ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at how perceptions of what is just and unjust were woven into stories of identity in Bolivia and the Department of Potosi. The mini-insurrection of 2010 in the Department of Potosi was a manifestation of diverse grievances all tied together by history. Local residents, however, received very little of the wealth that was taken from their territory. Throughout the five centuries, the elites prospered while everyone else in Potosi lived in poverty. The worker and indigenous organisations want foreign companies like Minera San Cristobal to pay more royalties. They also want to see more services provided by the national government. Representatives of government, business, and some university organisations, by contrast, see higher royalty requirements as a disincentive to development through their tendency to drive out investment. The miners' union, indigenous organisations and various co-operatives were central actors in the 1952 national revolution.
