Conscription and National Identi cation Cards: A Case Study of the Uros People in Lake Titicaca, Peru

MURAKAWA, Atsushi

This study examines the relation between an Andean indigenous society and the Peruvian modern state by analyzing the diffusion of national identification (ID) cards among the Uros people in Lake Titicaca. For this purpose, it focuses on the early 1980s-the time of the return to a democratic government, following a 12-year military rule. Additionally, it analyzes the Uros floating islands, a popular tourist destination, according to the socio-political context of the international border region wherein the national registry is indispensable. Previous studies have focused on how the military government established a peasant community-the Uros-Chulluni-after demarcating the territory in 1975 and created the Titicaca National Reserve in 1978, which started the state control of natural resources in the reed beds where the islands were located. However, no study, to date, has investigated specific experiences of the people, such as how the young Uros men without military cards were forced to serve in the military barracks and how a municipal agent had (since 1959) kept intruding into the islands to register births, deaths, and marriages. Meanwhile, islanders who accessed the lakeside city for commercial and educational opportunities risked being drafted into the military. There were also situations wherein individuals were constantly on the move to evade national mobilization. Thus, this study also maps the zones where state agencies and the islanders were in contact and analyzes the historical context in which the marginalized people chose to obtain national ID cards.

Conscription and National Identi cation Cards: A Case Study of the Uros People in Lake Titicaca, Peru

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