Global economy, local politics: Indigenous struggles, civil society and democracy

This article critically assesses the globalist position which claims that the forces of globalization have fundamentally debilitated nation-states, and that the fate of social movements now depends on identity politics, the degree and extent of international solidarity and the shaping of a transnational civil society. Against this position, I argue that the nation-state continues to be a critical sphere for the imposition of ruling capitalist interests. Likewise, any substantial modification in the economic, political and cultural conditions of subordinate groups, communities and classes will have to be fought and won at this level. With an empirical focus on indigenous mobilization in Latin America, the article presents an alternative, political-cultural theory of class formation. It centres on the domestic level of politics, and adopts a bottom-up linkages approach. In this theory, the best chances for deepening democracy and improving the life chances of subordinate groups, communities and classes come from civil society at the local level. Finally, the article outlines the new political culture for a democratic-participatory leadership proposed by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in Mexico, which is consistent with the bottom-up perspective offered here.