Why No Mayan Party? Indigenous Movements and National Politics in Guatemala

Unlike indigenous social movements in several other Latin American countries, Mayan movements in Guatemala have not formed a viable indigenous‐based political party. Despite the prominence of the Mayan social movement and a relatively open institutional environment conducive to party formation, indigenous groups have foregone a national political party in favor of a more dispersed pattern of political mobilization at the local level. This article argues that the availability of avenues for political representation at the municipal level, through both traditional political parties and civic committees, and the effects of political repression and violence have reinforced the fragmentation and localism of indigenous social movements in Guatemala and prevented the emergence of a viable Mayan political party. The result has been a pattern of uneven political representation, with indigenous Guatemalans gaining representation in local government while national political institutions remain exclusionary.     

The Shi'a of Saudi Arabia: a minority in search of cultural authenticity

This article focuses on the transformation of Saudi Shi'a resistance from one which centred on military confrontation in the 1980s to one which invokes searching for cultural authenticity (al‐asala al‐shi'iyya) in the 1990s. Today the struggle of the Shi'a for equal status among the Sunni majority draws attention to the attempts of Shi'a intellectuals to write their own regional history. Shi'a intellectuals and opposition leaders deconstruct official representations of themselves and provide alternative historical narratives which anchor their community in Saudi history and society, thus dismissing suggestions that they are a non‐indigenous community. This article examines Shi'a historical narratives in an attempt to understand the transformation in their struggle against discrimination in Saudi Arabia.     

‘The Root Is Maya,the Practice Is Pluralist’: Xel‐jú and Indigenous Political Mobilisation in Quetzaltenango,Guatemala

Since the 1990s Latin America has witnessed the emergence of ethnic, often social movement‐based, political parties. Within this context Rigoberto Quemé Chay became the first indigenous mayor of Quetzaltenango, the second‐largest city of Guatemala, a place that until then had been marked by indigenous political exclusion and racism. This article seeks to explain why Quemé was victorious in 1995 and also why he subsequently lost the election in 2004 through an analysis of the ideational struggle within the (indigenous) political organisation, Xel‐jú, which backed Quemé's candidacy twice. I use the movements of ‘departure’, ‘manoeuvre’ and ‘arrival’ in the process of the constitution of hegemonic visions of power to analyse Xel‐jú's rise to political power.     

‘Paz,progreso, justicia y honradez’: law and citizenship in Alta Verapaz during the regime of Jorge Ubico⋆

Prospects for the ‘rule of law’ in the present are shaped by historical experiences of law by elite and non‐elite groups in the past. In this article I explore changing conceptions and practices of‘rights’and‘justice’as expressed in the legal and administrative encounters between indigenous people and state officials during the regime of Jorge Ubico (1931–1944). The extension of the state's coercive and administrative apparatus to remote rural areas, new legislation and changes in public administration transformed relations between working people, coffee fmqueros and the state in Guatemala. This implied new obligations and exactions for Mayans, but also provided them with new opportunities to contest and negotiate their conditions. Indigenous people strategically engaged with the law to contest the terms of their domination by elite actors and to mediate conflicts between themselves. As state ideologies of‘moral behaviour’led to increasing regulation of the private sphere, this was particularly important in the case of conflicts over gendered rights and obligations. Although formally excluded from the category of citizens, indigenous people used the official language and discourse of citizenship to further their claims, in turn reshaping Guatemalan nation‐state.     

Social Capital,Migration and Development in the Valles Centrales of Oaxaca,Mexico: Non‐Migrants and Communities of Origin Matter

This article investigates the importance of place‐of‐origin communities to an understanding of the impact of migrant remittances on local development, employing the concept of social capital. Two aspects of social capital (each present prior to migration) are shown to be of significance–family relationships and community organisation. Drawing on recent research in two peasant communities in Oaxaca, Mexico, social capital is used to examine the relevance of non‐migrants in shaping the outcomes of migration in communities of origin. Evaluation of migrant remittances and home‐town associations demonstrates the developmental significance of non‐migrants and communities of origin.     

The Chilean exception: racial homogeneity,mestizaje and eugenic nationalism

Scholarship on race in Latin America has overwhelmingly characterized racial mixture as a unique feature of the political and social landscape there. Studies of eugenics in Latin America especially highlight the relative pragmatism regarding race mixing in contrast to eugenics elsewhere. However, an acceptance of race mixing did not preclude the persistence of racial hierarchy among Latin American racial theorists. Examining the development of eugenics in Chile, this article reveals how notions of racial plasticity existed alongside that of racial superiority. Specifically, it contends that Chilean racial exceptionalism in the early twentieth century was predicated on the idea that some types of racial mixture were better than others. Conveniently for Chileans, their mostly indigenous and European ancestry was one such preferred combination. Yet, racial mixing was only desirable insofar as it resulted in a homogeneous national population. This combination of ideas functioned much like white supremacy in other parts of the world. Using historical texts, popular and medical periodicals, and visual images produced between 1900 and 1950, this paper will demonstrate how race science in Chile reconciled the nation’s history of racial mixture with its claims to racial homogeneity and superiority relative to the rest of Latin America.     

Putting the market in its place: food security in three Mapuche communities in southern Chile

This article analyzes the impact of state policies since the 1970s on household food security in several Mapuche communities in the Araucanía region of Chile (Region IX). The author highlights key transformations in the national economy and food system and endeavors to link those to local phenomena, in particular the absorption of the local livelihood strategies and food systems into capitalist markets and the high incidences of food insecurity. The article concludes that a reconceptualization of macroeconomic and indigenous policies are required to rebuild the material and social foundations of rural Mapuche communities that provide the bases from which their inhabitants can reconstruct a mutually beneficial relationship with the broader Chilean society and avert the continued acceleration of tension and violence.     

The politics of indigenous land rights Brazil

Brazilian indigenous rights policy has been exclusionary. As a result indigenous people and their supporters have mobilised and politicised indigenous issues. Politicisation led to inclusion of indigenous rights in the 1988 Constitution. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that this process led to a retrenchment of interests opposed to indigenous rights. This analysis compares the asymmetric access to the policy‐formation process granted to political and economic interests and indigenous people. The argument is that democratisation has yet to open the policy‐making process to disenfranchised groups such as indigenous people. To illustrate the argument evidence of setbacks to indigenous land rights is examined.     

Indigenous Autonomy and the Contradictions of Plurinationalism in Bolivia

The government of Bolivia led by President Evo Morales and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party claims to be constructing a new postliberal or plurinational state. However, this alleged experiment in plurinationalism conflicts with two central elements of government and MAS party strategy: the expansion of the economic development model based on the extraction of non‐renewable natural resources, and the MAS's efforts to control political space, including indigenous territories. This article analyzes these contradictions by examining how Bolivia's constitution and legal framework appear to support indigenous autonomy while simultaneously constraining it. Specifically, it explores how political and bureaucratic processes have seriously limited opportunities to exercise indigenous rights to autonomy. The article makes a comparative analysis of the implications of Bolivia's experience for indigenous autonomy and plurinationalism for other resource extraction–dependent states.     

Behind the ‘Miracle’: Non‐Traditional Agro‐Exports and Water Stress in Marginalised Areas of Ica,Peru

Expansion in the non‐traditional agricultural export sector following neoliberal reform has precipitated an economic transformation in Peru. Non‐traditional agricultural export growth has brought environmental, social and distributive costs. This article critically examines the Peruvian asparagus boom and the impact of this on water availability among marginal groups. Based on primary case study fieldwork, the paper asserts that the agro‐export model is causing the over‐exploitation of important groundwater supplies in the Ica Valley where almost all of Peru's fresh asparagus is produced. This reveals wider issues concerning neoliberal development and the political economy of natural resource allocation in Latin America.     

“Corporatism With Adjectives”? Conceptualizing Civil Society Incorporation and Indigenous Participation in Latin America

Ethnodevelopment is a relatively new type of participatory policy that targets the poverty of marginalized ethnic groups with a focus on identity and self‐management. While observers have recognized the empirical significance of this new paradigm, little has been done to conceptualize ethnodevelopment. This article argues that national‐level ethnodevelopment implementation is a form of corporatism. Examining ethnodevelopment institutions in Ecuador, it shows that the state has structured, subsidized, and partially controlled the indigenous sector through ethnodevelopment policies and agencies. However, certain components of classical corporatism, such as monopolies of representation, do not characterize this paradigm. This article therefore classifies ethnodevelopment as a diminished subtype of corporatism. It challenges corporatism's long association with a particular historical period in the region and finds that Latin American states and social groups have called on historical institutional repertoires in responding to the newly salient ethnic cleavage in the region.     

Welfare Regimes in Latin America: Capturing Constellations of Markets,Families, and Policies

This article presents both a theoretical framework and a methodology that attempt to capture the complex interactions among labor markets, families, and public policy that currently constitute Latin American welfare regimes. Drawing on cluster analysis based on available data for 18 countries, the study identifies three welfare regimes. Two are state welfare regimes: protectionist (e.g. Costa Rica) and productivist (e.g. Chile); one is nonstate familiarist (e.g. Ecuador and Nicaragua). In a region where people's well‐being is deeply embedded in family relationships, closer scholarly attention to how social structures interact with public policy bears not only academic interest but also policy implications, particularly for adapting particular welfare regimes to the local welfare mix.     

Financial crisis and capital controls: Latin America

Over two decades Chile has moved from an inward‐looking model of development based on industrialisation through import‐substitution to an outward‐looking model opening the economy to the outside world and based on export‐led development. This shift has brought about a profound change in the country's trade policies, entailing the adoption of neutral tariffs and tax policies, non‐discriminatory policies, and low level of protection. As a consequence, there has been a drastic improvement in the resource allocation process. Diversification of the country's foreign markets is a key component in the success of the new strategy, which has been reflected in the country's rapid economic growth of the last 12 years.     

Indigenous Rights,Resistance, and the Law: Lessons from a Guatemalan Mine

Using a case study of a controversial mine in an indigenous area of Guatemala, this article explores the transnational dynamics of development and regulation of large‐scale extractive industry projects in the developing world. It examines the roles played in the Marlin mine dispute by national law, international law, international financial institutions, and corporate social responsibility. It concludes that these legal regimes have a role in protecting human rights but have not addressed the fundamental questions of democratic governance raised by this case.     

Brokering Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Chilean Lawyers and Public Interest Litigation Strategies

Rights gains for members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) populations in Chile have been highly contentious since democratisation, indicative of the stigmatisation directed towards non‐normative gender and sexual identities. This article addresses the role of activist lawyers pursuing LGBTI rights cases through the courts, and draws on McAdam and colleagues' (2001) concept of a ‘broker’ to examine the lawyers' roles in linking previously unconnected sites within the judiciary and further afield. The analysis draws these processes together through interactionist perspectives of meaning‐making and how they relate to stigma, deviancy and identity.     

'Dirty Indians', Radical Indígenas, and the Political Economy of Social Difference in Modern Ecuador1

Abstract — This article examines alternative conceptions of social difference in Otavalo, Ecuador. On the one hand, in the northern Andes, the language of ethnicity has become a potent force, connected to an indigenous political movement and the profits of handicraft dealing. On the other, 'race' and an 'hygienic racism' preoccupied with pernicious stereotypes about 'dirty Indians' continue to define the social and political landscape. Contrasting these notions of social difference, I show how the indigenous movement in Ecuador receives less support from native peasants who see the world in polarised 'racial' terms.     

Does It Take a Village? Policing Strategies and Fear of Crime in Latin America

How can policymakers reduce public fear of crime in Latin America? This study compares the effectiveness of “zero tolerance” and community‐based policing strategies in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. At the micro level, it assesses the links between fear of crime and social identity characteristics, contextual factors, the media, community participation, and other insecurities. It finds that citizens' economic, political, and social insecurities are the main determinants of their fear of crime. At the macro level, the study compares levels of public insecurity and finds that cities that employ community‐based strategies to fight crime register lower levels of public fear of crime.     

Uncounted Votes: Informal Voting in the House of Representatives as a Marker of Political Exclusion in Australia

This article examines the implications of high levels of informal (or invalid) voting in Australian national elections using a social exclusion framework. The rate of the informal vote is an indicator of social and political exclusion with particular groups of Australians experiencing inordinate electoral disadvantage. Poorer voters, voters from non‐English speaking backgrounds and those with low education levels are especially disadvantaged by factors peculiar to the Australian voting experience. We begin by exploring the character and pattern of informal voting and then canvass the technical and socio‐economic factors which explain it. We conclude by considering proposed options for reducing informality, some of which are: the abandonment of compulsory voting, major structural change to the voting system as well as ballot re‐design, electoral education and community information initiatives.     

Remaking German democracy in the 1950s: Was the civil service an asset or a liability?

This article offers a new look at the conflicting forces behind decisions on the shape and character of the civil service in the 1950s. It is argued that the controversial measures taken to reaffirm the traditional hierarchical system and reinstate former civil servants were not only the product of policies devised by the Adenauer government and the conservative majority in the Bundestag. The inability of the Western Allies to agree on a clear course of action was also a factor, as was the support for some legislation by the Social Democrats, who were hoping to broaden their electoral appeal and improve relations with the administrative and military elites. Decision makers did succeed in moulding the civil service into an effective tool of government, and in this respect it was an asset in stabilising the new democratic system. Yet the extent to which politically compromised staff members were reinstated was counter‐productive, creating political burdens that outweighed short‐term advantages. Moreover, civil service policy bolstered traditional lines of social and gender stratification, undermining the credibility of a political system ostensibly based on the principle of equal rights and opportunities.     

The 'Culture' of Exclusion: Representations of Indigenous Women Street Vendors in Tijuana, Mexico

Representations of indigenous women vendors are contrasted with the ways indigenous women see themselves. Some images are openly hostile, whereas others discriminate against these women through a form of paternalistic love. For example, the understanding of indigenous women as outsiders from different social spaces and deviants from middle-class gender norms suggests that they are 'undeserving poor' whose interests should not be considered. On the other hand, the concept of indigenous 'culture,' as defined and shaped by some non-Indian academics, has further marginalized Tijuana's indigenous migrants. While defending the right of indigenous migrants to use public spaces, academics have characterized manifestations of poverty as the traditions of this ethnic group.