ABSTRACT

The collective efforts of small-scale producers in arenas traditionally defined as “political” and “ritual” provide people with a means to understand how persons are controlled by others and how they themselves become empowered. One of the more successful attempts at promoting crafts in La Paz is the municipal government’s program of rotating exhibits and conferences in the Casa de la Cultura, a museum dedicated principally to modern art. Vendors or producer/vendors selling on a particular street do not have much choice but to belong to its union. In contrast, artisans who work in dispersed workshops have more latitude. Particularly in the early years of unionization, the union leadership often abused its position. While the agenda of the federation sounded ambitious indeed, the actual accomplishments of the organization were more modest. The major stated purpose of artisans’ cooperatives was to provide a means of bypassing the intermediaries-the merchants in the local markets and shops and the exporters.