Accumulation by dispossession of ancestral territory and resistance of the Yshir indigenous people of Paraguay

Abstract

This study presents a characterization of the types of accumulation by dispossession existing in the Eshma ancestral territory of the Yshir indigenous people of Paraguay, which is currently in the hands of a foreign livestock company. The paper also seeks to make the Yshir resistance in defense of their communal lands visible. This case study has a qualitative methodological design and research techniques that combine field notes with in-depth interviews with Yshir political and spiritual leaders. As a result, various types of capital accumulation by appropriation are noted, which are resisted by the Yshir indigenous communities in an organized manner. Accumulation occurs by fencing communal lands; privatization and foreignization of indigenous territory; deforestation; territorial division, and weakening of both social and productive practices. Due to fencing, the indigenous people establish an organized resistance in defense of their territory, establishing alliances with non-governmental entities and using the committed support of professionals in law and anthropology. The above undoubtedly represents a good practice that should be made visible—to eventually be replicated—for its potential to curb the negative effects of extractive activities and the restitution of lands that historically and by right belong to indigenous populations.