Description
Book SynopsisThe book traces current Indian activism in Bolivia, arguing that a new social formation is emerging to challenge racism and the harsh effects of the dominant neoliberal economic model.
Trade Review"Postero's vantage point in a specific urban community enabled her to view Bolivian neoliberalism from below and to write an absorbing ethnography of reforms in action. . . Postero's reflexivity strikes just the right chord—her concise comments about herself are deftly woven into the narrative and come at just the right moment. Particularly striking is the discussion of how she gathered material from opposing sides during the land dispute. . . Postero presents a very readable account of a very disheartening situation." -- Jean E. Jackson *
Latin American Research Review *
"Postero has certainly produced a first-rate account of an important chapter of Bolivian history...this book will be of great value to graduate and advanced undergraduate courses that seek to understand official multiculturalisms and its discontents." --
A Contracorriente"Postero has written a timely and intriguing ethnography of Bolivia during what she terms the new 'post-multicultural' moment. In this book, Postero offers an insightful historical discussion of Bolivian politics at local and national levels, and provides us with nuanced ethnographies of struggles over neoliberal and multicultural policies. This book will be an important reference for all those seeking to understand the contemporary dynamics of indigenous contestation in the lowlands and highlands of Bolivia." -- Maria Elena Garcia * Professor of Anthropology, Sarah Lawrence College, and author of
Making Indigenous Citizens: Identities, Education, and Multicultural Development in Peru *
"Nancy Postero's timely study points to events in Bolivia as part of a new historic moment with resonance beyond its borders... Postero builds on her valuable ethnographic study to make a powerful and subtly evidenced argument." --
Journal of Latin American Studies"Postero documents the remarkable way the Guaranís have leveraged legislative changes meant to circumscribe their rights to fight for an expansion of those rights....Her account for the Guaraní struggle to find a voice in Bolivia's political process illuminates the long, rocky road many countries in Latin America face as they grapple with the question of how to reduce social inequality and poverty." --
BOOKFORUM"Postero's study offers a refreshing change from the national-level analyses that characterize much of the literature on indigenous politics by focusing on how state reforms are experienced at the local level... [Her] account of indigenous struggles in Bolivia is fascinating and a must-read for those with an interest in the field." --
Canadian Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Studies"This important work provides a fascinating look at Bolivia's neoliberal multicultural moment, powerfully illustrating through in-depth ethnographic study how state policies of recognition and popular participation functioned to create acceptable indigenous citizen/subjects of neoliberalism. Even more importantly, Postero reveals the limits of this model of power relations, considering how it has set the stage for the coming moment in Bolivia and potentially in Latin America more broadly: the era of "post-multicultural citizenship." Both its timeliness and its insightfulness will ensure that this book is essential reading for those interested in Latin American politics, culture, and state-indigenous relations." -- Shannon Speed * University of Texas at Austin *
"Postero's research examines the interactions of [a Guarani] village's political leaders with a nongovernmental organization in their attempt to participate in the new political landscape... The work will be of interest to all social scientists and planners involved in questions related to racist exclusion, multiculturalism, neoliberalism, and democracy." --
CHOICE"In her book, Nancy Grey Postero provides a thorough—and thoroughly compelling—guide to understanding the historical and cultural forces that have shaped Bolivian society and its peoples over the past several decades, leading to the election of Morales and the transformation of the Bolivian state...Postero's book is an accessible, lovingly crafted account that will be of interest to scholars of the Andes as well as to undergraduates and their professors, in a range of disciplines within Latin American studies." --
Journal of Anthropological ResearchTable of ContentsTable of Contents: Acknowledgments List of Acronyms Introduction: Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Bolivia Part One: The Indian Question 1. Regimes of Race and Citizenship 2. An Indigenous Federation in Boomtown Santa Cruz 3. A Crisis of Leadership in Bella Flor Part Two: Citizenship in Neoliberal Bolivia 4. Multiculturalism and the Law of Popular Participation 5. Forming Neoliberal Subjects: NGOs and "Responsible" Self-government 6. Popular Protagonism Since 2000 Conclusion: Towards a Post-Multicultural Bolivia End Notes References Cited
