| Patujú flower | |
| Use: | 100100 |
| Symbol: | normal |
| Proportion: | 8:11 |
| Adoption: | 2013 (Santa Cruz Department) 2014 (Beni Department) 2018 (La Paz Department) 2019 (officially adopted by national government) |
| Design: | Patujú Flower in 45° degrees |
| Designer: | Remberto Justiniano Cujuy Aldemir Saldaña Mole Julio Ribera Paniagua[1] |
| Use2: | popular version in Beni, Santa Cruz and La Paz low lands |
The flag of the patujú flower (Spanish; Castilian: Bandera de la flor de patujú, Aymara: Patujú wiphala) is a flag used at official events of the Bolivia government, which shows Bolivia's national flower. The latter represents the indigenous peoples of Eastern Bolivia and has been used as a symbol of protest against the construction of a highway in TIPNIS by the opponents of Evo Morales in that area of the country.[2] [3]
The Patujú flag was created in 2009 by indigenous leaders and an indigenous pastoral director to represent the indigenous peoples of the lowlands of Bolivia as an alternative to the Wiphala flag of the Andes, which represents the Andean-Vallunian peoples of Bolivia. The white background represents Amazonian wisdom (in the Mojeño worldview) and the Patujú flower is a noble symbol of the region. The actual design of the flower with leaf was an artistic creation based on nature.
Remberto Justiniano Cujuy, Aldemir Saldaña Mole, leaders of the Central de Pueblos Indígenas del Beni (CPIB) and Julio Ribera Paniagua, Director of the Pastoral Indígena del Vicariato del Beni, created the Patujú Flag, as a national symbol of the native peoples of the lowlands, as an alternative to the Wiphala. It was created on August 10 and premiered on August 15, 2009 in commemoration of the March for Territory and Dignity of 1990.[4]
With the demonstrations against the construction of a road in Indigenous Land and Isiboro-Secure National Park (TIPNIS) in 2011 and 2012 came the idea of representing eastern Bolivia with the flower of patujú,[5] and the flag was present in these demonstrations.[6] [7] [8] However, it did not have official representation in public events at national level, not even an exclusive design. However, in 2013, it started to be used in the Santa Cruz Department,[9] [10] in 2014 in the Beni Department and in 2018 in the La Paz Department.
During the government of Jeanine Áñez the flag was used next to the two flags of state institutions in Palacio Quemado and those in official acts with a new and exclusive design.[11] [12] [13] [14]