Bolivia

Indigenous communities and self-governance

Bolivia was the first state to formally support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, incorporating its core principles into the country’s own 2009 Constitution. In light of this landmark event, researchers analyzed the creation of new indigenous self-governance institutions in three of the country’s indigenous municipalities.

The process of creating these institutions in two of the municipalities ( Jesús de Machaca and Tarabuco) slowed significantly during 2010. As a result, research shifted from analyzing the internal political obstacles to indigenous autonomy in each municipality. Ultimately, the project organized four workshops on indigenous autonomy that involved government officials, academics and representatives of other NGOs. In the autumn of 2010, researchers presented a paper on their findings to a meeting of the Latin American Studies Association.

The collaboration solidified the already strong relationship between the two partners. In 2008, four years after the start of their partnership, the university and the NGO signed a Memorandum of Understanding. More recently, after signing a formal agreement for collaborative research between 2011 and 2014, they received a grant from SSHRC to pursue research on indigenous institutions.