Civilizing the Popular?

Abstract

In the context of the Bolivian state’s strategy to construct a strong ‘civil society’, the ‘Popular Participation Law’ (LPP) appears as a response to long term popular demands. Situating this law within the context of hegemonic processes which have aimed at incorporating Andean peasants/‘Indians’ into the Bolivian nation state, this article discusses the effects that this highly regulated construction of a modern participatory citizenry has on rural areas. The case of a rural province in the highlands of Cochabamba suggests that while the establishment of a framework for the emergence of a rural civil society does entail a potentially significant reconfiguration of rural power and ethnic relations, the subtle works of these hegemonic strategies also predefine the limits to what can name=be achieved in the space opened for participatory citizens.