INDIGENOUS IMMIGRANTS and INDIGENOUS RIGHTS Research Paper

INDIGENOUS IMMIGRANTS and INDIGENOUS RIGHTS - Research Paper Example The arrival of Italians in what is now referred to as Bolivia for instance changed the Bolivia political topography, with foreigners governing the land (Postero, 2007). That was until 2001 when Bolivia elected a president from one of the indigenous groups. This long reign by people who were not originally from these areas has caused tension among the indigenous people who felt hat not only are their rights not respected and given a place in the modern governments run by the foreigners, but also that they have been sidelined. Looking closely at the social-political issues in Latin amerce indicates that economic issues have contributed very much to these issues. The hype to push for the recognition of indigenous culture can be seen as fuelled by the economic depravation of most of these people. Most people who are of the indigenous origin in the Latin America are actually the most economically deprived as well as politically unrepresented. This has left a space for these people to feel that the new order of things is not part of then and that it is not in any way serving their interests. As a result, it has led to politicians of indigenous origins, with many politicians who are of indigenous cultural background using this hype as a way to hike up their popularity and get the votes from the indigenous people. This has been seen for example in Bolivia where the current president, the first indigenous since the arrival of the Italians five hundred years ago, used this hype for indigenous culture as a way to get the vote. He did not only use this to get the vote, but has also used this as a way to try to unite the indigenous groups after his election and also as a way to help in making sure that there is restoration of hope. However, this hype for indigenous culture has been criticised by many academics, describing it as a way for these indigenous politicians to get political edge. Part II: Discussion There is adequate literature on the issue of indigenous culture an d the definition of indigenous people in Latin America. In the recent times, it can be seen that scholars are finally having differing views in the politics of indigenous culture in many parts of the Latin America. As Hale (2004) says, in the past, the approach by many scholars has associated this push for traditional culture as a way for politicians to achieve their selfish interests by appealing to the indigenous people. But as Hale (2004)says, a closer look and a more critical look at these issues has indicated that this attitude by indigenous leaders is not only about them getting power, but that it is a deep seated need for most of these people to be able to connect with their past. However, in light of the fact that the so called foreigners have been in the region for over half a millennium, and also in the consideration of the fact that even the indigenous people have migrated within the Latin American from region to region, it becomes very hard to determine who is a foreigne r and who is indigenous (Stephen, 2007). For instance, people from the main Mexico regions are known to have migrated towards the Baja California region in search of better economic conditions. Although these people are indigenous Latin American, they are not indigenous to the Baja California region. In such a case, if issues of indigenous cul