While I mostly resonated with Mariategui’s analysis of the “Indian’s problem” (could it be both an economic and racialized issue?), I did raise my eyebrow at this claim he made toward the end of the chapter: “Socialism appears in our history not because of chance, imitation, or fashion, as some superficial minds would believe, but because it was historically inevitable” (1971). Positing that socialism was historically inevitable has large implications, one of those being the framing of our globe’s distinct societies and cultures through a European lens. There is no uniform development in terms of societal modes of production, which varies strongly across different societies. Just because it happened in Europe doesn’t mean it has to happen everywhere else. Even if Mariategui is correct and socialism would be highly beneficial for the Indigenous Andeans living in Peru (which I do think it would, to a large extent, but he is far more of an expert so ignore my qualms), this notion of Western inevitability is very colonial and marginalizes Indigenous forms of resistance. Ah yes, Indigenous Andeans would be doomed without enlightened Western thinkers! I hope this doesn’t read as a critique of socialism, because it’s not. I’m a socialist! But acting like it’s the end all be all for every society is ignorant. And as for the important question, what do Indigenous Andeans want? I’ve been racked by this question for days, particularly while I was vomiting! I read a really interesting article from Black Agenda Report that theorized how the relationship between communism and Indigeneity might look (though they were writing mainly about Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada, not in Latin America, so it would likely be different). Communism, as a Western theory, should take a backseat and adapt, in some ways, when it comes to Indigeneity. An emphasis on a communal whole while also raising Indigenous voices, thouughts, processes, and ways of being into the fray to avoid a harmful homogenization. I’m not explaining it nearly as well as they are, so I highly recommend going to check that article out; it’s a bit long but so so interesting (I’ll link it at the bottom of this). But with this theorization, it’s rather evident how saying socialism (capital S) is inevitable can be harmful; even if it’s not capitalism, it can still marginalize Indigenous ways of being. Again, I wonder how Indigenous Andeans would feel about Mariategui’s statement. To his credit, discourse in 2024 is very different than it was when he made that claim, and I’m not sure he meant it in the way I’m interpreting it. I am being rather harsh. But whether or not he meant it, it’s still a bit of a harmful idea.
Here’s the link to that interesting article:
http://blackagendareport.com/decolonization-and-communism
