Bolivia's indigenous peoples have long been and are still exposed to extensive violations, such as exclusion in working life, education and health care. The indigenous peoples of the country are demanding their right to greater political participation and greater access to rights. The current president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, focuses on improving the situation for the indigenous people in the country, which has resulted in an ongoing major social change regarding indigenous relations with the state. What is happening in Bolivia is that indigenous peoples have the opportunity to create indigenous autonomies where groups can create laws and form a local government based on the group's norms and values. In this way, the groups own identities can be confirmed and their control over territory can be strengthened. However, the implementation of autonomies is weak and slow. The aim of this study is to investigate the issue of why indigenous peoples want autonomy, through a case study of Bolivia's first indigenous autonomy Charagua. Through interviews of women living in Charagua, the results has been analysed based on Will Kymlicka’s, Charles Taylor’s and James Tockman’s theories for understanding such debates. Working with these theories makes it possible to analyse whether the reasoning is about communitarian or liberal values. The conclusion of my study suggests that the argument consists of a combination of communitarian and liberal thoughts but with its foundation in communitarianism, since the group's identity, culture and dignity seems to be valued more than liberal principles. / Bolivias ursprungsbefolkningar har länge varit och är fortfarande idag utsatta för omfattande kränkningar, såsom exkludering inom arbetsmarknad, utbildning samt hälsovård. Urfolken kräver nu sin rätt till större tillgång av rättigheter samt politiskt deltagande. Bolivias nuvarande president, Evo Morales, fokuserar på att förbättra situationen för urfolk i landet, vilket har resulterat i stora sociala förändringar när det gäller urfolks relation till staten. Vad som är aktuellt i Bolivia är att urfolksgrupper har möjligheten att skapa urfolksautonomier. Grupper kan därmed stifta lagar samt utforma lokala regeringar baserade på gruppers normer och värderingar. På så sätt kan dessa gruppers egna identiteter hävdas och deras kontroll över territorium kan stärkas. Implementeringen av autonomier i landet är dock svag och långsam. Syftet med denna studie är att, genom en fallstudie av Bolivias första urfolksautonomi Charagua, undersöka varför urfolk vill bilda autonomi. Genom intervjuer av kvinnor bosatta i Charagua har argumentationen analyserats utifrån Will Kymlickas, Charles Taylors och James Tockmans teorier för att förstå resonemangen som förs. Dessa teorier möjliggör en analys kring om argumentationen genomsyras av kommunitära eller liberala värderingar. Slutsatsen för min studie är att argumentationen är en hybrid av både kommunitära och liberala tankar, dock med sin grund i kommunitarismen då gruppens identitet, kultur och värdighet tycks värderas högre än liberala principer.

Neste trabalho, parto da última crise política boliviana para mostrar como a forte mobilização social, entre os anos de 2000 e 2005, rompeu com as fronteiras do campo da política institucional. Apesar da ascensão de representantes dos setores indígenas e camponeses, em 2006, a crise política não chegou ao fim. Ela adquiriu novas características. A partir de 2006, os papéis se inverteram: aqueles que haviam sido deslocados do controle do poder político nacional buscavam a desestabilização institucional; enquanto os movimentos sociais, que haviam levado à desestabilização dos governos anteriores, colocavam-se como defensores da nova ordem. Com a superação da crise e o retorno à conjuntura ordinária, as fronteiras do campo foram redefinidas e novos espaços de participação foram criados para os atores indígenas. A redefinição do campo da política institucional veio acompanhada do projeto de criação do Estado Plurinacional, que aponta para o reconhecimento de distintas formas de organizações sociais e políticas existentes dentro do território boliviano. Este trabalho procura explicar igualmente como a rearticulação do campo da política institucional influenciou na reestruturação estatal anunciada. Para tanto, analiso os debates sobre as autonomias indígenas e a criação da autonomia guarani no município de Charagua / The last Bolivian political crisis and the important associated social mobilization, between the years of 2000 and 2005, rendered the boundaries of the institutional politics field fluid. Despite the rising of indigenous and peasants groups in 2006, the political crisis was not overcome. Since 2006, the long standing roles in Bolivian politics have changed: those who had been replaced in control of national political power now tried to disrupt institutional power; the social movements, whose actions worked to destabilize previous governments, now became the defenders of the new order. Once the political crisis of those years was overcome, the boundaries of the field were restructured and new spaces for the participation of indigenous actors were created. The redefinition of the institutional politics field resulted in the creation of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, where different forms of social and political organization that operate in Bolivia are given recognition in the redefinition of the state. This work also aims to shed light on how the reorganization of the institutional politics field has influenced the announced state restructure. With this purpose, I analyse the debates concerning the indigenous autonomies and the experience of the Guarani autonomy in Charagua

Neste trabalho, parto da última crise política boliviana para mostrar como a forte mobilização social, entre os anos de 2000 e 2005, rompeu com as fronteiras do campo da política institucional. Apesar da ascensão de representantes dos setores indígenas e camponeses, em 2006, a crise política não chegou ao fim. Ela adquiriu novas características. A partir de 2006, os papéis se inverteram: aqueles que haviam sido deslocados do controle do poder político nacional buscavam a desestabilização institucional; enquanto os movimentos sociais, que haviam levado à desestabilização dos governos anteriores, colocavam-se como defensores da nova ordem. Com a superação da crise e o retorno à conjuntura ordinária, as fronteiras do campo foram redefinidas e novos espaços de participação foram criados para os atores indígenas. A redefinição do campo da política institucional veio acompanhada do projeto de criação do Estado Plurinacional, que aponta para o reconhecimento de distintas formas de organizações sociais e políticas existentes dentro do território boliviano. Este trabalho procura explicar igualmente como a rearticulação do campo da política institucional influenciou na reestruturação estatal anunciada. Para tanto, analiso os debates sobre as autonomias indígenas e a criação da autonomia guarani no município de Charagua / The last Bolivian political crisis and the important associated social mobilization, between the years of 2000 and 2005, rendered the boundaries of the institutional politics field fluid. Despite the rising of indigenous and peasants groups in 2006, the political crisis was not overcome. Since 2006, the long standing roles in Bolivian politics have changed: those who had been replaced in control of national political power now tried to disrupt institutional power; the social movements, whose actions worked to destabilize previous governments, now became the defenders of the new order. Once the political crisis of those years was overcome, the boundaries of the field were restructured and new spaces for the participation of indigenous actors were created. The redefinition of the institutional politics field resulted in the creation of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, where different forms of social and political organization that operate in Bolivia are given recognition in the redefinition of the state. This work also aims to shed light on how the reorganization of the institutional politics field has influenced the announced state restructure. With this purpose, I analyse the debates concerning the indigenous autonomies and the experience of the Guarani autonomy in Charagua