Latin America's Multicultural Movements

Throughout the Americas, indigenous people have been arguing that they should be entitled, as "first peoples," to representation in local, national, and international fora in a capacity different from that of other civil society groups. Latin America's Multicultural Movements is a collection of empirically-based chapters that advance debates concerning multiculturalism and indigenous and minority group rights in Latin America by looking at the struggle betweencommunitarianism, autonomy, and human rights. Rather than advancing a particular argument for or against multiculturalism, the book includes contributions from top Latin American scholars with a range of ideological positions to provide a comparative set of perspectives on the issue. While the bookaddresses highly polemical debates, it does so in a way that moves beyond the ideological clashes that characterize most of the literature and invites readers to explore how multicultural reforms affect people in their everyday lives, as well as in political parties, elected offices, and interest groups. The chapters, which include case studies from Mexico, Bolivia and Ecuador, look at the controversial role of the state regarding multicultural rights and discuss whether the state enables orhinders the advancement of multicultural rights.

This book offers an insightful analysis of recent reforms in Latin America that have expanded the state's recognition of multicultural rights, customary law and indigenous autonomy. While these reforms are often studied in isolation, the editors adopt a more ambitious research design, bringing together scholars who have examined similar reforms in the two different parts of Latin America where multicultural policies have gone the furthest: Mexico and the Central Andes. Based on original research at the sub-municipal, municipal and national levels in these two regions, the volume offers compelling answers to some of the most important questions posed by multicultural reforms., The authors in this volume ask penetrating questions about the nature of indigenous autonomy movements in Latin America while avoiding idealized rhetoric and oversimplification. The book's comparative framework and clear commitment to bringing empirical case knowledge to bear on important normative debates represent an innovative approach that helps to deepen our understanding of the complex political reality that is lived by millions of Latin America's indigenous citizens.

Todd A. Eisenstadt is Professor and former Chair of the Government Department at American University. He is author of Politics, Identity and Mexico's Indigenous Rights Movements, which received the 2012 Van Cott Prize from the Latin American Studies Association for best book in Latin American Political Institutions.Michael S. Danielson is a comparative politics PhD candidate at American University.Moises Jaime Bailón Corres is a former advisor to the Controller General of Oaxaca, in the Secretariat of Government of the Republic, and was a member of the Oaxaca State Congress from 1995 to 1998. As a state congressman, he served as President of the Commission on Indigenous Affairs.Carlos Sorroza Polo is Research Professor at the Institute of Sociological Research of Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca.