Living with welfarism: everyday negotiations of economias propias in rural Andes

This article examines the interaction of welfarism with economías propias —locally embedded economic practices of rural Andean communities. We define welfarism as a power mechanism, both governmental and non-governmental, based on external support for populations considered marginalized; it encompasses aid that mitigates poverty as well as programs implementing public policies, such as state-led rural investment schemes. We conceptualize economías propias within the framework of contemporary Transformation Initiatives (TIs) because they challenge dominant economic narratives that reduce the economy to the capitalist sphere. From an anthropological perspective, the article explores the cultural dispositions of rural communities for social change, focusing on how welfarist policies shape everyday life, requiring negotiation to adapt them to local contexts while maintaining autonomy and agency. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia (2018–2023), our findings show that welfarist dynamics have been internalized in most identified initiatives. Through a lateral comparison of three case studies from southern Peru, we demonstrate that TIs are not an ideal rupture with the status quo, but rather a combination of existing and prefigured elements resulting in creative potential and internal tension. This hybrid character of TIs is precisely what lateral comparison between cases illuminates. These conclusions help deromanticize Latin American TIs and offer a more complex understanding of the mutual inspiration of transformative movements worldwide.