Dilemmas Of Modernity: Bolivian Encounters With Law And Liberalism

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Dilemmas of Modernity provides an innovative approach to the study of contemporary Bolivia, moving telescopically between social, political, legal, and discursive analyses, and drawing from a range of disciplinary traditions. Based on a decade of research, it offers an account of local encounters with law and liberalism. Mark Goodale presents, through a series of finely grained readings, a window into the lives of people in rural areas of Latin America who are playing a crucial role in the emergence of postcolonial states. The book contends that the contemporary Bolivian experience is best understood by examining historical patterns of intention as they emerge from everyday practices. It provides a compelling case study of the appropriation and reconstruction of transnational law at the local level, and gives key insights into this important South American country.

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Dilemmas of Modernity Dilemmas of Modernity Bolivian Encounters with Law and Liberalism Mark Goodale Stanford University Press Stanford, California Stanford University Press Stanford, California © 2009 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goodale, Mark. Dilemmas of modernity : Bolivian encounters with law and liberalism / Mark Goodale. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8047-5981-6 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-8047-5982-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Sociological jurisprudence—Bolivia. 2. Law and the social sciences—Bolivia. 3. Indigenous peoples—Civil rights—Bolivia. 4. Liberalism—Bolivia. 5. Human rights—Bolivia. 6. Social change—Bolivia. I. Title. KHC315.G66 2009 340'.1150984—dc22 Typeset by Westchester Book Group in 10/14 Minion 2008029539 For Javier and Freddy Contents List of Tables and Figures ix Acknowledgments xiii 1 Modern Dilemmas 1 2 Paris in the Andes: Law and the Modern Subject 30 3 The Making of a Legal Universe: Law and the Practice of Everyday Life 54 4 Courts of Desire: Gender, Power, and the Law 82 5 Human Rights and the Moral Imagination: Becoming Liberal in the Norte de Potosí 114 6 Modern Dreams: An Ethnography of Grandeur 142 Conclusion: New Revolutionary Moves 161 viii Contents Notes 183 Bibliography 201 Index 239 List of Tables and Figures Tables 4.1 Percentage of women at Sacaca’s legal institutions 101 5.1 New arrivals to SLI, 1995 137 5.2 Types of cases processed by SLI, 1995 137 5.3 New arrivals to SLI, 1996 137 5.4 Types of cases processed by SLI, 1996 138 5.5 New arrivals to SLI, 1997 138 5.6 Types of cases processed by SLI, 1997 138 Figures 1.1 Map of Bolivia within its regional context 6 1.2 Map of Potosí department 7 1.3 Sacaca, Alonso de Ibañez 11 1.4 Abundant cornfield, Vitora, Canton Ovejería 11 1.5 Quinoa field in full bloom, between Churata and Llapa-Llapa, Canton Wila Wila 12 1.6 Eroded fields above Waraya, Canton Sillu Sillu 13 3.1 Parties wait to be heard on Sunday at the house of the corregidor titular, Sacaca