Some of the most consistently active and civically engaged communities in Latin America are among the smallest and most historically marginalized: Indigenous peoples. This is according to a new study led by Carew Boulding, director of the Program on International Development and fellow at the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS). Her team, including IBS Affiliate, Raymond Foxworth, and Marija Verner, a former IBS grad student, found that Indigenous peoples across 17 Latin American countries participate in diverse political activism at high rates, demonstrating Indigenous communities' leadership in civic engagement across Latin America.

Published in Comparative Political Studies, the study draws on over 15 years of AmericasBarometer survey data and challenges long-held assumptions that marginalized communities are politically disengaged. Instead, it finds that Indigenous peoples are just as likely to vote as non-Indigenous. Indigenous peoples are also more likely to participate in a range of non-voting activities such as protests, petitions, contacting officials, campaigning, and attending community meetings.

“There is an old assumption rooted in research in American politics that marginalized people tend to participate less in politics,” said Boulding. “This paper is really the first to demonstrate that Indigenous people tend to participate in politics far more than expected—and not just in a few countries with large Indigenous populations, but everywhere we look.”

Community-Driven Action and Civic Engagement Across Latin America

The study’s core finding is that Indigenous political participation is strongest at the local level. Participation is driven less by national political parties and more by dense community organization. Associational participation with civil society groups like parent associations, women’s groups, or religious committees, was the strongest predictor of civic action.

In fact, 86% of Indigenous respondents reported participating in at least one community organization, compared to 76% of non-Indigenous respondents. These organizations serve as hubs of information-sharing, decision-making, and political mobilization, particularly around critical issues like land, water, cultural rights, and environmental protection.

“These are existential issues,” Boulding explains. “We know… that Indigenous groups are often leading environmental movements in Latin America—and we see that reflected in the political participation data.”

Read the full article about Indigenous communities' civic engagement by Kelly Holguin at University of Colorado Boulder Institute of Behavioral Science.