Indigenous Peoples and the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Framework for

Excerpts from the following 3 Sections of the Paper

E. Digital divide, the new name of exclusion

"The presence of the information society is producing a crucial transformation in the form inwhich people communicate with each other and organize themselves before the challenges ofglobalization..." For Latin America and the Caribbean, a region withprofound economic and social inequalities, the transition toward the emerging paradigm of theinformation society could mean an unprecedented opportunity to incorporate new paths fordevelopment with equity of its citizens.

"At the threshold of the new century, economic adjustment and globalization of the economyare producing profound technological, political, and socio-cultural restructuring that sharpens thedifferences between the sub-regions and marginalizes broad sectors of the population."

F. The indigenous peoples and the challenges of the third millenium

"In the last decades, the technification seen in some agricultural sectors has further marginalized the indigenous peoples in the production circuit. The movement of the smallholding economy towards a highly productive and self-sustainable agricultural one has been impeded by the scarcity of land and technical and credit abandonment.

Environmental deterioration increased in many areas where indigenous peoples live, whosesurvival depends on the protection of renewable natural resources. For the majority of the nativecommunities, land and its natural resources are considered “property” since they have to do withthe habitat, or “living space”. In no way are they considered “goods of exchange”, as establishedin the rationality of extensive commercial exploitation. This contradiction produces new conflicts,greater impoverishment, and an increase in migration as well as in the sector's vulnerability.

Within the framework of an economic model that causes recurring, recessionary situationsand restrictions on the labor market, indigenous marginalization is becoming worse. As areduction in work opportunities increases competition, the unequal pressures on the job marketbecome stratified by various types of discrimination. For example, the ethnocentric behaviors ofthe employers favor the applicants' belonging to the hegemonic social group over theirprofessional qualifications; consequently, the average income of the total indigenous population,women and men, is less than that of the non-indigenous population, even in countries such asChile."

G. Some experiences of indigenous participation in the information society

"Until the present, no exhaustive studies have been carried out on the levels and paths ofaccess, use and purposes of the indigenous peoples who have involved the ICTs in their dailyactivities. Census records do not show breakdowns by ethnic origin of the users. Those censusrecords that have recently included this variable, such as in Chile, are currently being developedand their results will be available in 2003.

In some countries, like Mexico, Ecuador or Peru, there is an increasing number of indigenouspeoples who have studied at the secondary or higher educational levels or who, due to theirparticipation in social and political processes, are capable of self-managing communication andinformation strategies."

H. The path to involvement in the information society: opportunities and challenges

"The strong root of cultural prejudice, which has already been indicated, carries particularsignificance when it exists in the key decision-making sectors within national societies."

"Within the indigenous society, in addition to the aforementioned intra-community processes that impede their information involvement the blunt presence of illiteracy becomes a central obstacle that must quickly be overcome in order to democratize access to the ICTs. As Hilbert and Katz express,'the lack of education could be a crucial factor in the expansion of the digital divide. In debates on this issue, the fact that illiteracy is one of the fundamental barriers to participation in the information society tends to be avoided.' However, one should remember that a person's illiteracy carries multiple capacities, the product of his life experiences and the transmission of knowledge through oral tradition."

"However, even in the case of the indigenous peoples who have managed to achieve access to adequate educational levels, it is likely that this sector will also remain excluded from the information society. Control of the written code on the part of the potential users is a necessary, but insufficient, condition to stimulate the appropriation of the new technologies, promote information technology proficiency and the reduction of the digital divide."

E. [sic] Proposals for indigenous incorporation

After analyzing the social and economic tendencies for Latin America and the Caribbean, it is difficult to imagine, in practice, future scenarios of prosperous and equitable development, with environmental sustainability, and respectful of the identity and culture of the indigenous peoples. As ECLAC expressed, “the utilization of the digitalization process to celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity does not automatically imply a full integration in the global economy. Also, use of the ICTs to foster economic growth does not include the simultaneous strengthening of democratic participation; enjoying the cultural goods, art and entertainment does not automatically improve the health of the members of society and so on”.

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