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Thesis (B.S.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2009. / Also available online. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-40).

Tesis de grado presentado para optar el titulo de Licenciature en Biologia, Universidad Mayor De San Simon, Facultad de Ciencias y Technologia, Carrea Biologia. / Abstract in Spanish and English.

The politicization of ethnic diversity has long been regarded as perilous to ethnic peace and national unity, its detrimental impact memorably illustrated in Northern Ireland, former Yugoslavia or Rwanda. The process of indigenous mobilization followed by regional mobilizations in Bolivia over the past decade has hence been seen with some concern by observers in policy and academia alike. Yet these assessments are based on assumptions as to the nature of the causal mechanisms between politicization and ethnic tensions; few studies have examined them directly. This thesis systematically analyzes the impact of ethnic mobilizations in Bolivia: to what extent did they affect ethnic identification, ethnic relations, and national unity? I answer this question through a time-series analysis of indigenous and regional identification in political discourse and citizens’ attitudes in Bolivia and its department of Santa Cruz from 2000 to 2010. Bringing together literature on ethnicity from across the social sciences, my thesis first develops a framework for the analysis of ethnic change, arguing that changes in the attributes, meanings, and actions associated with an ethnic category need to be analyzed separately, as do changes in dynamics within an in-group and towards an out-group and supra-group, the nation. Based on this framework, it examines the development of the two discourses through a qualitative analysis of anthropological accounts, news reports, and expert interviews. In both discourses, the unity of the respective in-group is increasingly stressed, before diverging conceptions become ever more prominent. Finally, my thesis quantitatively examines changes in in-group identification, out-group perception, and national unity, using survey data collected by the Latin American Public Opinion Project over the decade. It finds changes in identification that can be clearly linked to political mobilization. More citizens identify as indigenous and Cruceño, respectively, and do so more strongly than before. Yet identification then decreases again, concomitant with the growing divisions in discourse. Moreover, the rise in identification is not associated with a rise in out-group antagonism or a drop in national unity. On the contrary, the latter has increased steadily among all Bolivians. Besides shedding light on ethnic relations in Bolivia, this analysis thus also contributes to the wider debate on the effects of ethnic politics. It shows that identifications do indeed change in response to mobilizations, that they do so more quickly than expected and not necessarily in the manner as expected, demonstrating that it is necessary to carefully distinguish different elements of ethnicity.

Examinations of social policy often focus on their economic and social outcomes without much concern for their political dimensions. Since Evo Morales assumed the presidency of Bolivia in 2006, the Andean country has emerged as a powerful example of how social policy can be leveraged for political purposes beyond clientelism. The government's famous nationalization of natural gas resources along with a hefty hydrocarbon tax funded two major social programs: the Bono Juancito Pinto, an education conditional cash transfer, and Renta Dignidad, a universal old-age pension. Evidence from surveys, key informant interviews, reports, and official documents demonstrated that Bolivia's universal social policy was motivated by more than the goal of efficiently addressing the country's chronic social inequality. The Morales administration's implementation of these programs was a conscious decision to leverage windfall resource rents to build greater national solidarity and advance the MAS' political project to refound the country. Through a universalist approach to social policy, the MAS government has consolidated political hegemony, strengthened national solidarity, and secured the support of the armed forces. This political strategy, however, rests on shaky ground. The rentier model the government depends on to fund universal social policy fuels social conflicts that could destabilize the MAS' recently won hegemony and its attempts at nation building. Bolivia's experience with universal cash transfers lays the foundation for future study of social policy and nation building in the developing world; it is also important to examine how funding sources impact the efficacy of these programs. Considering cash transfers' exploding popularity and dissemination across the world in the last decade, this thesis calls for the more nuanced study of these programs in their political dimensions. / text

Saguinus labiatus lahiatus and S. juscicollis weddelli form stable mixed-species groups in the wild. This thesis investigates the costs and benefits of such an association, with particular emphasis on determining species differences, the "behavioural differences hypothesis". A nine month field study was conducted in northern Bolivia, which showed that the species differed in mean height used in the forest, method of locomotion, and preferred insect foraging strategies. Subsequent investigations were conducted on captive single species and mixed-species groups at Belfast Zoo. Preliminary observations of mixed-species groups in standard enclosures and while free-ranging, demonstrated that they behaved in a similar way to their wild counterparts, where the S. labiatus had priority of access to food and utilised a higher mean height in the cage. Therefore, it is reasonable to relate the results of captive investigations to the wild situation. The "behavioural differences hypothesis" was investigated through the presentation of novel objects in various parts of the environment. Both species' reactions to objects varied according to predictions based on their vertical partitioning. S. labiatus were found to use a more visually orientated approach than S. juscicollis, and this can be related to insect foraging strategies in the wild. An experiment was conducted with novel food and non-food objects, in order to test the "social facilitation hypothesis", which predicts that the behaviour of one species can orientate the other towards the presence of food. Results suggest that S. labiatus have priority of access to objects and are first to consume food, but S.juscicollis are able to use this behaviour and always gained some food. The results suggest that overall both species benefit from increased foraging efficiency. The hypothesis that individuals in mixed-species groups benefit from decreased predation through increased vigilance was investigated, and supported, as members of both species were shown to benefit from a decrease in individual vigilance effort, but an overall increase in total vigilance per unit time. This was shown in both general vigilance and in the active monitoring of a threatening stimuli. Findings are discussed in terms of costs and benefits towards the participants in mixed-species groups, and are compared to the main theoretical viewpoints in the literature.

Precise chronologies of climate events in the tropics are rare yet essential for understanding how tropical climate relates to global climate at millennial to longer time scales. An increasingly important area for understanding these interactions is the southern Bolivian Altiplano (15-22oS) which represents the waning and southeastern end of the South American Monsoon, a system that is, today, modulated by regional upper-air circulation anomalies under the influence of tropical Pacific sea-surface temperature gradients associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Mechanisms of summer rainfall variations on millennial and longer time scales are less well understood, despite well-established evidence for profound changes in hydrologic budgets on the southern Bolivian Altiplano. Large shifts in effective moisture on the southern Bolivian Altiplano produced deep lakes in the Poopo, Coipasa, and Uyuni basins, basins that are currently occupied by salt pans or very shallow lakes. We mapped shoreline stratigraphy and sampled carbonates for over 170 uranium-thorium (U-Th) and radiocarbon (14C) dates to refine paleolake history of the Southern Bolivian Altiplano. As part of this dissertation work, I helped assemble a U-Th dating facility at the University of Arizona and obtained over 90 uranium-thorium (U-Th) dates from paleolake carbonates. Carbonate textures were evaluated for potential diagenetic effects, but the principal consideration in dating such carbonates is the isotopic composition and quantity of initial Th incorporated into the carbonate. We establish criteria for statigraphically meaningful dates and strategies for successful U-Th dating of paleolake carbonates. The stable isotope, 87-strontium/86-strontium (87Sr/86Sr), and 234U/238U ratios of modern surface waters and of paleolake carbonates can be used as tracers of the region's various lake cycles and provides a test hydrologic models of these lake cycles.Volcanic tuffs provide important stratigraphic markers for paleolimnologic, geomorphic, and archeological studies. Despite the widespread occurrence of late Quaternary tuffs on the Bolivian Altiplano, few of these deposits have been previously recognized either from natural exposures or in paleolake sediment cores. We document the presence of 38 distal tuffs in Quaternary lacustrine and alluvial deposits, and determine the composition of glass and phenocrysts by electron microprobe analyses.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the political participation has increased in practice for the former excluded indigenous people in Bolivia during the Morales administration and with the establishment of a new constitution, in order to see whether democracy has been deepened in the country or not. The thesis is carried out with a case study design and material consists mainly of qualitative interviews with different indigenous organizations and NGOs, as well as previous research on the area. The theoretical framework is based on dimensions on participation in where the three areas of inclusion, spaces for participation and influence are examined in order to investigate the purpose. The thesis argues that the political participation has not increased for all of the different indigenous groups, but for some; the smaller indigenous groups in the lowland have not experienced an increased political participation, whilst the three biggest indigenous groups, Aymara and Quechua in the highland, and Guaraní in the lowland, feel that their political participation has increased. Since some indigenous groups have experienced change and an increased political participation it is argued that the democracy has been deepened to a small degree.

Networks of indigenous irrigating farmers played an influential role in the Cochabamba Water War of 2000 that succeeded in ousting the major water company Bechtel from Bolivia and securing changes to the national legislation to recognize indigenous water rights. In their mobilization against privatization, the irrigators used a narrative grounded in the defense of their water rights and traditional uses and customs or usos y costumbres. Following the Water War, the irrigators effectively organized to have their traditional water rights recognized in the new Irrigation Law no. 2878, which was signed into law in 2004, and the Regulations, which came into effect in 2006. This paper critically examines the impacts of the Irrigation Law on access to water in the heavily farmed region of the Cochabamba Valley. It asks whether the social inequalities amongst farming communities, often exacerbated by usos y costumbres, are being reinforced through the law’s implementation. An analysis of the political processes of institutional change and the power dynamics in the rural water sector reveals that the configuration of power asymmetries formalized in the Irrigation Law maintains unequal access to water resources.

Proefschrift Universiteit van Amsterdam. / Met lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands en Spaans.