Indigeneity and Decolonization in the Bolivian Andes

In December 2005, Evo Morales won a landslide victory in the presidential elections and became the first president of indigenous origin in the history of Bolivia. Ever since, ΓÇ£indigeneityΓÇ¥ has been at the core of the ΓÇ£decolonization politicsΓÇ¥ implemented by the government, and, quite intriguingly, indigenous Aymara ritual specialists (ΓÇ£MaestrosΓÇ¥) have crystallized as key actors in representing this indigeneity in official state ceremony and in legitimizing the presidentΓÇÖs role as ΓÇ£the indigenous presidentΓÇ¥. Lately, however, critical voices have been raised by radical indigenous activists against what they claim to be a legitimizing ΓÇ£multicultural spectacleΓÇ¥ and an indigenous smokescreen provided by the ritual specialists. Instead of simply joining this current of criticism, Ritual and Activism in Bolivia: Maestros of Decolonization goes behind the scenes of ΓÇ£the multiculturalist spectacleΓÇ¥ and explores the political, spiritual and existential dimensions underpinning it. Anders Burman goes beyond the state-directed ceremonies and the rhetorical usage of the buzzword ΓÇÿdecolonizationΓÇÖ.