The Limits of Prior Consultation Initiatives in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes

• In Event: Precarious Inclusion: The Politics of Public Participation in Andean Environmental Governance

Abstract

The Peruvian and Bolivian governments are seeking to enact and implement prior consultation laws for indigenous populations as mechanisms to enhance social inclusion in their countries. These initiatives have generated debates about the criteria to identify and consult indigenous populations in the Andean region. Why do recognizing and granting consultation rights to indigenous peoples in the Andes seem to be controversial? This paper aims to answer this question by reviewing historically the different Andean identities and analyzing the current international debate on indigeneity. Based on secondary data and interviews, we argue that in trying to use restrictive models of indigenous recognition governments fail to grasp the complexity and dynamism of Andean identities.

Authors

• Gerardo Hector Damonte Valencia, GRADE and PUCP

• Manuel A Glave Testino, Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo