The Quiet Revolution: How Women in Bolivia Are Redefining Development

In the crowded markets of Cochabamba, Bolivia, Indigenous women are quietly revolutionizing development on their own terms. Known as Las Cholas, they have transformed traditional marketplaces into spaces of economic empowerment while preserving their cultural heritage. Despite decades of top-down development programs, Indigenous women's voices often remain excluded from policymaking. Yet, their stories reveal a powerful paradox: by remaining rooted in tradition, they have achieved economic independence and community leadership. These vendors have adapted the forces of globalization to fit their realities, creating sustainable livelihoods that honor their identity. Their success challenges conventional development models and highlights how meaningful transformation often emerges not through external aid, but through the everyday resilience of women who refuse to choose between tradition and progress. 

Las Cholas and women’s triple role

In the vibrant outdoor Cancha market of Cochabamba, Bolivia, a quiet revolution unfolds daily. Here, women of mixed Indigenous and European heritage, known as Las Cholas, have created something unprecedented: a space where cultural preservation and economic empowerment not only coexist but also actively reinforce each other. Their story challenges fundamental assumptions about development, modernization, and the supposed dichotomy between tradition and progress.

Understanding their success requires recognizing what development scholars identify as women's "triple role" within society: productive activities (income-generating work), reproductive responsibilities (childcare and household maintenance), and community managing roles (organizing collective welfare). 

Las cholas represent a remarkable example of women who have successfully navigated all three roles while maintaining their cultural identity. 

The Limitations of Top-Down Development

Despite well-intentioned efforts, a fundamental flaw in many development programs lies in their failure to recognize women's triple role, instead focusing on single aspects of women's lives while ignoring the complex interconnections between their productive, reproductive, and community-managing responsibilities.

Women's roles as community managers, including their participation in clubes de madres (mothers' clubs), tended to be overlooked because men were perceived as more involved in community politics. These roles were not perceived, by either men or women, as 'political' and were accorded little social status, reinforcing men's more prominent roles in formal political structures. This oversight reflects a broader failure to understand that women's community organizing represents sophisticated political engagement that operates through different channels than male-dominated formal politics.

The prevalence of unpaid family labor among women represents another category often overlooked in official census data. Economic programs targeting specific sectors frequently benefited men disproportionately, as they were more likely to be recognized as formal workers. 

Neoliberal development agencies frequently targeted poor women for participation in food distribution programs and microenterprise collectives, operating under the presumption that women would volunteer or accept substandard wages. While feminist policymakers from so-called "First World" countries seemed to genuinely seek to improve women's welfare in poor communities, their policies, based on conventional Western notions of gender and family, often proved counterproductive due to their inability to understand women's actual needs and interests.

Success Stories: Alternative Models of Empowerment

Las cholas strategically leveraged the economic opportunities created by the 1990s neoliberal policies that emerged after the devastating 1980s crisis. The implementation of neoliberal policies, including free-market reforms and access to microfinance, allowed many to expand their businesses by reinvesting profits and dominating specific markets. However, their success was not simply about accessing economic opportunities; it was about managing these opportunities within the context of their cultural responsibilities and family obligations.

Time, recognized as women's scarcest resource, became a central factor in their strategic approach. Unlike traditional development programs that often impose additional time burdens on women, Las Cholas created business models that accommodated their multiple roles. The practice of "desdoblaje," sending out products to be sold at other market points with hired itinerant peddlers, exemplifies this approach. This practice allowed them to expand their productive activities while maintaining their reproductive and community responsibilities.

Desdoblaje is rooted in familial networks and reinforced by emotional bonds, transforming marketing practices derived from formal education into expressions of cultural identity. This practice demonstrates how Las Cholas critically evaluated and selectively integrated external business practices while maintaining their distinct indigenous identity. Rather than being constrained by their triple role, they leveraged it, using their community networks and cultural knowledge to create innovative business strategies that non-Indigenous competitors could not replicate.

Political Awakening and Collective Action

Beyond economic entrepreneurship, Las Cholas have emerged as influential political actors. Their support for Evo Morales's presidency in 2005 represented a profound political awakening, using their economic power to advocate for Indigenous rights and challenge existing power structures. Paradoxically, even though Las Cholas greatly benefited from neoliberal policies, they recognized neoliberalism's negative effects on other Indigenous people and joined social movements against these policies, prioritizing Indigenous values and identity over economic profit.

This political engagement demonstrates the sophisticated nature of their worldview, they could simultaneously benefit from certain aspects of neoliberalism while opposing its broader implications for their communities. Their political consciousness transcended narrow self-interest, reflecting the collective orientation embedded in Indigenous cultural values. This approach contrasts sharply with individualistic Western models of political and economic engagement.

The broader evolution of women's political participation, from limited representation in the 1980s to near parity in the early 21st century, particularly following Evo Morales's election and the implementation of the 2009 Constitution, was significantly influenced by such grassroots transformations. The success of Las Cholas and other women's organizations in creating alternative spaces for political and economic participation demonstrates the importance of understanding and working within local cultural contexts while advancing gender equality goals.

Implications for Development Theory and Practice

The experience of Las Cholas in Cochabamba's Cancha market provides a model for understanding how women can navigate and transform institutional constraints while managing their triple role effectively. Their success in leveraging neoliberal economic policies while simultaneously preserving and reinforcing their Indigenous identity demonstrates a sophisticated approach to development that transcends simple binary oppositions between tradition and modernity.

This case challenges conventional development thinking that often assumes modernization requires abandoning traditional practices and cultural identities. Las Cholas demonstrate that culture can be the engine for economic success and political empowerment when approached strategically and collectively. Their model suggests that effective development must recognize women's multifaceted roles and be grounded in local cultural contexts, driven by community members themselves rather than imposed by external agencies.

Social policies must also address the impact of domestic responsibilities on women's participation in paid work by socializing domestic tasks traditionally confined to women's care.

Las Cholas succeeded precisely because they found innovative ways to integrate rather than separate their productive, reproductive, and community roles. Their business practices, political engagement, and community organization  reflect a sophisticated understanding of how to navigate complex social, economic, and political systems while maintaining cultural integrity. 

Conclusion

The story of Las Cholas in Cochabamba's markets offers profound lessons for development practitioners, policymakers, and scholars seeking to understand how meaningful transformation occurs when women's triple role is recognized and understood. 

Much has been achieved since women's issues were defined as a priority in 1975 with the first UN Conference on Women. New social policies have brought visibility to women's roles and created opportunities to address systemic barriers. However, the experience of Las Cholas suggests that the most effective advances occur when policies accommodate the competing demands on women's time, ensuring that initiatives intended to empower them do not inadvertently impose additional burdens.

As development practitioners and policymakers continue to build on advancements made since the 1970s, incorporating lessons from regional experiences, such as those  of Las Cholas can help dismantle remaining obstacles and advance gender equality in social development.