Acting Inca: National Belonging in Early Twentieth-Century Bolivia

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ActingInca NationalBelonging inEarly Twentieth-Century Bolivia E. Gabrielle Kuenzli latin american history “Acting Inca examines how different groups in the twentieth century revised Bolivian history in order to ‘recast’ its present. In lively prose, Kuenzli tells the fascinating and disturbing story of how the Liberal Party, Aymara intellectuals, and others refashioned the Inca and Tiwanaku past, particularly the role of indigenous people. This book should appeal to scholars working on performance, race, and memory as well as everyone interested in contemporary Bolivia.” —Charles Walker, University of California, Davis “An important book that presents novel interpretations of how intellectuals and activists intentionally construct politically acceptable forms of identity. It examines how the convergence of Aymara and Liberal interests established new forms of Bolivian identities based on the imagined memories of an Inca past rather than the realities of an Aymara present. Kuenzli challenges standard interpretations of the roles that the Aymara have played in Bolivia’s history and, in the process, historicizes the actions of the administration of Evo Morales.” —Marc Becker, Truman State University For most of the postcolonial era, the Aymara Indians of highland Bolivia were a group without representation in national politics. Believing that their cause would finally be recognized, they fought alongside the victorious Liberals during the Civil War of 1899. Despite Aymara loyalty, Liberals quickly moved to marginalize them after the war. In this groundbreaking study, E. Gabrielle Kuenzli revisits the events of the civil war and its aftermath to dispel popular myths about the Aymara and reveal their forgotten role in the nation-building project of modern Bolivia. Kuenzli examines documents from the famous postwar Peñas trial to recover Aymara testimony during what essentially became a witch-hunt. She reveals that the Aymara served as both dutiful plaintiffs allied with Liberals and unwitting defendants charged with wartime atrocities and instigating a race war. To further combat their “Indian problem,” Creole liberals developed a public discourse that positioned the Inca as the only Indians worthy of national inclusion. The “whitening” of Incans was a thinly veiled attempt to block the Aymara from politics. Despite their repression, the Aymara did not stagnate. Kuenzli demonstrates how they appropriated the Liberal’s Indian discourse by creating theatrical productions that glorified Incan elements of the Aymara past. In this way, they were able to carve an acceptable space as “progressive Indians” in society. As Kuenzli shows, the Aymara engaged liberal Creoles in a variety of ways at the start of the twentieth century, effectively shaping national discourse and identity in a tradition of activism that continues to this day. E. Gabrielle Kuenzli is assistant professor of history at the University of South Carolina. pitt latin american series University of Pittsburgh Press www.upress.pitt.edu Cover design: Ann Walston 9 7 8 0 8 2 2 9 6 2 3 2 8 ISBN 13: 978-0-8229-6232-8 ISBN 10: 0-8229-6232-2 KUENZLI Acting Inca PITTSBURGH ...