The Legacy of the Spanish Conquista in the Andes : Mining Mita, Persistent Social Unrest, and Cultural Divergence

This paper studies the persistent effect on social unrest of the Mining Mita— a colonial forced labor and migration institution that affected indigenous communities in Peru between 1573 to 1811. Using a geographical regression discontinuity design, we provide causal evidence that Mita areas have experienced higher levels of social unrest since the end of the 18th century. We present a simple conceptual rationale with historical and causal evidence suggesting that at least part of the roots of such persistence is cultural: people living in Mita districts identify more with the indigenous groups and indigenous institutions, are more likely to speak native languages, are less likely to migrate, and have different beliefs about development and democracy. Robustness exercises suggest that the effects on social unrest and culture are not driven by development effects associated with the Mita system