ABSTRACT
The chapter talks about Evo Morales' Bolivia and Indigenous Socialism (IS). Bolivia is a small, poor country that cannot possibly have the impact of a huge nation such as Brazil. IS is a system people have not seen before. It taps into non-Western and pre-modern culture and blends it with the best of the radical Western traditions. IS may inspire the masses of indigenous peoples in Africa and parts of Asia, as well as Latin and Central America, because it restores their cultural dignity as well as their hope for democracy and a sustainable way of life. But Morales' emphasis on social welfare and human rights seems pretty similar to European Social Democracy. He grew up in a tiny adobe hut with a straw roof in an impoverished Indian village in the highlands of Bolivia. Pachamama, an Andean deity, makes his socialism an authentic expression of the communal values and the spirituality of the world's impoverished majority.
