Abstract

LLANQUE, Jorge. Qamiris aymaras: New elites in Oruro. Tinkazos [online]. 2011, vol.14, n.29, pp. 45-64. ISSN 1990-7451.

Qamiris are a social group playing a key role in the development of the economy and trade in Oruro. Seen as the heirs of the sariris (travellers), they have consolidated a way of life based on the generation of economic capital which they share and distribute with the aim of gaining access to social and symbolic capital. This enables them to move into urban spaces that used to be monopolized by the criollo-mestizo elite, although they still experience certain forms of discrimination.

Keywords : racism; aymara elites; discrimination; exclusion; trade; qamiris; sariris; nation state; decolonization.