From Protests to Policy: How the Institutionalization of Indigenous Movements Affects Environmental Policy Related to Resource Extraction In Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia
Creators: name: VonZabern, Karl
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2018

description: Introduction:
There is overwhelming evidence that indigenous communities in Peru, Ecuador and
Bolivia face a disproportionate amount of environmental degradation from extractive industries
compared to their counterparts that identify as mestizo or white. Environmental protection and
territorial autonomy are fundamental tenants of most indigenous political organization in rural
regions with an acute environmental impact from extractive practices. Indigeneity is linked
intrinsically to territory, but environmental degradation in indigenous territories is more than just
a land issue. Pollution from extractive industries is extremely detrimental to the public health of
indigenous communities across the Andes. High rates of environmental degradation on
indigenous land is surprising given the fact that a substantial portion of the population identifies
as indigenous and because of the growing environmental consciousness across international
communities since the 1970s. Intuitively, one would expect that indigenous people would have
more political power in the national political arena purely because they make up a large portion
of the electorate. This intuition proves to be false for a variety of historical legacies that have
undermined and repressed indigenous groups.
Air and water degradation from resource extraction is extremely consequential for local
communities. The negative effects of concentrated extraction, however, are less apparent and
less urgent for policy makers in the international community. Indigenous environmentalism must
be distinguished from a global environmentalism because transboundary pollution such as
deforestation and climate change have different set of problems from concentrated pollution
from resource extraction. The distinction between local and global environmentalism is salient
because the power dynamic between the two scenarios are so different. The political forces
involved in local resource extraction are asymmetrical compared global environmental
movements. Global environmental movements benefit from and rely on international pressures to
move policy whereas localized environmental movements have to work within their respective
national framework. Although international politics is intertwined in the cases discussed in this
thesis, the domestic political structure and quality of institutions take precedence over
international actors.
The goal of this thesis is to analyze why have indigenous environmental movements in
countries with such a high population of indigenous people continued to fail? It looks at how
indigenous social movements in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, became part of the formal political
institutions given varying antecedent conditions such as mobilization of on the basis of ethnicity
and the desire for organizations to institutionalize. It traces how those movements tried to create
and enforce environmental policy, and why there is still no long term environmental policy
protecting indigenous peoples in these countries. It utilizes case studies from each of these three
countries and a multilevel theory of political analysis to determine the forces responsible for
fluctuations in environmental outcomes. This thesis argues that government dependence on
certain extractive industries creates a serious barrier for indigenous political movements who
seek alliances with the left leaning parties. By tracing the roots of indigenous political
organization from social movement to political parties, this thesis then evaluates the impact the
newfound political institutions have had on the three chosen cases of environmental degradation.
The cases of La Oroya in Peru, the Oriente region in Ecuador, and the case of TIPNIS road
project in Bolivia demonstrate the importance and limitations of political mobilization based on
indigenous identity.