“We don't lie and cheat like the Collas do.” Highland–lowland regionalist tensions and indigenous identity politics in Amazonian Bolivia

Abstract

This paper adds to the growing discussion on Bolivia's conflictive highland–lowland regionalism, going beyond it as predominantly a tension between a mestizo elite and the indigenous poor. Indigenous lowland groups' as Tacana people in the Amazon utilize their new ‘indigenous identity’ to effectively challenge highland indigenous migrants (colonos) claiming land in their region. For this they link ‘being Tacana’ to the lowland identity of ‘Camba’. Tacana people align with lowland mestizo people participating in Camba spectacles as Beauty Contests to annunciate a common heritage. They situate themselves against highland indigenous migrants (colonos), an arrangement which surprises in light of the ‘indigenous solidarity’ propagated by the indigenous movement and indigenous President Evo Morales.