ABSTRACT

This article examines the complex ways in which a peasant community in the Bolivian Highlands mediates present political conditions through an internal discourse and conflict over personal and historical memories. Highlighted is the way in which existing disputes are used by local people to take advantage of the new economic resources made available by recent government reforms aimed at democratization and decentralization, and how the latter in turn create a space for traditional indigenous authorities to reassert their political power. It is argued that whilst globalization is responsible for an increase in the spread and economic diversification of local communities, peasants in Bolivia are able to negotiate the limits and significance of these changes.