Geopolitics, Race and Ethnicity
in the Andes

BACKGROUND ESSAY

When one thinks of the Andes, the usual images that come to mind are the highlands, the lamas and alpacas, the glorious Inca past, and the colorful dresses of Andean women. The term "Andean" derives from the Andes highlands that consist of two or three parallel ranges called "Cordillera Occidental," "Cordillera Central," and "Cordillera Oriental." These ranges extend for more than 8,900 kilometers (5,500 miles) along the territories of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. However, there are multiple categorizations of what people and institutions understand for Andean countries today. Geopolitics and economical associations are responsible for these multiple categorizations. For example, according to geographical criteria, the Andean countries include Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile http://www.ddg.com/LIS/aurelia/titpag.htm . For the 2002 Unesco IEB Education Thesaurus, the Andean countries are Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. The Washington Office on Latin America, WOLA, includes only Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Scholars of various fields, financial officers and politicians consider without a doubt that Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are Andean countries. Although the Andean mountains cross the territories of Chile and Argentina and contribute to the existence and development of certain groups in those countries, these two nations are usually grouped with Uruguay in a category called today the "Southern Cone."   At the same time, Colombia and Venezuela may be considered Andean countries for some purposes, but they are also considered continental Caribbean countries and are included in that geographical and cultural area as well.

The term "Andean" then associates strongly to the Andean societies and cultures that developed for centuries in the system of these highlands. The term "Andean" works as a synonym for "Indian" in these countries. Even the three evident Andean countries (Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) present a great diversity of geography and climate that results in the existence of ethnic groups other than Andean/Indians and thus, different cultures that are not usually taken into account when talking about the Andes.

With the arrival of the Spaniards to South America, three main racial groups came in contact and intermingled: the white Iberians, the Indians, and the Africans. The interracial mix resulted in new racial and ethnic categories that exist today, for example, "mestizo" and "cholo" (the mix of white and Indian, "criollo" (the descendant of white Iberians born in the Americas), "white" (the white Iberian born in Europe), "zambo" (the mix of Indian and African), "mulato" (the mix of white and African), among others. The new racial groups looked for accommodation in the dominant white societies of the New World's colonies, and the terms to designate different groups were/are associated with specific features of personality, intelligence, abilities, or the lack of them. For instance, while "mestizo" is no longer used in daily conversations among the peoples of these countries, it has become rather a term used by scholars and educators. However, it was considered a terrible insult in the 16th century. Calling someone "mestizo" meant not only the racial mix, but rather the product of an illegitimate union, either forced by rape, or consensual but illegal. Francisco de Avila, compiler of the 16th century Manuscrito de Huarochiri tells how he was insulted by being called "mestizo" and how this condition made almost impossible to climb the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Calling someone "mestizo" in the colonial Andes was an insult since it referred to his/her illegitimate birth, his/her bastardía.

Over time, with the wars of political independence in the 19th century and the development of the new nations in Latin America, "mestizo" was used to refer to the mix of Indian and white, but with more white than Indian percentage in his/her appearance. The Peruvian writer José María Arguedas, and many 20th century Andean testimonies, use the term "misti" to refer to "mestizo" with this meaning. Still the "mestizo" in this context has negative associations: the "misti" is arrogant, a liar, unreliable and abusive to Indians. The term "cholo" replaces somehow "mestizo" in the daily interaction among peoples of these countries. However, it is often used to describe dark-skinned Peruvians, Ecuadorians and Bolivians and/or those who have migrated from the highlands to the "criollo" city. It is frequently employed as a derogatory and racist term by the "criollo" population of European descent who consider themselves "whites."

Who are the people of the Andean countries? Not only those of indigenous descent that are called "Serranos" (highlanders) or "Andeans," but also the "white criollos" (referred to as "gringos" when they are blond and have blue/green eyes), the afro-Andeans and the afro-criollos, the "cholos,"   and also an enormous diversity of indigenous non-Andean groups in the Amazonian regions of these countries that include the jibaros,   the bora, the ashaninka, the cocamilla, the shipibo, the campa, among many. "Charapa" is a derogatory term that criollos and Andeans use to refer to the Amazonian Indians. In this way, race, ethnicity and language come together in the Andean countries. The criollos and afro-descendants, as well as Asian-descendants, are usually in the big cities of the coast, such as Lima, capital of Peru, and Guayaquil, the second most important city of Ecuador. They speak mainly and only Spanish. Although the migrant "Serranos" bring their language and Quechua is considered one of the official languages in these countries, the "Serranos" do not accept publicly that they speak it and they try to assimilate as soon as possible to the "white criollo" lifestyle.

The majority of the Andean population lives in the highland cities, town and villages, such as Quito (Ecuador), Cuzco (Peru) and La Paz and Cochabamba (Bolivia). Quechua and Aymara are usually accepted as spoken languages in these areas alongside Spanish. Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru are also Amazonian countries. As such, they have extensive Amazonian groups that speak different languages and are racially and culturally distinctive. In Peru, to date sixty Amazonian languages have been recorded officially. The Amazonian region has welcomed also migrants from other countries, especially Europeans and Japanese. Given the extreme conditions of the Amazonian geography, that makes difficult the construction of highways and other technological means of communication, this region and its peoples, cultures and languages are the least known of the Andean countries.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bode, Barbara. "Disaster, Social Structure, and Myth in the Peruvian Andes: Class and Ethnicity in Cuzco." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 293 (1): 246-74.

Degregori, Carlos Ivan. The Peru Reader. Durham: Duke UP, 2005.

Quispe-Agnoli, R. (2006). La fe andina en la escritura. Resistencia e identidad en la obra de Guaman Poma de Ayala. Lima: Fondo Editorial de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

Van Den Berghe, P. & Primov, G. P. (1977). Inequality in the Peruvian Andes: Class and Ethnicity in Cuzco. Columbia: Missouri University Press.



SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

1. This is a team-activity; the class is divided in teams of three
students. Each team chooses three Andean countries and research (see resources) the current geopolitical, geographical, and economical categorizations or definitions for each country. Each team creates a chart or table for each country using these categories. Compare the criteria used for these categorizations and definitions. Present it to the class and compare with the conclusions of other teams who have been given similar or different "Andean" countries.

2. Compare and contrast the ways in which "race" and "racism" is understood in Andean society with "race" and "racism" in U.S. society. Use examples to show similarities and differences in how and why these concepts are understood in Andean countries and the U.S. This could be done through discussion, individual essay, debate, chart.

3. How are "cholo," "charapa" and "gringo" understood in these Andean countries? Research the use of these terms in 2 Andean countries and 2 other non-Andean countries in Latin America. Choose a way to display these similarities and/or differences.