ECUADOR:
Is Indigenous Unity More Than Skin Deep?
IPS Correspondents *
QUITO, Jun 14 (IPS) - The selection by Ecuador's indigenous movement of a presidential candidate of its own for the October elections could be interpreted as a sign of unity and strength, but a closer look reveals underlying divisions.
Luis Macas, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), was elected in late May as the presidential candidate of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement.
Macas, a member of the Saraguro indigenous community, which forms part of the Kichwa (Quichua) nation, is a co-founder of CONAIE.
The Confederation, founded in 1986, is the largest indigenous organisation in Ecuador, claiming to represent 70 percent of the country's indigenous people.
Around 30 percent of Ecuador's population of 13.5 million belongs to 12 different indigenous groups, the largest of which is the Kichwa.
Macas, who was elected to Ecuador's single-chamber legislature in 1996 representing the Pachakutik Movement, served as minister of agriculture during the administration of Lucio Gutiérrez (2002-2005), who he accused of trying to "finish off CONAIE."
CONAIE, which emerged from grassroots and community organisations, was founded by representatives of all of Ecuador's indigenous groups. Its main aims were to promote the creation of a "plurinational state", defend the ancestral lands of indigenous communities, strengthen native languages and cultures, and set forth policy proposals aimed at ensuring sustainable development in the long-term.
Luis Montaluisa, another of CONAIE's co-founders, said that Macas, along with indigenous leader Valerio Grefa, brought about a shift in the confederation's approach at a 1996 assembly. "They decided to abandon the movement's original concepts, and adopted the idea of fielding candidates to participate in elections," he said.
"Since then, members of the movement have made it to the positions of town councillor, cabinet minister and mayor, but the great majority of indigenous people are worse off than they were before we began to take part in elections. The ideas of promoting indigenous cultures, defending indigenous territory, etc., have fallen by the wayside," said Montaluisa.
While CONAIE is taking part in the presidential elections with its own candidate, the left is divided and has fielded two different candidates: León Roldós for the Izquierda Democrática party, and Rafael Correa for the Alianza País, a coalition that had the support of the indigenous and social movements which spearheaded the protests that brought down Gutiérrez in April 2005.
Macas told IPS that he would seek to forge alliances with social organisations and leftist parties, "to bring the people together." He has suggested that the left hold primary elections, in order to create a broad front made up of social, political and cultural organisations.
In the view of anthropologist Fernando García of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), the indigenous movement paid a price for forming alliances with politicians from outside the movement. But, he said, it also learned a lesson: that it needed to field its own presidential candidate.
García said "alliances are still the way to go, in the future. However, not alliances with the main political parties, but with civil society organisations that want to rebuild the strength of the left, and which support the movement's political platform."
CONAIE has backed a range of political sectors in the recent past. It joined together with a group of junior army officers who toppled the government of centre-right president Jamil Mahuad in 2000.
It later formed a coalition with the Sociedad Patriótica 21 de Enero party that brought Gutiérrez, a retired army colonel, to power in elections in 2002.
The indigenous movement was instrumental in the election of Gutiérrez. And until its falling-out with the administration, indigenous leaders held several key cabinet positions, including the post of foreign minister, held by an indigenous women - Nina Pacari - for the first time in South America.
But according to analysts, the movement was weakened after it pulled out of the Gutiérrez administration.
Leftist groups that had backed the retired colonel as well as CONAIE and other indigenous organisations also played a key role in bringing down the government of Gutiérrez, the third Ecuadorian president ousted since 1996. Gutiérrez had failed to make good on many of his campaign promises, instead throwing open the economy and deregulating the state.
Javier Ponce, an analyst with the Ecuadorian daily El Universo, told IPS that Macas' presidential candidacy "has emerged weak" and without consensus support. He also said the indigenous movement has failed to take a close look at its negative experience in the Gutiérrez administration "with the necessary critical spirit."
In his view, the movement should have decided to stay out of the electoral fray. The problem is that the indigenous movement has lost its direction, said the analyst.
Participation in elections was one of the causes of that loss of direction, according to Montaluisa. "Outside of Ecuador the indigenous movement is seen as very strong. But within the indigenous communities what you see are disputes over posts and positions. Many young leaders see participating in elections and the distribution of public posts as a way to obtain prestige and easy money," he said.
Nevertheless, Montaluisa said there is hope that under the young generation of leaders, the movement will return to its roots, and that there will be an understanding that participation in elections must grow out of a plan that has been agreed on by grassroots groups and the candidates.
The grooming of young leaders is precisely the aim of a joint programme - the Antonio Ante School of Government - implemented by CONAIE and the Esquel foundation, a local non-governmental organisation that forms part of CIVICUS, an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world.
The leadership programme, in which 40 young people from northern Ecuador are currently taking part, is aimed at highlighting the importance of the country's intercultural nature and emphasising the rights of indigenous groups.
Voices critical of the indigenous movement from within are calling for these rights, which form part of the founding concepts of CONAIE, to be placed at the centre of the movement's political agenda.
* With reporting by Milagros Aguirre in Ecuador.
(END/2006)
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