Yanaconas, colonos and arrenderos: Contradictions between the law and practice in rural labour in 19th and 20th century Bolivia

Soux M.L. · Worlds of Labour in Latin America (2022) · DOI: 10.1515/9783110759303-005

Resumen

This chapter seeks to analyse the contradictions that existed between the law and practice at work on the Bolivian haciendas between 1825 and 1952. Although the regulations, through the 1832 Civil Code,established alabour system based on forms of leasehold paid through the work or service of the leaseholder or colono;inpractice, until 1952, a system persisted in which labour was given in exchange for the usufruct of a plot on the estate, and that encompassed not only agricultural labour but also servile labour for the landowner, such as pongueaje. This contradiction led to several debates in the 1940s. Although the 1945 Indigenous Congress determined the end of pongueaje,it only really disappeared with the Land Reform of 1952.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos