26 INDIAN COMMUNITIES OF BOLIVIA 



Present Tendencies 



These figures must be taken to represent only approximately 

 the population of the communities today and the amount of land 

 now occupied by them, as their number has decreased con- 

 siderably since 1877. The extinction of the communities is 

 becoming more rapid each year, particularly since the con- 

 struction of railroads has stimulated the development of indus- 

 tries, commerce, and agriculture, increasing the demand for 

 farming land. There is, too, a constantly growing population of 

 landless mestizos, who, failing to inherit rural property but eager 

 to own fincas, are setting themselves, often absolutely without 

 scruple or compassion, to secure the parcels of land now held by 

 Indians. The economic income from land is still not great, but 

 under the peon system prevailing in Bolivia possession of a farm 

 gives the owner the personal services of his Indian tenants and 

 thus adds materially to his comfort and social standing. 



An attempt is made in Figures 4 and 5 to show the number 

 and distribution of community Indians in 1854 and in 1900. ^^ 

 It will be observed that there has been a decrease in every 

 province of three departments (La Paz, Oruro, and Chuquisaca) 

 and in all but four provinces of the other departments (Cocha- 

 bamba and Potosi). The decrease has generally been very 

 marked, in most cases reaching more than 50 per cent, and, in 

 a few instances, being over 75 per cent, e. g., in the valley 

 1 provinces of Nor Yungas, Inquisivi, and Caupolican of the De- 



" Since no figures of the same character exist for 1900, because the legal status 

 of the communities is no longer recognized, we have been compelled to calculate 

 the number of comunarios from the land tax {contribucion tenitorial), paid by the 

 community Indians, in distinction to the contribucion predial, paid by the hacienda 

 holders. The census gives the amount of contribucion territorial paid in 1900, by 

 departments, and also gives the total Indian population by provinces (Censo gen- 

 eral de la poblacion de la Republica de Bolivia, Tomo II: Resultados definitives, 

 La Paz, 1904, pp. xlvi, ff.). 



In calculating the number of comunarios from these figures it has been assumed 

 that the proportion of originarios to the other classes has remained the same 

 as in the "revisitas." Hence the tax of 1900 may be divided among these classes 

 in the same proportion, thus giving us the number of originarios and other classes 

 in each department. We then find the percentage of community Indians in the 

 total Indian population of each department and, applying the same percentage 

 to the figures for the total Indian population of each province, we find the approx- 

 imate number of comunarios in each province. 



