Table of Contents

Prologue Introduction: popular organization and the processes of change . 1. Land, campesinos and indígenas 2. The Altiplano: sindicatos versus ayllus 3. El Alto: a city of migrants 4. Of mines and miners 5. Of coca and cocaleros 6. Of gas, rents and indigenous movements of the Chaco 7. Santa Cruz and the process of change 8. The Amazonian north Conclusions

Promotional Information

Based on a wealth of interview material and original reportage, this book offers a unique bottom-up analysis of how ordinary Bolivians have responded to the changes that have taken place in their country since the rise of the MAS in 2006.

About the Author

John Crabtree is a research associate at the Latin American Centre, Oxford, and senior member of St Antony's College. His main area of expertise is the contemporary politics of the Andean region, on which he has written and broadcast widely. His most recent books include Fractured Politics: Peruvian Democracy Past and Present (2011) and Unresolved Tensions: Bolivia Past and Present (2008), co-edited with Laurence Whitehead. In 2005 he published Patterns of Protest: Politics and Social Movements in Bolivia. He holds a masters degree from Liverpool University and a doctorate from Oxford Brookes University. Ann Chaplin has lived and worked in Bolivia and the Andes for many years. She has worked in development, relating closely to social movements, and has been a witness to their advances. She has written recently on the development of social movements and the impact of climate change on rural communities.

Reviews

Crabtree and Chapin provide an insightful guide to the ''processes of change'' in Bolivia under the Morales government. This book is extremely useful both for students and scholars of Bolivia and for those interested in understanding the unfolding of social-movement-induced change in Latin America today.
*Denise Humphreys Bebbington, Clark University*

Evo Morales has gone from hungry youngster in the Andes to president of his country with all the concentrated energy that only those born poor such as he seem to find. Bolivia's stories are marshalled here by two accomplished writers with expertise and flair.
*Hugh O'Shaughnessy, author of The Priest of Paraguay and prize-winning journalist who has written on Latin America for over 4 decades.*

John Crabtree and Ann Chaplin write with that clarity and quiet authority bestowed by many years' experience. Their knowledge of Bolivia since the era of military dictatorships shows up here not in dense factual detail or political criticism. Rather, it is reflected in their skilled ability to capture, through scores of interviews undertaken throughout the country, a really telling snapshot of the popular experience of recent years. They show how the period since 2006 has been one of many complications and disputes but also of extensive social change and cultural excitement. Sympathetic but independently minded, the authors have given us a most valuable and accessible survey of Bolivia under Evo Morales.
*James Dunkerley, Queen Mary, University of London*

An excellent introduction to the turbulent politics of Evo Morales' Bolivia. Indigenous empowerment and swelling state revenues are today accompanied by new conflicts, skillfully analysed by the authors. Moving between several regions and sectors, they transmit views from social actors at the base, arguing that the growth in social inclusion is irreversible.
*Tristan Platt, University of St Andrews*