Debt Bondage and Easement in Bolivia

The study is based on interviews with government officials, Indigenous workers and leaders, businesspeople, religious figures, professionals, and intellectuals working in various NGOs, as well as secondary qualitative and quantitative data.

The study reveals that in Bolivia, a significant number of workers, mostly Indigenous, are subjected to various forms of debt bondage. These debts stem from advances of money or goods, creating a cycle of indebtedness to recruit and retain workers. Furthermore, the report confirms the persistence of extreme forms of forced labor in isolated communities in the Bolivian Chaco, constituting some of the most serious cases of labor exploitation and human rights violations in the Andean region.

Forced labor is often a manifestation of a broader pattern of discrimination against Indigenous peoples. The intensity of the abuses and deprivations varies according to their degree of exposure to market society and the geographic isolation in which they live. Exploitation and deprivation of liberty are most extreme in the case of isolated communities in the Chaco. Forced labor and debt bondage among indigenous workers are also a consequence of insufficient investment in their education. Gender and age are other factors that determine the type of forced labor in which people may find themselves trapped. Although it is the man who incurs the debt, the entire family usually has to contribute their labor to repay it. Women's work is often unpaid, and if it is, it is paid less than men's, as they are considered mere helpers. This reflects the stereotypical image of women as simply contributors to the family income.