Bartolina Sisa Confederation

Bartolina Sisa Confederation
Name	Bartolina Sisa Confederation
Native name	Confederación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas Bartolina Sisa
Formation	1980s
Founder	Domitila Chungara, Lucía Hinojosa, Fabiola Morales
Type	Indigenous peasant women's organization
Headquarters	La Paz
Region served	Bolivia
Languages	Spanish language, Aymara language, Quechua language
Affiliations	National Indigenous Council (CONAMAQ), Syndical Confederation of Bolivian Rural Workers (CSUTCB), Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), United Nations

Bartolina Sisa Confederation is a Bolivian indigenous peasant women’s organization founded in the 1980s that represents rural Aymara people, Quechua people, Guaraní people and other indigenous communities. The Confederation links to indigenous federations, trade unions, and international bodies, participating in land rights, cultural recognition, and electoral mobilization. It is named after the indigenous leader Bartolina Sisa and has become a central actor in indigenous and gendered social movements, coordinating with organizations like CSUTCB, CONAMAQ, and Mesa Nacional por la Madre Tierra.

History

The Confederation's origins trace to peasant mobilizations in the 1970s and 1980s including collaboration with activists such as Domitila Chungara and alliances with Federación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Cochabamba movements. It emerged amid events like the agrarian reforms influenced by the 1952 Bolivian National Revolution legacy and the neoliberal restructurings of the Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada era. The name honors Bartolina Sisa and echoes indigenous resistance to colonialism shared with organizations such as CONAMAQ and CIDOB. During the 1990s and 2000s the Confederation expanded regional chapters in departments including La Paz Department, Oruro Department, Potosí Department, and Chuquisaca Department, engaging with international fora like United Nations World Conference on Women and forging ties to International Labour Organization initiatives on indigenous rights. It played visible roles in the Water War (Cochabamba), the Gas War (Bolivia), and supported the social movement base behind Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism (Bolivia) during the early 21st century.

Organization and Structure

The Confederation is federated with local juntas and regional unions modeled on structures similar to Syndical Confederation of Intercultural Communities of Bolivia (CSCIB) and Confederación Sindical de Colonizadores de Bolivia. National leadership rotates through congresses and assemblies influenced by practices adopted by CSUTCB and indigenous federations like Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas Bartolina Sisa (FNMCBS) affiliates. Decision-making occurs in departmental coordinations in La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Tarija Department, with secretariats for areas such as land, health, education and indigenous autonomy mirroring commissions found in CONAMAQ structures. Membership includes delegates from ejidos, ayllus, and sindicatos who are often simultaneously members of organizations such as Federación de Juntas Vecinales or Federación de Mujeres Indígenas networks. International liaisons have included contacts with Amnesty International, Oxfam, and the Pan American Health Organization.

Ideology and Objectives

The Confederation foregrounds indigenous rights, territorial restitution, agrarian access, and female political representation in continuity with thinkers and activists like Domitila Chungara, Celia de la Paz, and the indigenous autonomist language of Sumak Kawsay debates. It advocates constitutional recognition akin to provisions adopted in the 2009 Bolivian Constitution and supports plurinational frameworks promoted by Evo Morales and Óscar Robles. Objectives encompass defending traditional land use in territories claimed in disputes invoking precedents such as Ilo Convention interpretations and litigations referencing the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The organization advances cultural revitalization tied to ceremonies in locales such as Tiwanaku and policy demands for bilingual intercultural education recognized by Bolivian Ministry of Education reforms.

Activities and Campaigns

The Confederation organizes marches, campesino strikes, and participatory assemblies allied with actions like the national peasant mobilizations during the 2003 Bolivian gas conflict. Campaigns include land titling drives, health campaigns in rural clinics coordinated with Ministerio de Salud y Deportes (Bolivia), and advocacy for maternity protections referenced in regional labor accords. It has mobilized in solidarity with federations during clashes with corporations such as Chaco Petroleum-era disputes and extractive industry conflicts involving companies represented in controversies linked to Potosí mining and Amazonian concessions. International advocacy has taken place at meetings of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and meetings with representatives from European Union delegations.

Role in Bolivian Women’s Movements

The Confederation has been central to indigenous feminism dialogues alongside figures like Domitila Chungara and organizations such as Movimiento de Mujeres and Comité de la Mujer Boliviana. It has promoted quotas and parity measures influencing electoral laws debated in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (Bolivia), worked with women's shelters in El Alto and supported campaigns against domestic violence aligned with Bolivian Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo). Its intersectional activism connects to transnational networks including Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women and campaigns promoted at the Beijing Conference follow-ups.

Relations with Political Parties and Government

The Confederation has had complex relations with Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), providing grassroots mobilization during electoral cycles and participating in governmental consultations under administrations like Evo Morales Ayma while maintaining autonomy asserted during periods of policy disagreement. It has engaged with state institutions including the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal and the Ministerio de Desarrollo Rural y Tierras, and has clashed with administrations such as that of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and later transitional governments over resource extraction and land policy.

Challenges and Controversies

Challenges include internal disputes mirrored in splits seen in federations like CONAMAQ schisms, debates over alliance with Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), and tensions over representation between urban and rural leadership similar to conflicts in CSUTCB history. Controversies have arisen over coordination with extractive projects, accusations of co-optation during government appointments, and strategic disagreements in mobilization tactics during crises such as the 2019 Bolivian political crisis. Additionally, resource constraints and legal battles over communal land titles persist in departments including Pando Department and Beni Department.

Category:Social movements in Bolivia