"Violence" as an Economic Force: the process of proletarianisation among the indigenous people of the Argentinian Chaco, 1884-1930

When talking about the indigenous peoples of northern Arg­entina, one must use the past tense. Hunter/gatherer societies in that region have been constantly undermined since the late 19th century as indigenous resources of land and labour were pulled into the capitalist economy. Vestiges of the identities and cultures of the Matacos, Tobas, Mocovles and Vilelas (though twisted and changed as a result of the contact process) are now disappearing. As Nicolas Inigo notes in his concluding comments, indigenous peoples are being integrated irrevocably into nat­ional society. This process greatly speeded up in the 1960's. Once capital had no further use for the land or labour in this region, indigenous and settler populations have been forced to emigrate to the towns in search of work. This emigration and subsequent absorption into the poorest social stratum of Arg­entinian society has spelled the end of indigenous social and cultural distinctiveness. In publishing a work devoted to an historical example of the contact process in South America, IWGIA departs from its usual policy. But we believe that this poignant history of the indigenous peoples of northern Argent­ina is not without relevance at the present day, for it can help in the broader analysis and understanding of processes at work as white society expands and encroaches upon indigenous land.