Among representation and representatives: the indigenous people in the first decade of the Bolivarian Revolution (1998-2008)

Abstract

In Venezuela, after the Bolivarian Revolution came to power (1998), a new constitutional text (1999) was drafted in which, for the first time, indigenous peoples were recognized as subjects with specific rights. This article will review the State's main actions in indigenous matters during the first decade of the Bolivarian Revolution (1998-2008) in order to discuss the way in which they configured the official representation of the indigenous, as well as the way in which policies were defined oriented to the political participation of these groups. From this review, it will be possible to appreciate that the Venezuelan State created an institutional apparatus so that decision-making with respect to indigenous peoples was not exclusively in their hands. In spite of the fact that this structure itself assumed an increasing participation, as of 2007 this trend was reversed, giving rise to a vertical approach guided by the conformation of 21st century socialism. Thus, the participation of Venezuelan indigenous peoples in the activity of the State was conditioned by the evolution of the revolutionary political project.