Entrevista a Silvia Rivera.docx

7/25/2019 Entrevista a Silvia Rivera.docx

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Anarchism and Indigenous Resistance in Bolivia: Interview with Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui

Written by Andalusia Knoll

Tuesday !" #ctober $%%& %':$"

Source: Rustbelt Radio

Knoll & CusicanquiThe South American Nation of Bolivia has filled the headlinesof the global press ith their fight against ater privati!ation"struggle for nationali!ation of #as" non$compliance ith %reeTrade policies and the election of South Americas firstindigenous president 'vo (orales) These struggles are rootedin the long histor* of +ndigenous resistance to colonialism andimperialism in Bolivia) +n an intervie conducted during herrecent sta* in ,ittsburgh) subaltern theorist" A*maraSociologist and -istorian Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui" discussedBolivian Anarchism" the health benefits of the Coca plant andthe Cocaleros .Coca #roers/ fight for sovereignt*)

Andalusia: Could you talk about some of the thingsthat you have uncovered in your research about

Anarchism in Bolivia as related ot the struggles of theAymara and Quecha people.?

Silvia: 0e started as an A*mara collective that basicall*anted to uncover the A*mara and 1uechua struggles and ediscovered that there ere man* lin2s ith 3rban A*maracommunities that had organi!ations lin2ed both to theindigenous communities and the* ere lin2ed to the unionmovement hich in the 45s as basicall* anarchist)

0hat happened in Bolivia is that there had been to official

histories: the official histor* ritten b* the Nationalist ,art*6(NR6that basicall* denies all the agenc* of both or2ersand peasants and indigenous peoples7 and the official histor*of the 8eft that forgets about an*thing that as not (ar9ist""thus eclipsing or distorting the autonomous histor* ofanarchist unions"

So" also its the lin2s beteen the anarchists and the

"If the orld is upside don stand up straight?"

En Espaol(l CIA)I dirimedemanda d

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http://radio.indypgh.org/http://upsidedownworld.org/main/en-espatopmenu-81/5051-el-ciadi-dirime-demanda-de-empresa-minera-contra-el-salvadorhttp://upsidedownworld.org/main/en-espatopmenu-81/5045-las-mujeres-pilar-en-la-lucha-social-de-la-patagonia-chilenahttp://upsidedownworld.org/main/en-espatopmenu-81/5035-el-proyecto-de-la-represa-de-chixoy-del-banco-mundial-y-el-banco-interamericano-de-desarrollo-sigue-asesinando-a-guatemaltecos-32-anos-despueshttp://upsidedownworld.org/main/en-espatopmenu-81/5051-el-ciadi-dirime-demanda-de-empresa-minera-contra-el-salvadorhttp://upsidedownworld.org/main/en-espatopmenu-81/5045-las-mujeres-pilar-en-la-lucha-social-de-la-patagonia-chilenahttp://upsidedownworld.org/main/en-espatopmenu-81/5035-el-proyecto-de-la-represa-de-chixoy-del-banco-mundial-y-el-banco-interamericano-de-desarrollo-sigue-asesinando-a-guatemaltecos-32-anos-despueshttp://radio.indypgh.org/


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indigenous people that gave them another nuance becausecommunities are self sustained entities and the* basicall* areplaces here anti$authoritarian t*pe of organi!ation can ta2eroots) The* dont need this leadership that is li2e permanentleadership) The communities have leaders but as a rotational

thing that is a service to the communit*) +ts 2ind of a burdento be a leader for a communit*" *ou 2no +ts something *oudo once in a lifetime and *ou do because *ou ought to do" andthat the communit* sa*s its *our turn or the turn of *ourfamil*) So" that creates a totall* different relationship ithpoer structures and" in a a*" it decoloni!es poer and" to acertain e9tent" gives it bac2 to the people)

That is hat fascinated us most about the communities and"on the other hand" it led us to discover that communities erenot onl* rural but also urban and or2ed ith 8uis

Cusicanqui and other anarchist leaders because the* had suchan affinit* beteen the a* the* sa struggle" autonom*"domination" and oppression)

Andalusia: Anarchism in general! I think! isperceived as a #uropean tradition that then has been

brought to the $nited %tates and places likeArgentina and people dont generally associateanarchism ith places like Bolivia or places in Africa!etcetera. Could you talk about ho anarchism as inline ith many of the beliefs of the Aymara andQuechua people and the ay their communities eregoverned.

Silvia: A general point of departure of Bolivian histor* iththe rest of 8atin America is that man* .especiall* anarchist/have had to go through the filter of their on traditions ofstruggle that are basicall* anti$colonial) So" hat happened isthat there as li2e a mutual breeding" a mutual fertili!ation ofthought and an abilit* to interpret universal doctrine that isbasicall* 'uropean doctrine in Bolivian" Chola and A*maraterms)

Thats h* Bolivian anarchism is so important" because it hasroots in the grassroots urban unions because most urbanor2ers ere also +ndian in Bolivia and still are) ;4 percent ofthe population in Bolivia t have been self$identified as+ndigenous" as A*mara" 1uechua" #uarani and as man* other+ndigenous peoples)

So e have a ma


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have a particular brand of anarchism) + ould sa* it isAnarcho$+ndianism) And also it is Anarcho$+ndianism$%eminism because the Chola figure" the omen" the femalefighter" the female organi!er is part of Bolivian dail* life) +f*ou have been there *ou 2no hat the mar2et loo2s li2e"

ho strong these omen are" ho in solidarit* the* are henthere is a march coming from the Cocaleros" here there isthis sacrifice marches that last ten" tent* da*s ithout muchto eat) These omen prepare li2e these huge pots of soup the*give aa* to the poorest people) The* have such a tradition ofunion associations that self$organi!e) And the* self$organi!ebasicall* in the administration of space") The mar2et is a spaceand its ver* s*mbolic that the* ta2e over this space and


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cultural gap because then" at those times" *ou didnt havemuch of a literate or2ing class" or literate leadership in thecommunities) The communities had man* problems ?thcentur* b* the pharmaceutical industr*) And it is a conspirac*against peoples health in general) But the conspirac* againstcoca as particularl* mean and ill because it as a conspirac*against a people) The +ndians ho had been in touch ithcoca for millennia and have been able to use it in a variet* ofa*s7 as a mild stimulant for or2" as a ritual item" as arecreational commodit* that *ou che in parties" in a2es" ineddings" or even as a s*mbol of identit* and of struggle)

So" coca leaves are almost pervasivel* present in the Bolivianconte9t but there is li2e this press blindness" blindness of themedia) Blindness of the media that in man* senses is dictatedb* the 3)S) embass*" *ou 2no +ts the 3)S) embass* thatdictates the polic* on coca and blac2mails the government sothat if e dont do as the* sa*" the funds for development or" +dont 2no" the funds the* give to the Bolivian governmentill be cut) + ala*s said to the leaders" =8et them cut 0eont die And e cant live forever on somebod* elsesalimon*)=

But + thin2 its hard because reall* there is a problem of


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povert*7 but povert* in Bolivia is constructed" its a result ofbad policies And its a result of being robbed of our resources)And so + thin2 the coca issue is ver*" ver* enlightening interms of hat the poer of interests of corporations can do totruth" *eah) ust veil the truth to such an e9tent that *ou

cannot separate7 common sense has been overcome b* thisabsurd idea that coca is cocaine) + have cheed coca since +as >; *ears old) 0hen + came to the states" of course *oumiss ever*thing *ou dont have" but +m not in an abstinences*ndrome) + have an abstinence s*ndrome of coffee 0hen +quit coffee + had s*mptoms of being addicted to coffee but thecoca leaves are not addictive) + ??E hen things eregetting reall* bad because of forced eradication andassassinations of Cocaleros and arm* raids here the* intothe coca fields and destro*ed ever*thing as a dail*occurrence) And there as this big march that +


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the belief that goes and carries *our bod*) And so *our bod*has to be light and thats h* *ou learn a lot about ethicshen *ou do this t*pe of struggle) And" on the other hand" *oudo some learning of solidarit*" communit*" and self$help" andalso sovereignt* over the bod*) @ou are doing a self$inflicted

sacrifice) But *oure doing a sacrifice for a cause that is for thegood of man* people and it reall* feeds *our spirit) +t issomething ver* important to have something be*ond *ouron bell* and to go for something be*ond *our on bell*7 andalso to go for a cause that is for the hole of the Bolivianpeople because sovereignt* is the missed tas2) No revolutionof hatever 2ind6liberal revolution" nationalist revolution"8eftist6has reall* been freed from +mperialism" freed fromcolonial domination)

So" that tas2 requires all the strength and these marches"

vigils and hunger stri2es have been" ala*s" a t*picalcharacteristic of the Bolivian people) A peaceful t*pe of non$violent actions6but so massive so massive6here peopleare read* to die) And that generosit*" to be able to spare *ouron life" is ver*" ver* heart lifting" *ou 2no And so" it givespeople a strength to overcome man* obstacles" to overthrogovernments" and to even ta2e governments) And so" + thin2thats a result of our strength7 our collective strength)

This interview originally appeared on Rustbelt Radio, the

Pittsburgh Indymedia's weekly review of news from thegrassroots. To hear the complete interview you can go tohttp:pittsburgh.indymedia.orgnews!""#"$!%&$.phpand to listen to Rustbelt Radio you can go tohttp:radio.indypgh.org

4 $%!5 6*side )own World

7oomla8is 9ree Sotware released under the 0;6 0eneral -ublic +icensen y

(mmanuelle Ba=oret Coordinadora del )octorado en Ciencias Sociales de la 6< de Chile

?(l colonialismo es una estructura de encadenamientos de dominaci>n y *or eso el que

oicia de dominador rente a unos se vuelve dominado rente a otros? airm> Cusicanqui

Alta asistencia tuvo la ,ornada abierta del Seminario ?+a cuesti>n de la ideolog@a?loga activista la acad3mica boliviana y descendiente aymara

Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui com*arti> en la 9ACS# rele.iones sobre imgenes colonialistas

y la *ol@tica de la oralidad ind@gena< (ste encuentro se reali=> en el conte.to de la*enltima sesi>n del Seminario +a Cuesti>n de la Ideolog@a dirigido *or /anuel Antonio

0arret>n y organi=ado *or el )octorado de Ciencias Sociales de la 6niversidad de Chilen aymara "cii#i"quiere decir ?gris? contaminado me=clado< (s la manchaindia que tiene todo el mundo y se reiere al mesti=a,e descoloni=ado y orgulloso de sus

ra@ces< (sta es la noci>n deendida *or la mirada creativa y autocr@tica de los *rocesos de

moderni=aci>n de lo ind@gena que com*arti> la soci>loga Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui en el

auditorio de la 9acultad de Ciencias Sociales de la 6niversidad de Chile< A *artir de sue.*eriencia en investigaciones y como activista *ol@tica en Bolivia Silvia Rivera

Cusicanqui *resent> la charla ?$ralidad Ideologa %tnica en los &ndes?loga ?ante la e.*losi>n de identidades *ol@ticasind@genas en Bolivia se *roduce una visi>n tecnocrtica de lo que es la convivencia entre

dierentes?< Cusicanqui se cuestiona constantemente qu3 ser@a un movimiento social con un

sentido emanci*ador en el conte.to *ol@tico 3tnico< -ara la autora del libro ?$primidospero no vencidos" es necesario entender que "lo indio es parte de la modernidad! que


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no es una tradicin estancada! est'tica ( petri)icada sino que es una din'mica deinteracciones con)lictivas contenciosas con poderes coloniales de diversa escala?mo las

resistencias y autonom@as de estas comunidades se ven aectadas *or las *ers*ectivasdesarrollistas< -ara Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui esto signiica com*render que ?la modernidadde los indios nos ayuda a entender que no se trata de rescatar identidades arqueol>gicas de

encerrarlas en museos de la diversidad sino de entender esas ideolog@as dinmicas que

dialogan *ermanentemente con la modernidad y que hacen uso de todos los medios que

orece la modernidad?

durante su e.*osici>n lo que ser@a un discurso ?miserabilista? de la memoria 3tnica y undiscurso que res*eta la agencia del su,eto ind@gena< -or esto la *roesora Cusicanqui

declar> tener reticencias con la idea de colonialidad y *reiere hablar de ?colonialismointerno porque tiene una do*le connotacin: est' internalizado < ;o *odr@a ser tan eica=el colonialismo si no uera *orque nos hemos metido el enemigo adentro es *or eso quenosotros buscamos su*erar esa visi>n miserabilista de la memoria como lamento sin

triviali=ar el dolor?ricamente lo ind@gena y su

relaci>n con el *oder en Bolivia la soci>loga reconstruy> re*resentaciones del *oder desde

los incas que han sido imaginados como ?h3roes solitarios? hasta *ublicidades *ol@ticas delactual *residente (vo /orales donde lo ind@gena es esteti=ado en el vestuario

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Entrevista a Silvia Rivera.docx