The Amerikas Colloquium

Ruben Dario Chambi Mayta (ERC project ‘Indigeneities in the 21st Century’, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich):

What happens when "VIVIR BIEN" is applied in an Aymara Community?

The case of child labour exploitation in Bolivia.

Based on case studies, this paper reflects on the operational difficulties that arise when applying the philosophical framework of Suma Qamaña or Vivir Bien (Living Well) in public policies in Bolivia. In 2009, Vivir Bien was officially incorporated into the political constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Since then, this concept has been included in state policies, becoming a guiding philosophical category for Indigenous communities and an alternative to the capitalist system. State policies often assume idealised perceptions of Indigenous communities, especially regarding their relationship with the environment, community life and the non-market economy. However, my ethnographic work on the implementation of child protection policies among Aymara families in La Paz reveals the processes through which the incorporation of Vivir Bien can have counterproductive effects, as in the case of child exploitation in which it makes this type of problem invisible or relativises it within Indigenous communities. The existence of child labour among the Aymara population raises the need for a critical interrogation of the concept of Vivir Bien, given that, beyond its contribution as a philosophical horizon, it has also become a barrier for the intervention in issues affecting Indigenous people today.

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When?           Thursday, 28 April 2022, 18:15

Where?          Oettingenstr. 67, Room L155 and via Zoom-Meeting.
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