Historical and Spatial Dynamics in the Construction of an El Alto Neighbourhood

The city of El Alto is recognized as the epicenter of the October 2003 events that forced the resignation of president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and began a political process that resulted in the election of Evo Morales in 2005. Part of an explanation about how the residents of this city were able to articulate social mobilizations of such magnitude and impact is due to the predominately indigenous population of the city. This invites us to ask how the residents wove history of territory and the memories “brought” by the migrants from rural/indigenous communities in the construction of neighborhoods. In this essay I will argue that the current forms of social and neighborhood organization in El Alto, represent translations, adaptations, and re-inventions of forms of organization in their places of origin. This, in turn, manifests a complex tapestry of memories, social practices, and everyday actions, to give shape to their particular forms of organization.