Page 94 - Cultural Studies Volume 11

88 CULTURAL STUDIES

of anthropology and the history of cultural policies. More precisely, multi-
ethnicity is what is being addressed now, but it is a multiethnicity which is
understood very differently from that in the United States because it draws
heavily on the indigenous experience. In the United States we could say that the
different ethnic identities play a much larger role in the processes of modernity,
while in Latin America there is a wide array of indigenous peoples who are
continuing to reproduce traditions that are not necessarily modern, or that have a
fragile relationship with modernity.
Anyway, these are some of the differences between the development of
cultural studies here and in other places.
PDM: It seems that more Latin American scholars are turning their attention
to issues concerning cultural plurality, heterogeneity and social inequality. Why
have these themes called so much attention in the past few years?
NGC: There are many reasons, but without a doubt one of the major ones is
the Latin American intellectual’s increased connection with the kind of theory
radiating from the metropolis, the most notable conception being multi-ethnicity.
There is, however, another area of focus that has emerged in the last few years in
Latin America which is something that I would consider even more important
and more conditional. In Latin America there has been a process begun in the
1970s and 1980s in which we passed from military regimes to modes of
democratization; and then later there came a period of disenchantment with
democracy. Democracy had become a central hope, a space for political
participation, a solution for economic problems and cultural distress. However,
democracy does not necessarily promise these effects. Sometimes democracy
just opens up spaces where existing problems become more visible, more
apparent, but it does not solve the problems. Democracy permits a plurality of
voices, opens channels for debate, and all of this permits issues to emerge with
more force, such as issues related to multiculturalism and cultural heterogeneity
that in the past remained undefined and out of focus in society.
Repositioning the focus of scholarship also has much to do with the
weakening of nation-states. In some Latin American countries this has been very
important, as in the case of Mexico. The state has been the central actor in social
life and has configured the modern nation. In the last few years, however,
neoliberalism has weakened the position of the state, as the state has reformed to
privatize large sectors of state apparatuses. Some of these sectors are
communicative and cultural. So, there is a weakening of the national identify, at
least as prescribed by the state, which appears along with the emergence of
multiple sectors of the population calling for rights, conquests, and many other
different demands. In Mexico I believe that the case of Chiapas is illustrative,
but social demands also appear in the form of urban agendas, youth culture,
feminism, etc. The role of the press has been very important also as an actor in
the changes, as has radio in some cases. So as we can see, this growing social
presence of these different players that have not traditionally been political
forces is contributing enormously to the heterogeneous currents of our society.