Revolution of 1952 Historically Indigenous people in Bolivia suffered many years of marginalization and a lack of representation. The Katarista movement, consisting of the Aymara communities of La Paz and the
Altiplano, attempted to mobilize the Indigenous community and pursue an Indigenous political identity through mainstream politics and life. Although the Katarista movement failed to create a national political party, the movement influenced many peasant unions such as the (
Unified Syndical Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia).
Coca leaf production is an important sector of the Bolivian economy and culture, especially for
campesinos and Indigenous peoples. Coca leaf producers continued to resist the government's policies on production further devaluing the peso and seized control of the peasant confederation (). With Evo Morales' leadership, the were able to form coalitions with other social groups and eventually create a political party, the
Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). Similarly, the 2000
Water War bought these protests to national attention. This conflict, which grew from the Water Wars, united coca farmers, unions and citizens to protest the sale of Bolivia's gas reserves to the United States through the port of Chile. Political protests for social and economic reforms have been a consistent method for Indigenous mobilization and inclusion in the political process. The subcentral
Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS), the
Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (CIDOB), and the highland Indigenous confederation
National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (CONAMAQ)—supported by other indigenous and environmental groups—organized a march from Trinidad, Beni, to the national capital La Paz in opposition to the project, beginning on 15 August 2011. "One of the latest tactics deployed by governments to bypass Indigenous contestation is to consult non-[local] Indigenous communities. This happened to communities in the case of the road project through Bolivia's Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS)." International pressure built up after Evo Morales' government violently repressed a large Indigenous march against a road project in "the massacre of Chaparina". This led to the Chaparina Massacre—on 25 September 2011, national police brutally repressed Indigenous marchers protesting the construction of a government-proposed highway through the TIPNIS Indigenous territory and national park. == Evo Morales and the plurinational state ==