Abstract Economic and political reforms imposed on Bolivian indigenous communities (ayllus) in the name of modernisation and democracy have actually furthered long‐standing colonial forms of oppression. Both liberal reformers and nationalist revolutionaries promoted a concept of citizenship which displaced and undermined indigenous social organisation and political practice. Even in the 1980s, progressive and leftist parties, unions, and development organisations continued to marginalise the democratic internal life of the northern Potosí ayllus. Notes Andean Oral History Workshop (La Paz, Bolivia). Translation by Charles Roberts.