A New Dawn? Indigenous Movements and Ethnic Inclusion in Latin America

This article investigates how indigenous movements in Latin America promote the political inclusion of historically marginalized indigenous groups. I argue that the social pressure produced by a strong movement promotes the inclusion of indigenous representatives in formal leadership positions. However, this effect depends on both the movement’s internal unity and the general responsiveness of the political system. I examine my claims using a mixed-methods design. I draw on a new group-level data set on ethnic parties and ethnic civil society organizations in Latin America between 1946 and 2009. My statistical analysis finds that indigenous groups with well-organized movements are more likely to achieve inclusion in executive positions of state power. The level of democratic freedom in a country greatly conditions this effect, while movement-internal factionalism undermines the political effectiveness of indigenous mobilization. I illuminate the causal mechanisms underlying these results in a case study of the rise and decline of indigenous mobilization in Ecuador.本文旨在探讨拉丁美洲原住民运动如何推动长期遭受边缘化的原住民群体实现政治包容。本文主张，声势浩大的原住民运动所催生的社会压力，可推动原住民代表跻身正式领导岗位。不过，这一效应同时受制于运动的内部团结程度，以及政治体系的整体回应性。本文采用混合研究设计对上述立论展开实证检验，依托1946年至2009年间拉丁美洲族群政党与族群公民社会组织的全新群体层面数据集开展研究。统计分析结果表明，拥有组织化程度较高的运动的原住民群体，更易获得国家权力行政岗位的任职机会。一国的民主自由水平会显著调节这一效应，而运动内部的派系纷争则会削弱原住民动员的政治效能。本文还通过厄瓜多尔原住民动员的兴衰历程这一个案研究，阐明了上述结论背后的因果作用机制。