Indigeneity in the Debate. The Right to Prior Consultation in Peruvian Ethnopolitics

Abstract

Two hundred years of the independence of the Republic of Peru and the ongoing debate on the multi-ethnic and multicultural character of the Peruvian nation are inextricably linked with the determination of legislative norms relating to the indigenous peoples inhabiting the territory of the state. The ratification of the ILO Convention no. 169 in 1994 did not contribute to the implementation of the rights set out in the document, including the right of indigenous peoples to the procedure of prior consultation and expressing free and informed consent to all state actions that may affect their quality of life. However, the wave of socio-environmental conflicts in the 21st century changed the relationship between the state and the indigenous population. As a result, in 2011, the Congress of Peru passed the Law of Prior Consultation (Ley de Consulta Previa) unanimously. Thus, Peru found itself in the vanguard of states introducing the right to consultations into the national legislative system, but this did not mean that all problems were solved. Since indigenous communities live in economically attractive territories, identification of the beneficiaries of the new Law has become the focus of a new conflict. The indigeneity of the peasant communities (comunidades campesinas) of the sierra and costa regions began to be challenged by both the mining lobby and government circles. In this article, using the historical perspective and referring to the acts and norms of Peruvian laws, I briefly discuss the course of the conflict and present the problem of the terminology and definitions used for the indigenous sector of Peruvian society concerning authoritative decisions of the state and the so-called “discursive colonialism”, still present in Peruvian ethnopolitics after two hundred years of independence.