The Construction of the Plurinational State in Bolivia as an Attempt to Institutionalize a Motley Society

Authors

  • Clayton Mendonça Cunha Filho Social and Political Studies Institute of the Rio de Janeiro State University (IESP-UERJ)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/bsj.2014.87

Keywords:

abigarrada society, Bolivia, communal-indianism, national-popular, Plurinational State

Abstract

The objective of this work is to analyze the construction of the Plurinational State as an attempt to provide Bolivia with an institutional framework adequate for its particular reality, starting from its own indigenous models. I begin by examining the concept of abigarrada social formation coined by René Zavaleta to describe the Bolivian society and how that same concept positions itself in relation to Gino Germani’s theory of modernization and Dipesh Chakrabarty’s theoretical notions in describing the process of expansion from Capitalism in peripheral countries. Immediately following, I discuss the implications of that Bolivian abigarramiento in the construction of the Nation-State and its limitations in the country, after which I examine the proposal for the composition of the Plurinational State and conclude by discussing some of the practical implications that have arisen up to today for the new institutional experiment and its perspectives for consolidating the country.

Author Biography

Clayton Mendonça Cunha Filho, Social and Political Studies Institute of the Rio de Janeiro State University (IESP-UERJ)

PhD candidate at IESP-UERJ. Assistant Researcher at Observatorio Politico Sul-Americano (OPSA/IESP-UERJ).

Published

2014-11-06