Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the so-called ‘post-neoliberal’ turn in Bolivia. It argues that although certain social reforms have been made, the extractivist model of the MAS party forms a contradiction between the discourse and practice of the plurinational state.

Paper long abstract:

Bolivia has seen many seemingly progressive changes since the election of its first indigenous President, Evo Morales, in 2005 and with the announcement of the 2009 Constitution that gave unprecedented rights to both the indigenous and the Pachamama (Mother Earth). However, tensions between the state and social movements remain, with many questioning the economic development strategies of the Bolivian state based on environmentally degrading natural resource extraction, road building and dam construction projects that often take place within indigenous territories.

My research explores the case study of a national indigenous and environmental movement in opposition to the Bolivian government's proposed construction of a highway set to cut through an indigenous territory and national park, known as the TIPNIS (Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Secure). This has involved a nine month period of fieldwork in Bolivia that has aimed to explore the creative tensions of contentious politics that acts to (re)configure the relations between the state and indigenous/social movements in Bolivia as well as the possible implications for the future politics of natural resource management and indigenous rights. Further to this, the research seeks to critically engage with social movement theory through ethnographic fieldwork that analyses the empirical realities of everyday grounded politics in the national campaign in defence of the TIPNIS.