Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore the role of collective memories and popular oral narratives about the past during social mobilizations in contemporary Bolivia. It focuses on two particular cases: the memory of Tupac Katari rebellion in La Paz department and the image of the Cerro Rico in Potosí department.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will explore the role of collective memories and popular oral narratives about the past during social mobilizations in contemporary Bolivia. It focuses on two particular cases: 1) the memory of Tupac Katari rebellion in La Paz department during the "Gas War" (October 2003), and 2) the image of the Cerro Rico in Potosí during 19 days of civil strike (August 2010).

Most literature on collective memories emphasize their stabilizing nature, on how they help to maintain the status quo. However, the study of those social mobilizations show us that the narratives about the past are of crucial importance to define a collective identity of the social actors involved and to understand their mobilization as a struggle for historical justice.

In this regard, this paper will explore: 1) how those memories were kept or reproduced within the mobilized social groups, and 2) the role of those narratives in questioning the power relationships between social groups themselves and between them and the state.

This paper is a preliminary result of a one-year fieldwork, in which more than seventy social activists were interviewed in urban and rural areas of La Paz and Potosí department.