Latin America is a unique region with an incredible mix of ethnic groups (Spaniards, Portugueses and Indians), civilizations and cultures, which are often described as a relatively young border civilization that forms on the borders of the Indian-Mestizo, African-Mulatto and Iberian-European races. The youth of Latin American civilization is evidenced by its endless carnivals, turbulent revolutions and political upheavals against the background of a critical gap and stratification in the incomes of the population, between the “rich” and the “poor.” As a result, the “poor” Hispanics are popular with “good” populists, dictators, bandits and guerrillas in comparison with “corrupt” politicians. The endless of political “carnival” in Latin America is probably the most colorful with a diametrically opposite colorful palette. As a result, many scientists and politicians come to the conclusion that the civilizational archetype has not yet developed.
The beginning of the XXI century in Latin American countries was marked by a “left turn”, which in turn was characterized by a rapid growth of political self-awareness and self-identification of indigenous peoples what the so-called “Indian Renaissance”. In Latin America, for the first time, the neo-liberal doctrine, ignoring social problems, was defeated. The leftist movement in the Latin American countries was represented by partisans, the revival of the Indian nationalities (in countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador) and the left-Catholic movement. After numerous trials and mistakes that are characteristic of a young civilization, Latin America strives to enter the era of stable economic growth based on a dominant understanding of local specifics and traditions, reliance on its own people, and not on outside forces.
Over the past 10 years in the countries of South America, thanks to the “Indian Renaissance” spread the concept of “prosperous life” (in Spanish – Vivir Bien). It envisages the search for a deep alternative way of thinking about the way of life in the context of the current models of development and the transition from a model aimed at achieving only economic growth through the extraction of natural resources, the so-called extractivist model, to a more holistic view of the world. Such a concept is, first of all, close to the world view of indigenous peoples and at the same time rejects the concept of “prosperity” which is based only on a form that includes material well-being and consumption.
The most well-known approaches to implementing the concept of “prosperous life” are the Ecuadorian principle “Sumak Kawsay” that in one of the Indian languages Quechua means achieving the fullness of life within the community together with other people and nature, and the Bolivian model of development ” Suma Kamanya” , originated from representatives of the indigenous people of Aymara. These development models attracted great attention of the world community and in a short period of time they began to enjoy broad support at the social, cultural, economic and political levels. Such concepts offer ample opportunities to abandon the current perception of the term “development” as well as to search for alternative options in a multicultural environment.
December of the outgoing year reminded again of the application in many South American countries of a new development model that provides a fair balance between the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations that contribute to the achievement of harmony with nature. Several countries of the region held traditional holidays, demonstrating the postulates of the “Indian Renaissance” at the international level.
On the 21st of December the Plurinational State of Bolivia celebrated the summer solstice “Illa y la Ispalla” (in the Aymara language). With the advent of Evo Morales, the first president representing the Aymara indigenous people, in Bolivia, this ceremony was given the status of one of the main traditional holidays marked by the “Indian Renaissance”. With the support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, Fernando Huanacuni Mamani this year the ceremony received international coverage, attended by representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations. Within the framework of the holiday, a solemn ceremony was held, which corresponds to ancient Indian customs and identifies a new cycle of life, the degeneration of internal energy and the commitment to the idea of interaction in harmony with nature. It should be noted that this year the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Bolivia Vladimir I. Sprinchan also participated in this event. He stressed that for Russia in the era of globalization, the role of such alternative development models as the Bolivian concept of “prosperous life” is especially important.
Every year on the 25th of December after the Catholic Christmas in the Peruvian Andes, the traditional fight festival “Takanakuy” (in the Quechua language) unfolds. This ancient sport festival takes its roots in the pre-Hispanic culture of Chanka. Scientists from Great Britain believe that the holiday “Takanakuy” was brought to the Andean region of Latin America by the Vikings, who thus celebrated the achievement of the “End of the World”. The tradition of stuffing each other has settled in the local environment and is still flourishing, clearly demonstrating the Indian identity of the Peruvian people. “Takanakuy” annually allows hundreds of residents of small traditional Andean villages to solve many problems with the enemy by force with fists. In recent years, the “Indian Renaissance” tournament began to enjoy special attention: every year it collects entire stadiums and is actively covered not only in the local but also in the international press. This year, it was attended by representatives of many states and international organizations, who noted the increased interest in the revival of ancient Indian customs.
The goal of such intercultural dialogue in the era of the globalized world is that many countries and international organizations are increasingly turning to the consideration of changes in science, management and economy. Alternative development models proposed by a number of Latin American countries, in the light of recent developments, are often of interest to developed countries. The revival of the ancient Indian understanding of our relationship with nature, in turn, allows us to develop practical methods that promote the strengthening of ethical relations between mankind and the development of more harmonious relations with nature.
The concept of “prosperous life”, generated by the “Indian Renaissance”, includes a number of strategies such as legislative reform, introduction of environmental monitoring, reform of the taxation system, dematerialization of the economy, regional integration of South American countries on an alternative basis, and giving priority to satisfying local needs, and not needs of world markets.
The first ideologist of the trend of the revival of indigenous peoples in Latin America was the founder of the Peruvian anti-imperialist party APRA, Haya de la Torre, who put forward an appeal to end the cultural colonialism of the West. In recent years, the current Bolivian President Evo Morales has been a vivid representative of this trend. In Bolivia, Morales first returned dignity to the indigenous representatives of the country, who in turn represent the majority of the population, but for a long time were considered second-class citizens. In 2009, through the New Constitution, he proclaimed Bolivia as a Plurinational State, and languages such as Quechua, Guarani and Aymara are among the 36 national languages of Bolivia. In such Andean countries as Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, the governments revive the beliefs of the indigenous population, in particular the cult of the goddess Pachamama (Mother Earth). The “Indian Renaissance” tendencies were fully supported by the famous Hugo Chávez, who by the way was himself half Indian. At one of the summits in Caracas, the Venezuelan president proposed not to celebrate the Day of the Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, but to replace it with the Day of the Indigenous Peoples of America, noting that the history of the peoples of Latin America did not begin with European pioneers. Thus, it was symbolically emphasized that the region of Latin America is an independent civilization with its own traditions, culture and beliefs, which, contrary to everything, develops according to its own laws.