Indigenidad in Bolivia’s Foreign Policy During Evo Morales’ Government

Abstract

This paper analyzes the inclusion of “indigenidad” in Bolivia´s foreign policy during the government of Evo Morales. It argues that indigenidad is used at least for two purposes: first, to justify a rather revisionist –even subversive– position of the country regarding issues of the international agenda in order to propose an alternative to the neoliberal model from the perspective of indigenous worldviews, such as “suma qamaña”. Second, indigenidad is used as a constitutive factor for identity that, in turn, is not necessarily conceived for the international level, but for domestic audiences. The first part of the article contextualizes the process of change and transformation of the country since Morales became president in 2006, in order to assess the purpose of the use of indigenidad. The second part analyzes Bolivia’s “indigenous” foreign policy. The overall conclusion is that Bolivia´s foreign policy is the result of a tension between revisionism and pragmatism.