The Struggle for indigenous rights in Latin America. ed. by Nancy Grey Postero
and Leon Zamosc. Sussex Academic , 2004. (Dist. by ISBS), 250p index afp ISBN
1-8451-9006-8, $67.50 . Reviewed in 2005apr CHOICE.
Several recent edited volumes (Susan Stonich, Endangered Peoples of Latin
America,
2001; Rachel Sieder, Multiculturalism in Latin America, 2002; Erik Langer,
Contemporary Indigenous Movements in Latin America, 2003) have explored contemporary
indigenous issues in Latin America. This volume, which evolved from seminars
at the University of California, San Diego and Cochabamba, Bolivia, improves
on those in terms of the breadth of geographic and thematic coverage and the
internal coherence of the essays. Eight authors writing from the perspectives
of anthropology, sociology, and political science analyze indigenous struggles
in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. The essays
provide a quick historical context, but they are written at a sophisticated
level and emphasize deeper issues, including indigenous challenges to neoliberal
economic policies and participation in electoral politics. The volume argues
that in places where indigenous peoples are in the majority, they are demanding
equality and participation rather than just autonomy and recognition. The editors'
introduction provides valuable conceptual tools for understanding indigenous
struggles, their diverse goals, and the ways in which their contexts are shaped
by complex interactions between demographic factors, class consciousness, and
ethnic identification. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates
and above. -- M. Becker, Truman State University