The Activist Files

The Activist Files is a podcast by the Center for Constitutional Rights where we feature the stories of people on the front lines fighting for justice, including activists, lawyers, and artists. We interview movement partners, our clients, and people using storytelling to create change, and look to highlight lesser known aspects of the work. Listen to our latest episode here, or subscribe through your iPhone podcast app, or directly on iTunes or Spotify!

Episode 33: Colonialism on Trial - Bolivian Indigenous Resistance

December 17, 2020

On Episode 33 of The Activist Files, Rutgers Law School Distinguished Professor of Law Beth Stephens and University Network for Human Rights Supervisor in Human Rights Practice Thomas Becker, both Center for Constitutional Rights cooperating attorneys, speak with Senior Legal Worker Leah Todd about Mamani v. Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín, a case against the former Bolivian president and minister of defense for their role in the use of deadly military force, largely in Indigenous Aymara communities, during 2003 popular protests. Beth and Thomas share updates on victories in the case since the district court judge overruled the jury's unanimous verdict in favor of our clients, and discuss how it emerged from Indigenous community-led organizing in Bolivia and continues to model how people's lawyering can be guided by social movements. They also situate the case in the context of Bolivia's 2019 coup and historic 2020 election, and the five century-plus history of Indigenous resistance to colonization in the Americas.

Resources: https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/mamani-et-al-v-s-nchez-de-lozada-mamani-et-al-v-s-nchez-berza-n