The Indigenous Movement in Ecuador

Abstract

The indigenous movement in Ecuador has been among the most successful new social movements in Latin America since the late 1980s. Its success may be attributed to its formulation and persistent advocacy of an alternative to the changing manifestations of the capitalist order-the "plurinational state." This position has organized and motivated the movement for the past 20 years, in the course of which it has gained access to the center of economic policy for a time and more recently has operated with greater autonomy. The struggle for plurinationalism remains at the core of the indigenous movement's approach to the current progressive government of President Rafael Correa and provides a distinctly anticapitalist alternative. Though the new constitution embodies elements of the movement's program, there remain fundamental areas of disagreement on the meaning and realization of the plurinational state.

Contested Sovereignties: Indigenous disputes over plurinational resource governance

“…Under plurinational arrangements, Indigenous movements attempt to transform the epistemic and material sovereign arrangements in accordance with their plural visions for subsoil and surface resources (Gustafson, 2010;Jameson, 2011;Radhuber, 2014). Yet the possibilities for Indigenous peoples to effectively benefit from plurinational autonomous arrangements has been limited considerably (Vega, 2010(Vega, , 2012Prada, 2010;Bolivia, 2009;Ecuador, 2008).…”

“…Constituent Assemblies in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and have provided groundwork for the new Constitutions promulgated in 2008 and 2009 (Ecuador 2008;Bolivia 2009;Schavelzon 2015; also see Tockman and Cameron 2014;Jameson 2011). Yet subsoil resources have been explicitly exempted from Indigenous sovereign control in all relevant articles as shown throughout this paper.…”

“…At the core of plurinational proposals were aspirations to establish what we call plural sovereigntiesmeaning that various groups would hold sovereignty rights over resources within highly diverse societies, in order to secure the material basis of their livelihoods (Unity Pact 2006: art. 5 in Garcés, 2010CONAIE 2012: 36;also Chávez, Mokrani and Tapia, 2008;Jameson, 2011;Gustafson, 2010;Radhuber, 2012;Tockman and Cameron, 2014;Schavelzon, 2015). In this respect, Bolivian and Ecuadorian indigenous organizations framed resource governance in terms of colonial-modern cleavages and divergent conceptions of territory-sovereignty-decision-making, resulting in a hitherto unprecedented design.…”

Explaining presidential instability in Latin America: evidence from Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador

“…Their role in the two presidential crises mirrors their political strength. Indigenous people were excluded from political participation until 1978, when the literacy requirement was abolished as a prerequisite to voting (Jameson, 2011). In addition, they represent 40% of the population according to some estimates.…”

The intersections between infrastructures and expectations: repair and breakdown in Yachay, the city of knowledge in Ecuador

“…Furthermore, the indigenous political movements, both the political party (PACHAKUTIK) and a number of civic organizations, were instrumental in establishing "buen vivir-sumak kawsay" as one of the ideological axes for the constitutionalso reflected on the national development plan (Becker 2011;Kauffman and Martin 2013;Walsh 2010). In the previous decade, the indigenous movements, partially consolidated around CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), led the street mobilizations that ended up overthrowing two governments, shaping in this way the political landscape and positioning the need for a political restructuring of the country, around which Alianza País would emerge as a contending force (Jameson 2010;Lalander and Peralta 2012).…”