Confederation of indigenous nationalities of Ecuador

(Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador) - CONAIE The Confederation of indigenous nationalities of Ecuador (shortened in CONAIE ), is a general organization creates in 1986, with an aim of gathering a big number of communities and local associations or regional native-born people, to act on the Ecuadorian national political scene by relaying with its representatives the historical, economic and sociocultural legitimate aspirations of ceux-ci.
CONAIE is made up of the three regional main confederations:

Directs : CONFENIAE - Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuadorian Amazonia (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas of Amazonía Ecuatoriana)
Sierra : ECUARUNARI - Confederation of the People of Nationality Quechua of Ecuador (Confederación de Pueblos of Nacionalidad Kichwas del Ecuador)
Costa : CONAICE - Coordination of the Indigenous and Black Organizations of the Ecuadorian Coast (Coordinadora de Organizaciones Indígenas there Negras of Costa Ecuatoriana)

Populations of Ecuador

the full number of inhabitants in Ecuador was in July 2005, estimated at 13.363.600 (figure in progression).
the population is generally divided into four ethnicities whose official demographic distribution is the following one: Afro-Ecuadorians (3%), Euro-Ecuadorians (7%), Amerindians (25%) and métissée population (65%).
This distribution is strongly disputed by the indigenous organizations, which estimate at 40 or 50% the proportion of Ecuadorians of Amerindian origin.

This polemic is heavy direction. The indigenous organizations, these twenty last years tend to take their place on a political field of which they were isolated. The “white” minority which holds since Spanish colonization, the main part of the levers of the capacity, justice and of the economy with interest to minimize the relative weight of indigenous nationalities compared to the mongrels of which a part forms the middle-class. A partial explanation to this difference of figures, undoubtedly comes, of many communities regarded as mongrel, with the source language and the forgotten traditions (continuation often with prohibitions to practice them), which stimulated by recent successes of the indigenous organizations, try to join again with their past and assert the right to their culture.

Indigenous nationalities

Definition:
The recognition of nationalities and native-born people, is an old claim of the Amerindian populations of Ecuador, considering that, without it, the safeguarding of their ancestral territories, their cultures clean and their lifestyles as any development is impossible. It implies certain forms of autonomous operation.

The definitions below, are those adopted by COPENDE (the Council of development of nationalities and people of Ecuador), authority official, representative and participative, dependant on the presidency of the republic, creates following the promulgation of the new Constitution (1998), which recognizes nationalities and people like belonging to the State

One understands by nationality: people where together of the ancients former and constitutive of the Ecuadorian State, which car-are defined like such, have an identity historical, language and culture communes, which live in a determined territory following their institutions and traditional forms of organizations social, economic, legal, political and exercises of the authority.

One understands by native-born people: Of the original communities, formed of communities or centers having an cultural identity which distinguish them from other sectors of the Ecuadorian company, controls by a clean of social organization, economic, political and legal system. What means that in the same nationality can exist several people having jointly certain characteristics, such as for example the same language, but differentiated by other elements.

These concepts are not synonymous with " Nation" and are not opposed to it. The Nation, indicates the whole of the Ecuadorians and implies the feeling of membership of a sovereign and plain territory.

Ecuador presents on a restricted territory, for historical reasons and because of its great geographical diversity, an astonishing ethnic and cultural variety. Indigènes nationalities recognized officially by COPENDE are with the number of treize.

Coastal region (Costa):

Awa
Chachi
Epera
Tsa'chila

Amazonian area (Directs):

A' I Cofán
Secoya
Siona
Waorani (Huaorani)
Zápara
Shiwiar
Achuar
Shuar

Areas Andean (Sierra) and Amazonian (Directs):

Kichwa (quechua).

KIchwa Nationality, itself training thirteen people:

Andean Area (Sierra):

* Kichwa Karambi

* Kichwa Natabuela

* Kichwa Otavalo

* Kichwa Kayambi

* Kichwa Kitu Kara

* Kichwa Panzaleo

* Kichwa Chibuleo

* Kichwa Salasaka

* Kichwa Waranka

* Kichwa Puruhá

* Kichwa Kañari

* Kichwa Saragura

Amazonian Area (Directs):

* Kichwa of Amazonia

As well as a fourteenth currently of process of search and reconstitution of culture and identity populates:

Coastal region (Costa):

* Manta-Huancavilca-Puná

the Afro-Ecuadorians, mainly originating in the Costa , are also represented with CONAIE by their participation in CONAICE .

History of the indigenous organizations in Ecuador

Recall of the historical context

The consequences of the Spanish conquest (a few decades only after that of the INCA S) were dramatic for the natives of current Ecuador: decimated by the war and the diseases, moved to be used as servile labor in agricultural vast domains which evolved in the following centuries to large farms known under the name of Hacienda s.

From the end of the XIXè century, the acceleration of the population growth becomes formidable: approximately 150.000 inhabitants at the end of XVIè century, 500.000 at the end of XVIIIe, 1.000.000 in 1886, the population is multiplied by 10 and is evaluated with 10.500.000 inhabitants in 1989. Vis-a-vis the pressure creates by this situation and with general dissatisfaction, the military governments of half of the XXè century are constrained to grant the right to vote with the Amerindians, then into 1964 to proclaim a land reform which aims at abolishing the constraint (" huasipungo") which the labor of the haciendas is always subjected. The land great landowners see themselves forced to give up part of their privileges, and to yield part of their properties to small farmers, from now on free and owners of small pieces (" minifundio"). The grounds thus yielded, are generally the least fertile, the haciendas preserving the best grounds.

About the middle of the XXè century take place the creation of the first agricultural trade union of the country which organized in 1944, the first country strike. In parallel, the first parallel schools were founded where for the first time, prohibited thing, teaching was done in language Kichwa (Quechua). These initiatives, were worth with their authors to be persecuted hard and imprisoned by the authorities.

Birth of the indigenous movements

At the beginning of the Années 1960 appeared the first structured organizations.
First of all in the Amazonian area with the organizations Shuars under the impulse of the missionaries evangelic Salésiens and . Who were then imitated by other regional nationalities to lead in 1980 to the creation of CONFENAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuadorian Amazonia). The program of CONFENAIE associated, as of the beginning, the recovery of the traditional territories, the defense of the culture, bilingual education and health, as well as the concept of " nationalités" and d'" State plurinational". The organization, also took part in the creation of the COICA which gathers the populations of all the basin amazonien.
Of their with dimensions, Kichwa of the Andean area, with the demographic and economic weight (agricultural) much more important, were also organized with the assistance of the parties Communiste and social-Christian as well as fringe of the Catholic church progressist, resulting from the change following the Vatican II and to the Théologie of the release. They constituted a big number of local and provincial organizations, to lead in 1972 to the creation of the movement ECUARUNARI

As from 1980, (walk indigenous and country on Quito, which was repressed hard) CONFENAIE with the more ethnic claims and ECUARUNARI more sensitive to the Class struggle, started their bringing together with the creation of the " The Council of coordination of Indigenous Nationalities of Équateur" from which will be born CONAIE in 1986.

CONAIE

The program of this one is summarized in 16 claims:

public Recognition of the multinational dimension of Ecuador (to be ratified by the constitution).
Transfer by the government of territories and the titles which refer to it to nationalities.
Resolution of the problems of water and irrigation.
Cancellation of the indigenous debts with the FODERUMA and the National Bank of development.
Price freeze of the consumer goods
Finalization of the priority projects in the Indian communities.
nonthe payment of the rural taxes
Expulsion of “Summer Institutes off Linguistics”.
commercial Freedom for the artisanal activities
Protection by the CONAIE of the archeological sites
Officialization of Indian medicine
Cancellation of the governmental decree of land reform
immediate Granting by the government of funds to nationalities.
Granting of funds by the government for bilingual teaching.
Respect of the rights of the child.
equitable Fixing of price for the agricultural production.

In 1990 the CONAIE organized the largest rising which Ecuador knew hitherto: strikes, demonstrations, occupations of great properties and administrations, agricultural blockade. In spite of the confrontations violent one and repression, this date marks the beginning of the entry of the indigenous movement on the modern political scene and the ten years advertisement of fight which caused the fall of several government and led to the revision of the constitution of 1998 and the participation in the government of indigenous personalities.

1994 : CONAIE convened the mobilization for the life and the land reform, which paralyzed the capital during two weeks and conduit with the state of emergency. This confrontation caused a public debate and a negotiation between the indigenous government and representatives, the latter obtaining the cancellation of a bill neo-liberal aiming at blaming the public property of the virgin lands to the profit of the private property to allow their exploitation, as well as the privatization of the oil sector and the water resources. The daily diffusion of televised debates bringing a national audience to the Indian movement.
1996: The Indian movement, which had hitherto expressed a certain mistrust vis-a-vis the electoral political commitment, takes part in the side of rural organizations to the creation of the party PACHAKUTIK which was to gain a considerable number of seats at the local level like with the congress, but failed the presidential election.

The third rising against the populist government of president Bucarám, leads to the dismissal of this one with the beginning of the year 1997 and creation, to replace the Ethnic Ministry, of the Funds National for the Development of Native-born people.

1998 : Adoption, not without opposition of the new constitution, recognizing the existence of the people and nationalities indigenous and afro-Ecuadorians, as well as the indigenous territorial districts. Creation of CODENPE (COnsejo de DEsarrollo of mow Nacionalidades there Pueblos de Ecuador - National council of Development of Nationalities and People of Ecuador).
2000: Following the economic serious attack, which gallop inflation corruption and the dollarisation of the economy, is launched a new insurrection with the support of part of the armed forces progressists in rebellion and other social movements. President Mahuad is relieved and replaced by a " Junta " formed by colonel Luis Gutierrez, the former president of the Supreme court, Carlos Solorzano and the president of the CONAIE , Antonio Vargas. They themselves will be stopped a few hours later on the orders of the chief of the armed forces, the Mendoza General who had however agreed the day before to integrate the Junta. This last will be shown to have betrayed the population and to have yielded to the pressures international in particular of the Organization of the American States.
2002: The populist one and ex-colonel Lucio Gutierrez gains the presidential election with the support of PACHAKUTIK which obtains two ministerial positions in its government. Alliance is of short duration, the two ministers (of which Luis Macas) oppose the neoliberal policy of the president and his alignment on Washington and leave the government in June 2003.

The CONAIE is in crisis, Of many dissensions divide its components. The passage of the participative democracy of the beginnings to the system of representation cuts the base of its leaders obliged to approach the places to be able. The social movement protestor and mobilizing pains to integrate a logic of political participation. The government plays the chart of division, appealing Antonio Vargas, become dissenting, with the ministry for the social Wellbeing and while approaching the local organizations and carrying out direct donations at the communities. In spite of the important advances carried out thanks to the action of the movements representatives the natives, the proportion of those alive under the poverty line (2 $ per days) is evaluated with more than 80%.

Confusion reigns, the leaders mutually show corruption and the sea-green movement its capacity of mobilization, the attempt at rising of June 2004 is a failure. In December 2004, the convocation of the 2nd congress of the CONAIE represents the need for regenerating the movement. It is essential to join again with the base. It is with these aims that it is appealed to chair the movement Luis Macas, historical figure, it occupied this function of 1990 to 1996. It is about a return to the sources, selected for three years as well by the bases as by the leaders Luis Macas has the role of rectifying the boat.

" The survival of the Confederation of indigenous nationalities of Ecuador is threatened. The objective of my presidency is to organize a fold to consolidate the base of the mouvement."

As of his taking up the duties the new president gives an opinion against the Plan Colombia (plane financed by Washington and directed starting from Ecuador against the guerilla Colombian, under pretext of fight against the drug trafficking), the maintenance of military base states-unienne of Manta in Ecuador and invites to fight against the signature of the Traité Free trade (TLC) with the the United States. He announces for the two years to come, the installation of course of elimination of illiteracy, the fight against the transnational oil companies and the privatization of water, the defense of the natural resources and the biodiversity, the action for the redistribution of the grounds.

In April 2005, following several popular months of rising, president Gutierrez is constrained to leave the capacity and to exile himself. He is replaced by Alfredo Palacio

Sites of the organizations

In Spanish:

CONAIE - Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador
ECUARUNARI - Confederación of los Pueblos de Nacionalidad Kichwa del Ecuador
CODENPE - Consejo de Desarrolo of mow Nationalidades there Pueblos del Ecuador

In French:

COICA - Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazonian Basin (supra national)

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