Indigenous protest, social networks, and ethnic stereotyping: some insights from the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

This article examines the nature of social protest undertaken by an Amazonian indigenous organisation against international energy companies working in Peru. It analyses the response of Peruvian and international NGOs to the indigenous group's activities and challenges certain stereotypes concerning the nature of indigenous collective action and perceptions of community. In particular, it focuses on the way in which NGO workers attempt to explain the failure of the indigenous organisation to mobilise and sustain collective protest. The article highlights the dissonance between romanticisation of indigeneity and the lived reality of the indigenous group. It advocates the use of anthropological studies and social-movement theory to explore the limits to indigenous mobilisation and suggests their use for more sensitive planning of initiatives with indigenous groups. As demand for oil and gas grows across the globe, and governments in developing countries seek to increase revenues from lucrative extractive industries, clashes between indigenous groups and energy companies are likely to increase. The need for sensitive engagement between NGOs and indigenous groups is therefore of the utmost importance.

Keywords:

• Civil Society
• Governance and Public Policy
• Rights
• Latin America and the Caribbean

Acknowledgements

This article is based on findings from a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and conducted by INTRAC into the relationships between an indigenous organisation and international conservationist NGOs. The ESRC is the UK's leading research and training agency addressing economic and social concerns; it aims to provide high-quality research on issues of importance to business, the public sector, and government. The author extends her thanks to her co-researcher, Brian Pratt, and to Jo Boyden and Jason Hart for their comments on this article.

Notes

The field data on which this article is based were gathered in 2005 and 2006.

COMARU is the subject of an extensive organisational case study, to be published by INTRAC. Some of the material used in this article has been drawn from this study.

The views of the Machiguenga, and the position of COMARU vis à vis the energy company, are explored in extensive detail in Earle and Pratt (2009).

This seems a reasonable demand on the part of COMARU's leadership, who currently only draw a small stipend. With the advent of the energy companies in the region, leading the COMARU has become a full-time job with a demanding workload which does not permit time for other means of earning a living.

Source: www.amazonwatch.org, retrieved 31 August 2008.