What is Buen Vivir?
MA, Sociology (Freie Universität Berlin)
Date Published: 03.12.2024,
Last Updated: 03.12.2024
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Defining Buen Vivir
Most closely associated with Andean Indigenous groups such as the Quechua and Aymara residing in Ecuador and Bolivia, Buen Vivir is a social philosophy that translates to mean “living well.” How these groups define “living well” offers a departure from Western ideals of the good life, which focus on linear progress and accumulating material possessions. As Anke Graness elaborates, Buen Vivir, is “presently understood as an indigenous Andean worldview and ancestral knowledge based on four main principles”:
- A relationality that underlines the interconnection between all elements of the world
- The idea that all elements correspond harmoniously
- A reciprocal relationship between human beings and nature
The idea that opposites can be complementary
(“Ubunto and Buen Vivir,”Ubuntu and the Reconstitution of Community, 2019)
Edited by James Ogude
- A relationality that underlines the interconnection between all elements of the world
- The idea that all elements correspond harmoniously
- A reciprocal relationship between human beings and nature
The idea that opposites can be complementary
(“Ubunto and Buen Vivir,”Ubuntu and the Reconstitution of Community, 2019)
In practice, Buen Vivir espouses a holistic way of life that is particularly centered on cultivating harmony between both human beings and nature.
Since the 1990s, Buen Vivir has also become influential in Andean social and political institutions, and it is loosely associated with a current of Latin American politics known as the “Pink Tide,” which refers to the ascent of governments that hold a left-leaning policy vision (see Tom Chodor, Neoliberal Hegemony and the Pink Tide in Latin America, 2014). This is because, in addition to emphasizing the perspectives of Indigenous communities and the importance of ecology, Buen Vivir is also influenced by socialist critiques of capitalism.
In this study guide, we will examine the ancient origins of the concept of Buen Vivir, the main principles and traditions located within this overarching concept, and how it has come into play within contemporary Latin American politics.
Origins of Buen Vivir
The concept of Buen Vivir comes from the Quechua neologism of “sumak kawsay,” translated more literally to mean “plentiful life.” Andres Morales et al. describe in more detail how this term was derived from the Quechua worldview,
The idea of what community is and how it is perceived by the Andean indigenous people rests on the fact that society is horizontally bound with nature. Thus, for them, nature, in the broader sense, is considered an inseparable interconnection between every being—men, women and nature—that is part of Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Cosmos (Father Earth). Hence, community has an added spiritual dimension, as there is a communion and dialogue based on a common rituality that claims nature as a sacred being. ("Buen Vivir as an Innovative Development Model,” People-Centered Social Innovation, 2019)
Edited by Swati Banerjee, Stephen Carney, and Lars Hulgard
The idea of what community is and how it is perceived by the Andean indigenous people rests on the fact that society is horizontally bound with nature. Thus, for them, nature, in the broader sense, is considered an inseparable interconnection between every being—men, women and nature—that is part of Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Cosmos (Father Earth). Hence, community has an added spiritual dimension, as there is a communion and dialogue based on a common rituality that claims nature as a sacred being. ("Buen Vivir as an Innovative Development Model,” People-Centered Social Innovation, 2019)
Buen Vivir is a concept that has existed in Andean Indigenous culture in some form since pre-Columbian times, and many other Latin American Indigenous groups, like the Guaraní, Achuar, and Mapuche peoples, have similar concepts in their respective cultures as well.
While the idea of Buen Vivir has been present in these cultures over the last several centuries at least, it was solidified in the political arena by socialist-Indigenous organizations in the 1990s, such as the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) in Bolivia. In this context, Buen Vivir emerged as a counterpoint to neoliberal development where progress meant integration into global capitalism and endless economic growth. In this respect, Buen Vivir is also influenced by Marxism.
Sub-traditions of Buen Vivir
As Sara Calvo and Andrés Morales summarize,
BV has been conceptualised in the work of Cubillo-Guevara et al. (2014) and Hidalgo-Capitán and Cubillo-Guevara (2015, 2017, 2016) with three traditions: (I) the indigenist approach, (II) the socialist/statist approach and (III) the ecologist/developmentalist approach. ("Buen Vivir, a decolonial approach to development," Social Innovation in Latin America, 2021)
Edited by Sara Calvo and Andrés Morales
BV has been conceptualised in the work of Cubillo-Guevara et al. (2014) and Hidalgo-Capitán and Cubillo-Guevara (2015, 2017, 2016) with three traditions: (I) the indigenist approach, (II) the socialist/statist approach and (III) the ecologist/developmentalist approach. ("Buen Vivir, a decolonial approach to development," Social Innovation in Latin America, 2021)
Indigenist
Being that Buen Vivir is rooted in Indigenous philosophy and justice movements, it follows that one of the core traditions of this concept is centered on cultivating a society that is inclusive of Indigenous groups and their ways of life as part of a plurinational political project (i.e. the coexistence of multiple national groups within a single state).
In the Andean region—primarily Ecuador and Bolivia— where Buen Vivir emerged politically, local demographics feature a significant portion of Indigenous peoples. In fact, as reported by the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), around 41% of Bolivia’s population and 7.7% of the Ecuadorian population identify as Indigenous. Therefore, as María José Haro Sly, Julien Demelenne, and Eric Mielants observe,
The interesting experience of these two countries is that despite other leftist movements in the region, they included indigenous people and traditions as central aspects of the refoundation of the Nation. In fact, Bolivia recognizes itself now as a plurinational State, criticizing the modern west nation-states as a mono-national one. Indigenous movements in both countries succeeded in articulating Buen Vivir politically, not just incorporating it into the Constitutions but also in the Development Plans, with concrete programs for a new path that questions modern development. (“Alternatives to Western Economic Models,” Economic Cycles and Social Movements, 2020)
Edited by Eric Mielants and Katsiaryna Bardos
The interesting experience of these two countries is that despite other leftist movements in the region, they included indigenous people and traditions as central aspects of the refoundation of the Nation. In fact, Bolivia recognizes itself now as a plurinational State, criticizing the modern west nation-states as a mono-national one. Indigenous movements in both countries succeeded in articulating Buen Vivir politically, not just incorporating it into the Constitutions but also in the Development Plans, with concrete programs for a new path that questions modern development. (“Alternatives to Western Economic Models,” Economic Cycles and Social Movements, 2020)
As a result, Buen Vivir has served as part of a cultural revival that sought to bring more self-determination and political power to these groups by integrating their perspectives both into policy and other core institutions of society.
Cesar Escobar provides just one example of how this looks in practice, highlighting the leading Agroecological University (AGRUCO) in Bolivia. AGRUCO’s
‘permanent decolonizing intercultural training programme’ has six interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary themes: revaluation, dialogue of plurality of ways of knowing and new paradigms for science and development; state and public policies; agro-ecology, food sovereignty and food security; territorial management; biocultural diversity management; plural economies [...] (“Community well-being in Bolivia,” Community Well-being in Biocultural Landscapes, 2024)
Edited by Bas Verschuuren, Suneetha M. Subramanian, and Wim Hiemstra
‘permanent decolonizing intercultural training programme’ has six interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary themes: revaluation, dialogue of plurality of ways of knowing and new paradigms for science and development; state and public policies; agro-ecology, food sovereignty and food security; territorial management; biocultural diversity management; plural economies [...] (“Community well-being in Bolivia,” Community Well-being in Biocultural Landscapes, 2024)
As Escobar argues, those who have studied in this program, which emphasizes the experience of rural peoples and Indigenous knowledge, have then been able to pioneer a different approach to development in the region.
Socialist/statist
As mentioned at the outset of this guide, Buen Vivir also has its roots in socialist struggles in Latin America, particularly because it rejects growth-oriented economics. Instead, the socialist/statist tradition advocates for production based on sustainability and meeting social needs rather than turning a profit. It also questions capitalist notions of individualism and property ownership, instead seeing a good life as one based on communalism, ecology, and sharing.
Thanks to its Indigenous roots, the socialist/statist tradition also stands out as a distinct form of socialism from Western variations that still tend to view progress as a linear trajectory toward industrialization and nature as inanimate. (To learn more about this concept, see our guide “What is Time-Space Compression?”)
As Alberto Acosta and Mateo Martínez Abarca argue,
The concept of development does not exist in many indigenous systems of knowledge. They do not espouse a linear vision of life, such as the path leading from underdevelopment to development. This western dichotomy – as a necessary path to be followed in order to achieve welfare – is alien to many indigenous societies. Similarly, the idea of being rich or poor based on the accumulation or scarcity of material goods is anathema in this system of belief. (“Buen Vivir,” The Climate Crisis, 2018)
Edited by Vishwas Satgar
The concept of development does not exist in many indigenous systems of knowledge. They do not espouse a linear vision of life, such as the path leading from underdevelopment to development. This western dichotomy – as a necessary path to be followed in order to achieve welfare – is alien to many indigenous societies. Similarly, the idea of being rich or poor based on the accumulation or scarcity of material goods is anathema in this system of belief. (“Buen Vivir,” The Climate Crisis, 2018)
Under the socialist/statist tradition of Buen Vivir, the role of the government is to ensure income distribution and economic equality for all people, sustainable development, and national autonomy and protection over the natural resource base, particularly from extractivist forces such as multinational corporations. This can be exemplified in the Bolivian (2009) and Ecuadorian (2008) constitutions, both of which include promoting Buen Vivir as a key responsibility of the state under respective presidents Evo Morales and Rafael Correa.
This approach was also prevalent among Pink Tide leaders like Correa and Morales—though they often fell short of fully actualizing a socialist/statist expression of Buen Vivir. (To learn more about the Pink Tide in other Latin American contexts, see Reassessing the Pink Tide [2020] by Rahul A. Sirohi and Samyukta Bhupatiraju.)
Ecologist/developmentalist
While Buen Vivir is very much guided by Indigenous philosophies that have existed since pre-Columbian times, it is just as much rooted in the present, as a way of grappling with the challenges of modernity and development. Buen Vivir offers an alternative vision for sustainable development that stands in contrast to conventional developmentalism, which tends to focus on integrating places in the developing world into global markets.
The ecologist/developmentalist tradition challenges the dominance and centrality of the market over other areas of life, such as community and ecology. It centers conservation and connection with both land and community as central priorities in any development initiative.
Such is exemplified among the Cotacachi peoples in Ecuador who inhabit a region engaged in a longstanding battle against extractivist activity. Yet, its residents also value their ability to live a healthy and abundant life, according to the principles of Buen Vivir:
Environmental practices are by far the most visible, affirming the biocentricity of Buen Vivir in practice. In the communities themselves citizens are partaking in a number of environmental conservation activities. Indigenous leader David says, for example, that in his community in the foothills of Cotacachi city, efforts concentrate on the reforestation of land which was previously obligated to be cleared by governmental regulations. [...] All families in rural Cotacachi grow their own produce, and many in urban areas. Where families do not have access to land or skills to do so, there are still many small produce markets which sell organic produce. Communities also create micro-enterprises between families to either swap or buy local produce, creating pockets of local solidarity economies. (Natasha Chassagne, Buen Vivir as an Alternative to Sustainable Development, 2020)
Natasha Chassagne
Environmental practices are by far the most visible, affirming the biocentricity of Buen Vivir in practice. In the communities themselves citizens are partaking in a number of environmental conservation activities. Indigenous leader David says, for example, that in his community in the foothills of Cotacachi city, efforts concentrate on the reforestation of land which was previously obligated to be cleared by governmental regulations. [...] All families in rural Cotacachi grow their own produce, and many in urban areas. Where families do not have access to land or skills to do so, there are still many small produce markets which sell organic produce. Communities also create micro-enterprises between families to either swap or buy local produce, creating pockets of local solidarity economies. (Natasha Chassagne, Buen Vivir as an Alternative to Sustainable Development, 2020)
Being that Buen Vivir is about living in harmony with nature, it follows that its approach to development centers on land stewardship and sharing of resources, rather than seeking to emulate a mode of production centered on infinite growth and extraction. This underscores the belief that Mother Nature, known as Pachamama, is a living thing rather than a passive and infinite resource to be extracted. In fact, Buen Vivir maintains a bio-pluralistic view that rejects the nature-society binary altogether and instead argues that nature should be granted rights and views people not as owners of land but as stewards of it. Buen Vivir advocates for localized, community-based models of production, developing skills that align with community values, and a sharing economy that respects the limits of nature and minimizes harm to the environment.
Buen Vivir in contemporary politics
Since the term Buen Vivir came into being in the 1990s, it has gained significant traction in politics and societies, particularly during the Pink Tide in the early 2000s. This period saw the ascent of left-leaning governments who ran campaigns of anti-neoliberal policies.
The Pink Tide has since waned, seeing a return to neoliberal politics and ruling elites that are hostile to Indigenous peoples and their ways of life—in Bolivia and Ecuador as well as Brazil, Venezuela, and beyond. With it, the institutionalization of Buen Vivir has also faced challenges. In both Bolivia and Ecuador, political administrations and institutions struggled with the contradictions of attempting to uphold the values of Buen Vivir whilst simultaneously inhabiting a position in the global economy that makes them reliant on extractivism by multinationals. Mining and oil projects, in particular, have continued to infringe upon Indigenous lands—even under Pink Tide presidents like Morales and Correa.
While it seems that the influence and integration of Buen Vivir into the nations of the Andean region has declined, Acosta and Martínez Abarca emphasize that, “Buen vivir is not a fixed value proposition; rather, it is permanently evolving” (2018). They continue,
The concept of buen vivir or sumak kawasay provides […] an alternative. While there is no clear outline of what this alternative consists of, interpretations of buen vivir can be seen in a number of communities in both the Andean region and the Amazon basin. These communities have embraced buen vivir as a form of resistance to colonialism and have, in some cases, been able to stay at the margins of modern-day capitalism. (Acosta and Martínez Abarca, 2018)
Buen Vivir may be facing institutional obstacles at our current juncture. Yet, it continues to serve as a guiding principle in Indigenous-led environmentalist movements throughout the Andean region that have successfully resisted corporate extractivism.
Further reading on Perlego
Indigenous Knowledges and the Sustainable Development Agenda (2020) by Anders Breidlid and Roy Krøvel
Sustainable Community Movement Organizations (2020) by Francesca Forno and Richard R. Weiner
The Ebb of the Pink Tide: The Decline of the Left in Latin America (2018) by Mike Gonzalez
Beyond the Pink Tide: Art and Political Undercurrents in the Americas (2018) by Macarena Gomez-Barris
Indigenous Civil Society in Latin America (2023) by Pascal Lupien
Buen Vivir and the Challenges to Capitalism in Latin America (2020) by Henry Veltmeyer and Edgar Lau
Buen Vivir FAQs
What is Buen Vivir in simple terms?
What is Buen Vivir in simple terms?
What are the core principles of Buen Vivir?
What are the core principles of Buen Vivir?
Who are the figures associated with Buen Vivir?
Who are the figures associated with Buen Vivir?
Bibliography
Acosta, A. and Martínez Abarca, M. (2018) “Buen Vivir: An Alternative Perspective from the Peoples of the Global South to the Crisis of Capitalist Modernity,” in Vishwas, S. (ed) The Climate Crisis: South African and Global Democratic Eco-Socialist Alternatives. Wits University Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/719861/climate-crisis-the-south-african-and-global-democratic-ecosocialist-alternatives
Calvo, S. and Morales, A. (2021) “Buen Vivir, a decolonial approach to development,” in Calvo, S. and Morales, A. (eds.) Social Innovation in Latin America: Maintaining and Restoring Social and Natural Capital. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2096489/social-innovation-in-latin-america-maintaining-and-restoring-social-and-natural-capital
Chassagne, N. (2020) Buen Vivir as an Alternative to Sustainable Development: lessons from Ecuador. Available at:
Chodor, T. (2014) Neoliberal Hegemony and the Pink Tide in Latin America: Breaking Up With TINA? Palgrave Macmillan. Available at:
https://www.perlego.com/book/3490474/neoliberal-hegemony-and-the-pink-tide-in-latin-america-breaking-up-with-tina
Cubillo-Guevara, A. P., Hidalgo-Capitán, A. L., and Domínguez-Gómez, J. A. (2014) “El pensamiento sobre el Buen Vivir. Entre el indigenismo, el socialismo y el posdesarrollismo.” Revista Del CLAD Reforma y Democracia, 60
Escobar, C. (2024) “Community well-being in Bolivia,” in Verschuuren, B., Subramanian, S. M., and Hiemstra, W. (eds) Community Well-being in Biocultural Landscapes. Practical Action Publishing. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1995662/community-wellbeing-in-biocultural-landscapes
Graness, A. (2019) “Ubunto and Buen Vivir,” in Ogude, J. (ed) Ubuntu and the Reconstitution of Community. Indiana University Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/966582/ubuntu-and-the-reconstitution-of-community
Hidalgo-Capitán, A., and Cubillo-Guevara, A. (2015) “La Trinidad Del Buen Vivir En Ecuador.” Política Exterior. Latinoamérica Análisis, 14(09)
Hidalgo-Capitán, A. L., and Cubillo-Guevara, A. P. (2016) “Transmodernidad y transdesarrollo: El decrecimiento y el buen vivir como dos versiones análogas de un transdesarrollo transmoderno.” Ediciones Bonanza
Hidalgo-Capitán, Antonio Luis, and Cubillo-Guevara, A. P. (2017) “Deconstrucción y genealogía del buen vivir latinoamericano. El (trino) buen vivir y sus diversos manantiales intelectuales.” International Development Policy, 9 (9)
Morales, A. Spear, R., Ngoasong, M., and Sacchetti, S. (2019) "Buen Vivir as an Innovative Development Model,” in Banerjee, S., Carney, S., and Hulgard, L. (eds) People-Centered Social Innovation: Global Perspectives on an Emerging Paradigm. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1376689/peoplecentered-social-innovation-global-perspectives-on-an-emerging-paradigm
Sirohi, R. A. and Bhupatiraju, S. (2020) Reassessing the Pink Tide: Lessons from Brazil and Venezuela. Palgrave Macmillan. Available at:
https://www.perlego.com/book/3481835/reassessing-the-pink-tide-lessons-from-brazil-and-venezuela
Sly, M. J. H, Demelenne, J., and Mielants, E. (2020) “Alternatives to Western Economic Models,”in Mielants, E. and Bardos, K. (eds) Economic Cycles and Social Movements: Past, Present and Future. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2028984/economic-cycles-and-social-movements-past-present-and-future
MA, Sociology (Freie Universität Berlin)
Lily Cichanowicz has a master's degree in Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin and a dual bachelor's degree from Cornell University in Sociology and International Development. Her research interests include political economy, labor, and social movements. Her master's thesis focused on the labor shortages in the food service industry following the Covid-19 pandemic.