Indigenous peoples in Bolivia, or Native Bolivians, are Bolivian people who are of indigenous ancestry. They constitute anywhere from 40 to 70% of Bolivia's population of 11,306,341, depending on different estimates, and belong to 36 recognized ethnic groups. Aymara and Quechua are the largest groups. The geography of Bolivia includes the Andes, the Gran Chaco, and the Amazon Rainforest.
An additional 30-68% of the population is mestizo, having mixed European and indigenous ancestry.
Lands
Lands collectively held by Indigenous Bolivians are Native Community Lands or Tierras Comunitarias de Origen (TCOs). These lands encompass 11 million hectares, and include communities such as Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory, Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve and Communal Lands, and the Yuki-Ichilo River Native Community Lands.
Rights
In 1991, the Bolivian government signed the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, a major binding international convention protecting indigenous rights. On 7 November 2007, the government passed Law No. 3760 which approved of UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In 1993, the Law of Constitutional Reform recognized Indigenous Rights.
Social protests and political mobilization
Revolution: 1952
Historically Indigenous people in Bolivia suffered many years of marginalization and a lack of representation. However it was in the last decades of the twentieth century that saw a surge of political and social mobilization in Indigenous communities. The 1952 Bolivian National Revolution that liberated Bolivians and gave Indigenous peoples citizenship still gave little to political representation to Indigenous communities. It was in the 1960s and 1970s that social movements such as the Kataraista movement began to also include Indigenous concerns. The Katarista movement, consisting of the Aymara communities, of La Paz and the altiplano, attempted to mobilize the Indigenous community and pursue an Indigenous political identity through mainstream politics and life. Although The Katarista movement failed to create a national political party, the movement influenced many peasant unions such as the Confederacion Sindical de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (Unitary Syndial Confederation of Peasant Workers in Bolivia). The Katarista movement of the 1970s and 80's died out by the end of the decade however many of the same concerns and issues rose again in the 1990s.
Social movement: 1990s and 2000s
The 1990s saw a large surge of political mobilization for Indigenous communities. President Sánchez de Lozada passed reforms such as the 1993 Law of Constitutional Reform to acknowledge Indigenous rights in Bolivian culture and society. However, many of these reforms fell short as the government continued to pass destructive environmental and anti-indigenous rules and regulations. A year after the 1993 Law of Constitutional Reform passed recognizing Indigenous Rights, the 1994 Law of Popular Participation decentralized political structures giving municipal and local governments more political autonomy. Two years later the 1996 Electoral Law greater expanded Indigenous political rights as the national congress transitioned into a hybrid proportional system, increasing the number of Indigenous representatives.
Environmental injustice became a polarizing issue as many Indigenous communities protested against government-backed privatization and eradication of natural resources and landscapes. Coca leaf production is an important sector of the Bolivian economy and culture, especially for campesinos and Indigenous peoples. The eradication of coca production, highly supported by the U.S. and its War on Drugs and the Bolivian government spurred heavy protests by the Indigenous community. One of the main leaders of the coca leaf movement, Evo Morales became a vocal opponent against state efforts to eradicate coca. The coca leaf tensions began in the region of Chapare in 2000 and became violent as protests against police officials and residents began. During this time protestors organized road blockades, and traffic stops to protest low prices. Coca leaf producers continued to resist the government's policies on production further devaluing the peso and seized control of the peasant confederation (Confederation Sindical Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia). With Evo Morales' leadership the cocaceleros were able to form coalitions with other social groups and eventually create a political party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS).