Soledad Valdivia Rivera
Assistant professor
- Name
- Dr. S. Valdivia Rivera
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2947
- s.valdivia.rivera@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-6314-8665
Soledad Valdivia Rivera is a university lecturer at the Institute for History.
Fields of interest
- Actual political reforms and social changes in Bolivia.
- Changing State – civil society relations.
- Social movements and the plurinational State.
- Expansion and revisioning of democracy in Latin America.
Research
State-Social movement relations in Bolivia
Through this research I look at how the dynamic between the State and social movements in Bolivia defines and affects the political process in Bolivia. Social movements, particularly indigenous social movements, have left the margins to become key political actors, bringing the first indigenous president to power, Evo Morales, in 2005. Since then, these actors have been very influential but have also shown much ambivalence in interacting with the State. Utilizing the concept of ‘political networks’, I question the State-society dichotomy and make sense of the relation as the continuously arrangement and re-arrangement of political alliances, on both strategic and ideological basis, that include other actors such as NGOs and the (new) media. I maintain a focus on the indigenous factor, looking at how the political process in contemporary Bolivia has redefined ‘indigeneity’ and ‘citizenship’, to understand the position of indigenous peoples in society, particularly in the framework of ‘Plurinationality’.
(De-)Democratization in Latin America
This research focuses on the construction of democracy in the region. Moving past minimal definitions of democracy, the construction or deepening of democracy is understood as an ongoing process in which both progress and regression may, and indeed often do, take place simultaneously. In a context of a crisis of legitimacy of representative democracy and of state transformations, the research focus on how more traditional mechanism of the democratic practice are complemented, subverted and often challenged by actors from civil society. These actors are seen to introduce and press for more participatory mechanisms of democracy, such as Direct Democracy (plebiscites, referenda, etc.) but also alternative non-institutionalized instruments of political participation such as control y participación social (accountability), social movements, grass root organizations and strong ‘social leadership’ (populism). This study aims to assess the potential and limitations/risks of such mechanisms for the construction of democracy in the region.
Curriculum vitae
She was born in Bolivia and came to live in the Netherlands in 1997. She obtained a BA in Cultural Anthropology and completed the two year Research Master Programme on Latin American and Amerindian Studies at Leiden University. In 2009, she was awarded a Mosaic grant by the NWO (the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research) to carry out a four year doctoral research. She obtained her PhD degree in 2014, after defending the dissertation under the title Redes Políticas y Processos de Democratización. La relación Estado-movimientos sociales bajo el gobierno de Evo Morales, 2006-2012. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Centre of Latin American Research and Documentation CEDLA of the University of Amsterdam since 2017. She is the author of the forthcoming book (May 2019) Political Networks and Social Movements. Bolivian State-Society Relations under Evo Morales, 2006-20I6. New York: Berghahn Books.
Assistant professor
- Faculty of Humanities
- Institute for History
- Latijns-Amerika studies
- Valdivia Rivera S. (2020), Interview published at Jason Magazine, issue Political crisis in Latin America, under title ‘Bolivia’s crossroads: the aftermath of an election gone wrong’ . for JASON Magazine: 13-15. [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (28 January 2020), Invited talk ‘La crisis política en Bolivia: movimientos sociales y democracia en el siglo XXI’/The political crisis in Bolivia: social movements and democracy in the 21st century, at Universidad Diego Portales. Santiago, Chile. Santiago, Chile. [lecture].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (3 May 2020), Interview on the Dutch Radio Fris! on the postponed elections and recent developments in Bolivia. for Fris! (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (16 February 2020), In depth interview on the Dutch Radio Synaps on the Bolivian crisis ‘Onrust in Bolivia’. for Synaps (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (4 February 2020), Interview on the Chilean paper La Tercera ‘Soledad Valdivia, antropóloga boliviana y doctora en Humanidades de la U. de Leiden: "Lo más probable es que el MAS gane las elecciones”’. . [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (12 February 2020), Interview on the Dutch Radio Bureau Buitenland on the Bolivian crisis ‘Broze rust in Bolivia’. for Bureau Buitenland (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (31 October 2019), Interview with the Dutch radio Bureau Buitenland on the Bolivian Crisis ‘Verdeeld Bolivia’. . for Bureau Buitenland (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (17 November 2019), Interview on the Dutch Radio Fris! ‘Onrust in Bolivia blijft ondanks interim-president en nieuwe verkiezingen’. for Fris! (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (11 November 2019), Interview on the Dutch Radio Bureau Buitenland on the Bolivian Crisis. for Bureau Buitenland (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (11 February 2019), Interview on the Dutch Television on the Venezuelan Crisis. for Na het Nieuws (NPO Start). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (26 October 2019), Het leek jaren zo goed te gaan in Latijns-Amerika, waar komt die onrust vandaan? Dutch News Station NOS. Interviewed by . [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (2019), Political networks and social movements: assessing the political crisis in Bolivia. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. [lecture].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (10 December 2019), Leidse Soledad Valdivia ziet verbaasd hoe in haar geboorteland Bolivia de vlam in de pan slaat. Interviewed by Tessa de Wekker for Leidsch Dagblad. [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (12 November 2019), Interview for the Dutch national television Nieuwsuur ‘Bolivianen kunnen niets anders dan afwachten’. Interviewed by Jeroen Wollaars for Nieuwsuur (NPO2). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (13 November 2019), Bolivia’s nieuwe president belooft rust maar zal ze de chaos onder controle krijgen?. for De Volkskrant. [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (11 November 2019), ‘Was het een staatsgreep of heft de Boliviaanse president zijn krediet bij het volks verspeeld?’. for De Volkskrant. [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (17 October 2019), Interview on the Dutch Radio on the upcoming 2019 elections in Bolivia. for Bureau Buitenland (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (5 May 2019), Interview on the Dutch radio on the Venezuelan Crisis . (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (3 February 2019), Interview on the Dutch radio on the Venezuelan Crisis. (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (27 January 2019), Interview on the Dutch radio on the Venezuelan Crisis. (Radio NPO1). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (29 November 2017), Workshop: ‘Indigeneity, citizenship and democracy in the Plurinational State of Bolivia’. [lecture].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (29 November 2017), ‘Indigenous emancipation in Latin America: advancements and struggles in decolonizing political power’. [lecture].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (29 November 2017), VPRO Bureau Buitenland 'Boliviaanse pluche plakken'. . [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (13 October 2017), Democratiseringsprocessen in Latijns-Amerika (Processes of democratization in Latin America) On invitation by the Dutch Association for International Affairs (Nederlandse Genootschap voor Internationale Saken NGIZ). [lecture].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (20 November 2016), Stay or leave? Assessing the democratic value of power alternation in institutionally weak regimes [´Mapping Latin America and the Caribbean’s presence at Leiden University´, Leiden, November 20, 2016]. [lecture].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (17 February 2016), Democratie in Bolivia staat op het spel. for Leidsch Dagblad. [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (15 February 2016), Bolivia’s February 21st Referendum on re-election. for Bureau Buitenland (VPRO). [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (20 February 2016), They think it’s all Evo. for De Economist. [interview].
- Valdivia Rivera S. (4 December 2012), Introduction and discussion on the film ‘Y también la lluvia’ about Bolivia’s Water War (2000) [Studievereniging Interlatina, Leiden University, December 4, 2012]. [lecture].