Coexistence of two or more sealed or preserved national groups within a polity
Plurinationality,plurinational, orplurinationalism is defined as the coexistence of two or more sealed or preserved national groups within apolity[1] (an organized community or body of peoples[2]). In plurinationalism, the idea ofnationality is plural, meaning there are manynationals within an organized community or body of peoples. Derived from this concept, aplurinational state is the existence of multiple political communities and constitutional asymmetry. The usage of plurinationality assists in avoiding the division of societies within a state or country. Furthermore, aplurinational democracy recognizes the multipledemoi (common people or populace)[3] within a polity.[1] Reportedly the term has its origin in the Indigenous political movement inBolivia where it was first heard of in the early 1980s.[4] As of 2022 Bolivia andEcuador are constitutionally defined as plurinational states.[5] Proposals for plurinationalism have also been heard inArgentina,Chile,Costa Rica, andGuatemala.
In 2009, Bolivia adopted a constitution that renamed the country to the "Plurinational State of Bolivia",[7] as spearheaded byEvo Morales.[8] Formerly, it was called the "Republic of Bolivia".[7] Later, in 2010, Morales proclaimed January 22nd to be "Plurinational State Day", an annual holiday; it coincides with the day Morales took power in 2006.[8]
In September 2008,Rafael Correa introduced a new constitution that described Ecuador as a "Plurinational and Intercultural State".[9] The new constitution also recognized 11 indigenous groups within the country.[9] The concept of Ecuador becoming a plurinational state was previously proposed in 1988.[10]
Since 1986, Argentina has been home to an annual meeting for activists to discussgender-based inequality.[11] In 2022, the name was changed from the "National Women's Meeting" to the "Plurinational Meeting" (thoughtwo events, one under each name, were held that year).[11] In 2023, only the "Plurinational Meeting" was held, which was in the city ofBariloche.[11]
In Chile constitutional plurinationalism has been a topic of debate. Plurinationalism was not a concept in the constitutional reforms proposed byMichelle Bachelet's second government (2014–2018), yet the proposed reforms included recognition ofChile's indigenous peoples.[12] The2022 proposed Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile defined Chile as "plurinational", however this proposal wasrejected by a large margin in September 2022.[4][13] Prior to the dismissal of the proposed constitution the issue of pluranationalism was noted by polls andEl País as particularly divisive in Chile.[14] The creation of a "plurinational region" in southern Chile has been proposed by some scholars and activists as a solution to theMapuche conflict.[15]
Plurinationalism has been criticized byJosé Rodríguez Elizondo as being used to advance Bolivian claims againstChile for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.[16]
In August 2014, lawmakers in Costa Rica approved a first round vote for a bill that would describe the country as "multiethnic and plurinational" within theconstitution of Costa Rica.[17]
InGuatemala, plurinationalism has been championed by Comité de Desarrollo Campesino[4] and the Maya Waqib’ Kej National Convergence.[18] In the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the government of Guatemala committed to reforms to recognize theMaya peoples, theGarifuna, and theXinca people[18] and also reframe the country in theconstitution of Guatemala as being "of national unity, multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual".[19] No such reforms have ever happened to date.[18]
^Soto Martínez, Víctor (2019-11-29). Análisis comparativo entre la Constitución vigente y el proyecto de reforma constitucional de Michelle Bachelet (Report) (in Spanish). Vol. 155–19.Library of Congress of Chile.
^Marimán, José; Valenzuela, Esteban (2015). "El nuevo ciclo de movilización mapuche en Chile: la emergencia de la CAM y el proyecto autonomista para una región plurinacional" [The new cycle of mapuche mobilization in Chile: the emergence of the CAM and the project for a plurinational autonomy region].Araucaria. Revista Iberoamericana de Filosofía, Política y Humanidades (in Spanish) (34):279–301.
Pallares, Amalia.The Politics of Disruption, From Pluriculturalism to Plurinationalism, From peasant struggles to Indian resistance: the Ecuadorian Andes in the late twentieth century, University of Oklahoma Press, 2002, 272 pages
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