Abstract
This chapter examines the modern indigenous peoples movement in Bolivia and Ecuador over three periods: formative years during the national populist era (1960s–1980s), its leading role in the tumultuous cycles of anti-neoliberal contention (1980s–2005), and their relationship to left governments in the post neoliberal period (2006–present). It argues that for most of the national populist and neoliberal periods indigenous movements in Bolivia and Ecuador developed along similar paths and then diverged sharply in the post neoliberal period. These trajectories were deeply influenced by the distinctive socioeconomic and political development models of each period, which shaped the political opportunities and threats that indigenous peoples movements responded to. However, movement activists possess agency. Thus, the chapter also examines how leaders perceived those opportunities and threats, built their organizations, and framed the issues, not just in terms of their movements, but in relation to other popular sector movements, political parties, and the state as well.
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Notes
- 1.
The figure for Bolivia is from the 2001 census and based on self-identification. The figure is controversial because preliminary figures for the 2012 census—also based on self-identification—is closer to 40 %. Hypothesis for this discrepancy abound, but in any case, Bolivia’s indigenous population remains larger than Ecuador’s.
- 2.
In Bolivia, the highland population is predominantly Quechua or Aymara, they also live in the mountain valleys between highlands and lowlands. As the twentieth century wore on rural to urban migration accelerated, especially to the city of El Alto that looms over La Paz. Roughly 17 different indigenous nations inhabit the lowlands, among them Guaraní, Chiquitano, and Moxeño. Ecuadorean highland indigenous are mainly Quechua-speaking and are the descendants of indigenous nations that inhabited the area before the Inca. A sizeable migration to Quito and Cuenca has also occurred. Amazon basin nations include the Secoyas, Sionas, Cofan, Huaorani, Zaparo, Shuar, and Achuar. Since Ecuador is not landlocked, there are also coastal indigenous peoples such as the Chachis.
- 3.
The earliest indigenous people’s organization was the Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios (FEI), created along peasant-class lines in the 1940s. Agrarian reform was its major demand and once that was achieved in the 1960s the FEI declined rapidly.
- 4.
Peoples that formed CIDOB included the Chiquitanos, Ayoreos, Guarayos, and Guaraníes.
- 5.
The other members are the Kichwa, Acuar, Siona, Secoya, Cofan, and Huaorani. The principal advisory NGO is CIPCA (Centro de Investigación y Promoción del Campesinado).
- 6.
The Yasuni National Park is an area of 9820 km² between the Napo and Curaray rivers in Napo and Pastaza provinces in Amazonian Ecuador. It lies within the Napo moist forests ecoregion and is primarily rain forest.
- 7.
Initially CONAIE chose to advocate for cultural issues. In the early part of Rodrigo Borjas’ administration (1988–1992) CONAIE successfully lobbied for bilingual programs and in 1988 the government established an Intercultural Bilingual Education Program that CONAIE would help to run (Zamosc 1994). CONAIE, however, was also very responsive to regional and local indigenous organizations. Highland members wanted CONAIE to fight for land issues, which meant taking a more contentious stance towards the government.
- 8.
In passing an enabling law a congress temporarily delegates legislative capacity to the executive branch.
- 9.
Movement organizations played direct roles when the clauses they drafted were included in the new constitution. At other times their effect was mediated by MAS delegates to the constituent assembly. For a detailed review of the connection between protest and policy see Silva (2013a). For the involvement of indigenous peoples in those assemblies see Garcés (2010) and Becker (2011a, b).
- 10.
These developments have led to claims that the highland indigenous movement has been co-opted by the government.
- 11.
For a Polanyian interpretarion of popular mobilization in Central America see Paul Almeida (2007).
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Silva, E. (2015). Indigenous Peoples’ Movements, Developments, and Politics in Ecuador and Bolivia. In: Almeida, P., Cordero Ulate, A. (eds) Handbook of Social Movements across Latin America. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9912-6_10
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