Raul Rodriguez Arancibia

RAUL RODRIGUEZ ARANCIBIA, then a graduate student at Rutgers University, Brunswick, New Jersey, was approved funding in October 2019 to aid research on “”Made in China”: The Emergence of Contemporary Andean Indigenous Entrepreneurs in the El Alto, Bolivia,” supervised by Dr. Ulla Berg. This ethnographic study explores the aspiring Qamiri, an economic elite among the urban Indigenous Aymara people in El Alto, Bolivia, during the COVID-19 and early post-pandemic. Originally intended to investigate the trade routes linking Bolivia to China in which they participate, the research shifted in response to pandemic-related restrictions, leading early to the adoption of virtual ethnography. This methodological transition revealed the sophisticated ways Andean traders leveraged digital platforms to sustain their businesses, maintain communication, and navigate a rapidly changing economic landscape. Alongside virtual engagement, the study also traced their physical trade routes from Andean cities to the Chilean port of Iquique, where goods from China arrive. The study shed light on the innovative rise of Indigenous entrepreneurs engaging in international trade, particularly following China’s emergence as the world’s leading supplier and navigating Bolivia’s political instability and pandemic-related challenges. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of contemporary urban Indigenous agency and entrepreneurship, illustrating how these traders strategically blend traditional commercial practices with digital technologies to thrive in uncertain times.