Indigenous People in The Motorcycle Diaries

My discussion question is, how does Che view indigenous people in The Motorcycle Diaries? He displays a strong sense of appreciation for indigenous people, due to their troubled past at the hands of colonialism that lasted many centuries. On page 93, he states that indigenous people are “a defeated race. Their stares are tame, almost fearful, and completely indifferent to the outside world. Some give the impression that they go on living only because it’s a habit they cannot shake.” This quote shows the hardships indigenous peoples had to deal with during the colonial times and Che feels their pain. Also, he notes their struggles in contemporary society at the hands of modernization and its actors. He states on page 97 that indigenous people are “brutalized by modern civilization and their companeros”. Since indigenous people had been pushed to the bottom of society for so long as a result of slavery, they are fighting an uphill battle to advance at the rate of the “white man”. In the novel, indigenous people’s oppression by Europeans and higher class individuals in society are noticed and acknowledged, and Che exhibits a sense admiration, as well as empathy for them.