Two of the most striking aspects of social change in recent decades in
Latin America have been the rise of indigenist movements and the spread of
evangelical Protestantism. To date they have been analysed separately, but this
article shows that a comparison of the two in the context of Bolivia can prove
highly productive. Although in many respects evangelismo and katarismo are
diametrically opposed, there are some striking similarities. They draw their
adherents from the same social base, undermine the notion of a homogeneous
nation-state and also clearly reject the position of cultural mestizaje at the root of
Bolivian state ideology. Thus, at a time when ‘hybridised’ cultural forms are
supposed to be becoming more common in Latin America and around the world,
these two social movements explicitly contest hybridity.</jats:p
