"En Papel,” Not in Practice: Indigenous Autonomy and the Structural Barriers to Land and Resource Control in Bolivia

Author

• Andrew F. Purcell, University of MississippiFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-8-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Croft Institute for International Studies

First Advisor

Katherine Centellas

Second Advisor

Nora Sylvander

Third Advisor

Ian Gowan

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This thesis examines why Bolivia’s 2009 plurinational constitution—despite its strong recognition of Indigenous autonomy, collective territory, and prior consultation—often produces rights that remain “en papel” rather than in practice. Based on one month of fieldwork in Tumupasa, Chojasivi, La Paz, El Alto, and Santa Cruz, the study draws on interviews, participant observation, and NGO documents to analyze the structural barriers that prevent constitutional guarantees from becoming enforceable governance tools. This gap between recognition and implementation structures the central research question: why do Bolivia’s constitutional and legal protections for indigenous land and resource rights function as symbolic guarantees rather than enforceable governance tools? Using these fieldwork findings, this study analyzes the perceived policy failures of indigenous peoples through the lenses of four core concepts: buen vivir, autonomy, plurinationalism, and territory vs. property. These findings contribute to broader debates on constitutional multiculturalism, indigenous autonomy, and the structural limits of plurinationalism in Latin America.

Recommended Citation

Purcell, Andrew F., ""En Papel,” Not in Practice: Indigenous Autonomy and the Structural Barriers to Land and Resource Control in Bolivia" (2026). Honors Theses. 3458.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3458

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.