We Eat the Mines and the Mines Eat Us: Dependency and Exploitation in Bolivian Tin Mines

by June C. Nash

In this powerful anthropological study of a Bolivian tin mining town, Nash explores the influence of modern industrialization on the traditional culture of Quechua-and-Aymara-speaking Indians.

Genres: Anthropology, History, Nonfiction, Bolivia, Labor

363 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1979

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic book that, though Nash shows some undue influence of dependency theory, contains timeless reflections on cultural as well as political-economic instruments of domination and resistance in the context of mining. Perhaps most surprising was how much Nash's analysis prefigured neoliberalism (debt in particular) during what is now widely considered to be a time when Latin America was still growing economically (before the debt-service-fueled fall).

[Lucas Gadke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book. A very interesting look inside of a world I knew nothing about. The sections on politics were difficult to follow (as Bolivian history and politics seem very complex and always in flux), but the quotes from the miners and descriptions of their lives were enthralling.

It’s nice to read a thoroughly ideological book from the 70s. Marxists/socialists/sociologists had an intensity about them that’s very satisfying. June Nash is an amazing authorial voice. This was a little free library find and I’m glad I grabbed it.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it lengthy and unentertaining to read, but the content is important and, I assume, accurate, as it was recommended to me by a professor. This is an academic and dry read, so prepare yourself, but excellent as a reference text.

[Stantontas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. Even for a non-social scientist it's compelling & readable (if you're interested in the topic, obv.) Like the Lazar book (El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia), you can't really get your head around current day Bolivia and its social movements without digesting this.
Some of the interviews are heart breaking and 40 years on, they're voices that still don't get heard in , e.g. news coverage of South America.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, I read it before I went to bolivia in 96.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and interesting, but depressing.

[Monica]

Read this for thesis and Anth 421: Marx and Marxian Anthropologies.