Oil, urbanization, and ‘pacted’ ethnic politics: Indigenous movements in Latin America

Abstract

According to resource curse theory, oil may cause ethnic rebellions. However, this article proposes a conditional explanation for the oil-causes-rebellions curse by examining indigenous movements in oil-producing countries in Latin America. I argue that oil price drops and oil-caused land conflicts increase the likelihood of rebellions if indigenous peoples remain under-urbanized, as evidenced by the 1994 Zapatista rebellion in Mexico. Conversely, indigenous peoples are likely to pursue an ethnic politics that is ‘pacted’ if oil-led economic activities have urbanized them. In Venezuela and Ecuador, oil has created an urban-indigenous class. When Venezuela and Ecuador introduced neoliberal reforms to deal with their economic crises caused by oil price drops, indigenous peoples made efforts to codify indigenous rights in the constitution as a pact. I conclude that this conditional explanation fits Latin America due to two regional factors: ethno-corporatist legacies and diffusion effects.