El Alto, an important arrival town for migrants from the highlands, is the city with the highest membership in Protestant churches in Bolivia (ibid.).
 

A Protestant  Ministry in Cochabamba

With these Protestant churches, new ideas have been brought to Bolivia, such as vegetarianism or abstinence from alcohol (Knowlton, 1991). Since Protestant congregations have not been around for a long time in comparison to the Catholic Church, it will be interesting to observe how these communities shape people’s values and everyday lives in the long run.
The Protestant congregations are also new institutional actors in Bolivia’s social and political landscape, and their emergence echoes deeper conflicts and problems, such as the lack of basic services and the dominant role of the Catholic Church (Knowlton, 1991). The emergence of radical Protestant communities might add the distinction between believers and non-believers to the multitude of social distinctions in Bolivia.
Another issue that is problematic in social terms is the customary payment of the “diezmo”, ten percent of the monthly income, to the congregation. The “diezmo” is seen as a proof of one’s faith (Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días, 2013), but it is an economic burden on the population of the poorest country in South America. While the priests raise a considerable income through the “diezmo”, the mass of believers might just be sacked of the income they would need for covering their needs.
All in all, the rapid growth of Protestant congregations is an issue to be observed when critically analysing Bolivian society.

 

REFERENCES

Dove, S. (2013). Protestantism in Latin America. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0087.xml

Eju TV (2011). Bolivia. Destacan el elevado indice de Cristianos en el eje central; el 81 % es catolico. Retrieved from http://eju.tv/2011/04/bolivia-destacan-el-elevado-ndice-de-cristianos-en-el-eje-central-el-81-es-catlico/

Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días (2013). Las bendiciones del diezmo. Retrieved from http://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/03/the-blessings-of-tithing?lang=spa

SFChronicle (2001). Bolivia’s Christian Soldiers. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bolivia-s-Christian-Soldiers-Protestant-2969986.php#page-1

Knowlton, D. C. (1991). Social and Political Issues of Protestantism in Bolivia. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/2007637/SOCIAL_AND_POLITICAL_ISSUES_OF_PROTESTANTISM_IN_BOLIVIA

La Razon (2012). Evangelicos piden que el diezmo esté fuera del control tributario. Retrieved from http://www.la-razon.com/nacional/Evangelicos-piden-diezmo-control-tributario_0_1565843446.html

Peralta, P. (2013). Fieles religiosos en Bolivia. Aun prevalecen los catolicos pero hay un repunte de los evangelicos. Retrieved from http://www.lafronterados.com/2013/05/los-fieles-religiosos-en-bolivia-aun.html

THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF QUINUA

The United Nations have declared 2013 the International Year of Quinua, a year of campaigns advocating the production and consumption of this highly nutritive crop (UN News Centre, 2013). Apart from providing a valuable basis for nutrition all over the world, it is also promoted as a source of income for small scale farmers (ibid.).

And indeed, in Bolivia, Quinua has been produced by small-scale farmers in very harsh conditions in the highlands, and it is being adapted for production in other areas of Bolivia (and the world) as well (Los Tiempos, 2 June 2013). And proudly, Bolivia has invited international buyers to visit the sites of Quinua production (El Diario, 2013).

But what is in this for Bolivia?

"As the price has risen quinoa is consumed less and less in Bolivia. It's worth more to them [the producers] to sell it or trade it for pasta and rice. As a result, they're not eating it any more", writes The Guardian (2013). This coincides with the observations I made during my fieldwork in Bolivia. With its international popularity, Quinua has become much more expensive than other staple foods.

In Bolivia, it is now valued by middle- and upper-class families as a healthy food. And also the internal supply chain is changing – while Quinua used to be sold and bought at the traditional markets, the urban elites prefer to buy it already packed in the trendy supermarkets.

The consumption of Quinua is changing markedly, from a traditional staple food to a global trendy health food. And these changes will have negative impacts on the sustainability of the production of this grain, which is still mainly produced in the fragile ecosystems of the Andes.

So what needs to be done for the boom of Quinua to be ecologically and socially sustainable is to work on its production and distribution as well. Only if the sustainable production of this crop is fostered in different regions of the world, the Andean ecosystems can survive this boom.

Quinua has been promoted as “The golden grain, a gift of the Andes to the world” (Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, 2012). And indeed, Quinua has been taken from Bolivia like a gift, like gold has been taken since colonial times, without any promises for benefits for Bolivia. So the Bolivians have to be very careful with this gift – they have to know its value and insist on Quinua being traded on fair terms and being produced in an ecologically sustainable manner, if they don’t want the Quinua boom to sack Bolivia of its Golden grain.

El Diario (2013). De varios continentes llegaron compradores de Quinua real Boliviana. Retrieved from

http://www.eldiario.net/noticias/2013/2013_05/nt130510/agraria.php?n=99&-de-varios-continentes-llegaron-compradores-de-quinua-real-boliviana

Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (2012). Quinua – grano de Oro, un regalo de los Andes al mundo. La Paz

Guardian Environment Network (25 January 2013). Quinua: good, evil, or just really complicated? Retrieved from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/25/quinoa-good-evil-complicated

Los tiempos (2 June 2013). Quinua, un cultivo exitoso en el valle. Retrieved from

http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/local/20130602/quinua-un-cultivo-exitoso-en-el-valle_215242_463038.html

The Economist (12 May 2012). The Andes’ new cash crop. Retrieved from

http://www.economist.com/node/21554570

UN News Centre (20 February 2013). UN kicks off “Year Of Quinua” with focus on world nutrition. Retrieved from

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44184&Cr=quinoa&Cr1=#.UbWlssXmT_t

SOCCER POLITICS

Every Sunday afternoon, this city of millions stands still. The area around the stadium is practically closed down, with people queuing to enter the weekly soccer match. Who is playing? Maybe one of the local teams, the celebrated Aurora, or Wilstermann who just ascended from the second league, against a visiting team from the highlands or the tropics, or the Tigre from La Paz...it really doesn’t matter. Soccer is soccer!

So sometimes I sneek in, take a seat somewhere, and watch the preparations for the game: policemen with dogs, checking the soccer ground, the teams, posing for photos, innumerable amounts of vendors selling 2l bottles of soft drinks, empanadas, and ice cream. A kid offers me a seat with a piece of rubber foam over the concrete, for 10 cents.

Then, I don’t really understand a lot of what is going on during the soccer game. But the end, that is the best part. The audience gets so emotional that the losing team has to leave through an inflatable tunnel. Shame on them! And in any case, whoever wins or loses, there is one culprit: The referee and his assistants. He is always biased and bribed! So people throw whatever serves at him – bottles, food, verbal insults. And the police, as usual, escorts the referee out, covering him with their plastic shields. This is the ritual I am here for:  Whatever you suffered during the week – you can always blow off steam on Sundays, insulting the referee as much as you can!

And the president loves soccer as well. In 2007, he led the complaint against FIFA, who had decided to ban international soccer games at altitudes above 2,500m. A pity for Bolivia, a high altitude country. The stadium in its de facto capital La Paz is situated at about 3,800 m above sea level! So something had to be done, and Evo won (CBC news, June 2007). Hurray!

Soccer plays an important role in the current president’s political strategy. At high-level international meetings, such as the Ibero-American meeting of Spanish-speaking nations last November, Evo never forgets to participate in a soccer game (El Deber, Nov 2012). He is also currently organising a historic friendship game between famous Bolivian and Argentinean soccer players (Terra, Dec. 2012).

But also in domestic politics, the president has discovered the significance of soccer. The programme “Bolivia cambia – Evo cumple” (Bolivia changes – Evo keeps his word) is destined towards projects of public infrastructure all over the country that are constructed under supervision of the presidential office. In 2012, 178 projects were funded through this programme, and 179,580,000 Bolivianos spent (Radio Fides, January 2013). In Euros: 19,500,000. And what was the money spent on?

21,000,000 Bolivianos, about 12 %, went into the construction of sports grounds, three times more than what was spent on health infrastructure (ibid.).

The communities might be happy with this visible present from their president. Driving through the Bolivian countryside, you might find villages without schools, but never without a soccer ground. So the kids are all going to become professional soccer players? Hardly. A project manager at a Bolivian NGO posed a central question: What is the use of soccer grounds if our kids do not have access to an adequate nutrition and health services?

And indeed, it can be observed that many soccer grounds are empty. People in the communities have found another use for them. They use its concrete floor to dry their harvest. A productive side effect of Evo’s soccer politics!

And what is Evo up to while the people struggle for their survival? Correct – he plays soccer! State television on channel 7 is transmitting his third game today.

REFERENCES

CBC News (June 2007). FIFA raises altitude limit.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2007/06/27/fifa-altitude.html

El Deber (November 2012). Evo hace calentamiento para la cumbre jugando futbol. http://www.eldeber.com.bo/evo-hace-el-calentamiento-para-la-cumbre-jugando-al-futbol/121116100635

Terra (December 2012). Evo Morales anuncia que jugará futbol en la “Bombonera”.

http://noticias.terra.com.ar/politica/evo-morales-anuncia-que-jugara-futbol-en-la-bombonera,77e16d44edcbb310VgnCLD2000000dc6eb0aRCRD.html

Radio Fides (January 2013). Programa Evo Cumple gasta tres veces mas en canchas deportivas que en postas de salud.

http://www.radiofides.com/noticia/economia/Programa_Evo_Cumple_gasta_tres_veces_mas_en_canchas_deportivas_que_en_postas_de_salud

WORLD FOOD DAY, 16 OCTOBER: BOLIVIAN DEBATES

One could expect that, on the occasion of World Food Day, the Bolivian press would bring up the most burning issues in the area of food and agriculture for Bolivia. So let’s take a look at the press coverage.

While the reports took up declarations from the government and FAO, there was unusual silence about statements from civil society organisations, which probably indicates that there were no significant statements made from that side.

On the occasion of World Food Day, the Bolivian government ratified the “Law of Mother Earth and Integral Development for the Good Life” (Ley de la Madre Tierra y Desarrollo Integral para Vivir Bien). Two central objectives of this law are to counteract the concentration of land in the hands of few, and to ban genetically modified crops from Bolivia (Durán, 17 October 2012).

As Durán (17 October 2012) comments, these objectives stand in contrast with current government policies. National food security is ensured in close cooperation with private agricultural businesses, and 70 % of Bolivian soy production stems from genetically modified seeds (ibid.). Also, within the “Agrarian, Productive and Communitarian Revolution” proclaimed by the government in mid 2011, a central project is the construction of fertilizer plants (ibid.).

While Durán suggests that the objectives of the new agricultural law are simply out of place since private property and genetically modified seeds are necessary to establish food security, an observer more sympathetic to the ideas presented by the government at least has to say: Implementing the new law will require a full turnaround in government policies.

The government itself, however, seems to be happy on the occasion of World Food Day. As the vice-minister of Rural Development states, the production of food has increased during 2012, thus ensuring “food security with sovereignty” (El Diario, 17 October 2012). For him, this is due to the national projects supporting particularly small-scale farmers (ibid.). At the same time, the minister mentions that the most important agricultural products have been sugar cane and soya – which are produced in large-scale cultivations by agribusinesses (Quispe, 16 October 2012).

This contradiction brings out an actual lack of support for small-scale farmers, a conclusion that is confirmed by statements of the La Paz office of the Food and Agricultural Organisation FAO on the occasion of World Food Day. FAO will be supporting small-scale producers in the production and marketing of ecological products, in order to insert these farmers better in the market (ABI, 15 October 2012). The organisation also stated the necessity to create a programme of family subsidies in order to ensure the right to food (Quispe, 16 October 2012). The percentage of Bolivians suffering from hunger has lowered slightly, but still stands at 24 % of the population (ibid.). The population most affected by food insecurity are small-scale farmers (ibid.). Thus, in line with its ideology and the new agricultural law, the government will have to think seriously about support for small-scale farmers.

It seems, however, that the government is busy with a different topic. On World Food Day, a Chinese online newspaper reminded us that 2013 will be the international year of Quinua (people daily, 17 October 2012). During this year, Bolivian president Evo Morales and FAO will be promoting the nutritional advantages of the Andean grain and its potential to contribute to world food security (ibid.).

Worldwide, Bolivia is the main exporter of Quinua (ibid.), and the grain is produced in the harsh highlands by small-scale farmers. So this will be an issue to watch. Because while Quinua will be promoted as the miracle grain to feed the world, small farmers in the Bolivian highlands might give away their source of subsistence for export, be replaced by agribusinesses – or find a sustainable way to use their miracle grain. But this will only happen if they are accompanied by smart and consistent government policies.

REFERENCES

Durán, G. P. (17 October 2012). Contradictórias políticas de gobierno. Jornada. Retrieved from http://www.jornadanet.com/Opinion/n.php?a=3263

El Diario (17 October 2012). Bolivia garantizó la seguridad alimentaria durante este año. Retrieved from: http://www.fmbolivia.com.bo/noticia99995-bolivia-garantizo-la-seguridad-alimentaria-durante-este-ano.html

Quispe, A. (16 October 2012). FAO plantea subsidio para garantizar la alimentación. La Razón. Retrieved from: http://www.la-razon.com/economia/FAO-plantea-subsidio-garantizar-alimentacion_0_1706829345.html

ABI (15 October 2012). FAO apoya a más de 8.000 productores ecológicos para reducir el hambre y la pobreza. Retrieved from: http://www.fmbolivia.com.bo/noticia99859-fao-apoya-a-mas-de-8000-productores-ecologicos-para-reducir-el-hambre-y-la-pobreza.html

People Daily (17 October 2012). Especial: Bolivia y FAO promoverán bondades de Quinua desde la ONU. Retrieved from: http://spanish.peopledaily.com.cn/31617/7979815.html

CENSUS 2012: ACCOUNTING FOR IDENTITY

Hardly on the same bench: Indigenous and non-indigenous Bolivians

In November 2012, the next census of the Bolivian population will take place. But what could be seen as a simple statistical task has become highly politicized.

The issue the whole country has been debating is question number 29, asking about the interviewee’s ethnic identity (Salazar, August 2012). The original wording of question 29, as presented by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística in August 2012, was: “Are you part of an indigenous or afro-Bolivian nation or people?” (¿Pertenece a alguna nación o pueblo indígena originario campesino o afroboliviano?) The possible answers were to declare oneself part of one of the 36 officially recognized peoples listed, or to declare oneself “none” (“ninguno”) (Salazar, August 2012).

The wording “ninguno” turned out to be highly polemic, because who would want to be “none”, or in the more literal translation “no one”?

In the last census, in 2001, the question of ethnicity was incorporated for the first time, with the same wording as  proposed for this year (Mesa, August 2012). Back then, 38 % of the Bolivian population did not identify as part of an indigenous people and thus declared themselves “ninguno” (ibid.). The result served to mark Bolivia officially as a country with an indigenous majority, a majority which had, however, been historically discriminated against (ibid.). This realisation was perfect support for the indigenous movement in Bolivia, which should take over the political power with the victory of Evo Morales and his Movimiento Al Socialismo in the 2005 presidential elections.

Since then, the political discourse in Bolivia has changed drastically. The Republic of Bolivia has become the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and the new constitution, approved in 2009, acknowledges 36 “indigenous nations” within Bolivia (ibid.). But instead of closing the gap of discriminations and inequalities between the indigenous and the non-indigenous population, it seems that the politics of the Morales government have led to an increased fragmentation of Bolivian society. Racism remains an important problem, and the population feels a form of “reversed racism”: More than half of the non-indigenous population claim to have been discriminated against by members of the indigenous population (Los Tiempos, 6 August 2012). And although social mobility has not improved greatly in Bolivia, there have been conflicts between established urban elites and “new rich” members of the indigenous population (PNUD, 2011).

It is because of this polarization of Bolivian society why, in this year’s census, the non-indigenous population does not want to be “no one”, does not want to be made invisible in favour of the politically convenient indigenous identity of Bolivia (Mesa, August 2012).

The government has recognized the conflictive nature of question 29 and hurried to find alternative wordings. After all, the government wants the census to be representative and not to be used as a platform for political declarations, such as a higher than actual number of “no ones” in protest against this wording (Salazar, August 2012). And that the Bolivian population is capable of such forms of protest has shown in the last rounds of local elections, where a majority of votes was not valid (ibid.).

But what would the alternative to “no one” be? It has been suggested to call the non-indigenous population “mestizos”, a term that has created even greater difficulties (Los Tiempos, 6 August 2012). First of all, the term “mestizo” has been considered racist, since it was introduced by the Spaniards in order to distinguish those who were born to a white father / mother and an indigenous mother / father (ibid.). And then, it is hard to determine who in Bolivia would not be genetically “mestizo” (Salazar, August 2012). The government itself seems to have a conflict over this definition. While vice-president Garcia Linera declared that “all peoples, all cultures are biologically mestizos” (ibid., par. 2), the Minister of Decolonization states that there is no mestizo culture, compared to the “pure” Aymara culture (ibid., par. 12).

Therefore, the option “mestizo” has been abandoned as well, since it did not prove to be less polemic. The current wording of question 29 is: Being Bolivian, are you part of an indigenous or afro-Bolivian nation or people? The answers are: “Yes”, indicating one of the 36 indigenous nationalities listed, “No”, or “No, I am not Bolivian” (ibid.). This wording seems to have calmed the situation, since it starts from the premise that everybody is, firstly, Bolivian, and then belongs or does not belong to an indigenous nation (Mesa, August 2012).

As small as this change seems, it indicates that Bolivian identities need to be conceptualised carefully, with the deeply rooted historical fragmentations in mind, and that there is an urgent need for a common sense of “Bolivianness”.

REFERENCES

Los Tiempos (6 August 2012). La mayoría se reconoce y siente mestizo. Special Edition on the Bolivian National Holiday.

Mesa, C. (August 2012). ¿Naciones? Commentary by Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert. Retrieved from http://carlosdmesa.com/2012/08/28/naciones/#more-1709

PNUD – Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo. (2011). Los cambios detrás del cambio. Desigualdades y movilidad social en Bolivia. (The changes behind the "process of change". Inequality and social mobility in Bolivia.).  La Paz: PNUD.

Salazar, J. C. (August 2012). Sin Dios ni Patria. Nueva Cronica y Buen Gobierno, 2da. quincena de agosto 2012, p. 5