NACLA Report on the Americas

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Ecuador Taking On the Neoliberal Agenda

Nina Pacari

To cite this article: Nina Pacari (1996) Ecuador Taking On the Neoliberal Agenda, NACLA Report
on the Americas, 29:5, 23-32, DOI: 10.1080/10714839.1996.11722889

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 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

ECUADOR

Taking
On the
Neoliberal
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Agenda
By linking the
demands of
Ecuador's indigenous
population and
non-indigenous
popular sectors,
the indigenous
movement has moved
to the forefront of
the popular struggle.

BY NINA PACARI

n June, 1994, a mobilization called by indigenous
organizations in Ecuador shut down the country for
two full weeks. The protests were directed against
the new so-called Agrarian Development Law, a key
piece of the larger neoliberal structural-adjustment pro-
gram being implemented by the government of Sixto
Durdin Ball6n. The law approved by Congress called for
the elimination of communal lands in favor of agricul-
tural "enterprises," along with other measures that
favored the interests of the big landowners. It com-
Nina Pacariis a lawyer and a leader of the Confederation of
Indigenous Nationalitiesof Ecuador (CONAIE). She played a key
role in the negotiations with the government following the
1994 indigenous uprising.
Translated from the Spanish by NACLA.
Vol XXIX,
VoI No 55
XXIX, No MARCHIAPRIL 199623
MARCHIAPRII. 1996
pletely ignored the concerns of Ecuador's indigenous
people, campesinos, and small farmers.
Indigenous organizations set up roadblocks and boy-
cotted marketplaces nationwide to protest the law. Trade
unionists called a general strike, stopping the delivery of
goods into the city. Commerce throughout Ecuador
ground to a halt. There were widespread rallies and
protest marches in Quito and other urban centers. In
parts of the Amazon, indigenous communities took over
oil wells to protest the privatization of Petroecuador, the
state-owned oil company.
The protesters rallied behind the alternative proposal
developed by the Confederation of Indigenous
Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) [see "CONAIE's
Agrarian Law Proposal", p. 25]. This proposal called for
23
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

establishing fairer terms of demands at the national

access to land, and improv- level. By linking the
ing local technologies and demands of Ecuador's
productive capacities. This indigenous population and
was not a narrow proposal of non-indigenous popular
and for the indigenous; sectors, the indigenous
rather, CONAIE sought to movement has moved to the
articulate and defend the forefront of the popular
interests of all sectors of the struggle in Ecuador.
country by highlighting the Eleven different indige-
basic demand of "food secu- nous nationalities coexist in
rity" for all Ecuadorians. Ecuador today, comprising
In the face of this nation- 45% of a total population of
wide protest, the govern- 12 million inhabitants. An
ment declared a "State of important proportion of this
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Mobilization," putting the group are Quichua-speak-

Armed Forces in charge of ing indigenous communi-
restoring order. Arrest war- ties located in the central
rants were issued against highlands (or Sierra), the
indigenous leaders, and majority of whom subsist
peaceful rallies were vio- on agriculture. A smaller
lently repressed. The army number of indigenous
occupied many indigenous Quichua-speakers also live
communities, harassing and on the coast, as the growing
beating the "rebellious difficulties of rural life led
Indians" and destroying them to leave their highland
homes and crops. The army Quichuas march to occupy lan d of an absentee landlord in homes in search of better
did not even respect indige- September 1991. economic opportunities in
nous places of worship, where many women, children, coastal cities. The Amazon jungle region (or Oriente) is
youth, and elderly people had sought refuge. Soldiers home to six indigenous ethnic groups, numbering about
dragged them out of religious temples and beat them. 120,000 people, who use sophisticated sustainable sys-
Four people were killed, and several others received tems to cultivate the fragile rainforest soils.
bullet wounds. The provincial administrative office of One of the first modern indigenous organizations in
the bilingual education program in Cafiar was burnt Ecuador was the Federation of Shuar Centers, founded
down and destroyed. in 1964 with the assistance of Salesian missionaries.
These attempts to repress and intimidate the indige- The Federation, located primarily in the southern
nous mobilization did not force the movement to back Oriente, sought to ensure Shuar landholdings and to
down. The government finally had to agree to negotiate maintain Shuar culture. The Federation's bilingual-
with the indigenous organizations about how to revise education programs became a prototype for other such
the agrarian law. This marked the first time in programs in Ecuador in the ensuing decades.
Ecuadorian history that an indigenous movement Provincial and regional indigenous organizations
forced the government to enter into a serious dialogue were created in the 1970s. In the Oriente, these includ-
about national policies. ed the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Napo
While not all of CONAIE's demands were incorpo- (FOIN) and the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of
rated into the revisions of the law, the government was Pastaza (OPIP). In 1980, the Confederation of
forced to concede important points to the indigenous Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon
movement. As a consequence of this and prior mobi- (CONFENAIE) was founded to represent the indige-
lizations, the indigenous movement is now widely rec- nous population of the entire Oriente. In the highlands,
ognized as a significant social actor in contemporary traces of indigenous organization can be detected in the
Ecuadorian politics. The movement derives strength Ecuadorian Indigenous Federation (FEI) in 1940s. The
from the growing unity among the country's different direct line, however, began in 1972 with the founding of
indigenous organizations and its extraordinary capacity ECUARUNARI, which focused on land and cultural
to mobilize people, indigenous and non-indigenous rights. CONAIE was established in 1986 by CONFE-
alike. It has this power because of its strong links to the NAIE and ECUARUNARI, unifying all indigenous
grassroots, as well as its ability to articulate local peoples in one national organization.
NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
24
24 NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS
In the 1970s and 1980s, indigenous organizations
tended to focus on local issues-such as higher wages
for farmworkers or access to a piece of land-and cul-
tural issues-such as bilingual education-without a
broader political perspective. In the 1990s, while these
concrete demands remain central concerns of the
indigenous movement, they are now accompanied by
demands of a more political stripe: the right to self-
determination, the right to our cultural identity and our
languages, and the right to develop economically
according to our own values and beliefs. The struggle
against oppression, exploitation and exclusion led by
the indigenous movement has coalesced into a key
demand: the construction of a plurinational state that
tolerates and encourages diversity among different
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groups in society.
Land has become a key rallying point for indigenous
groups across the country, and has helped unify the
struggle. Unlike the landowners, who see land as an
instrument of production like any other, indigenous
people see land as an essential foundation for our cul-
tural, political, organizational and economic develop-
ment, and of life itself.
Land in Ecuador is concentrated in the hands of a
few. According to 1994 data, in the highlands, 1.6% of
farms occupy 43% of the land, while on the coast, 3.9%
of farms occupy 55% of the land. Communally owned
lands, while legally recognized and protected under the
Constitution, represent only 4% of land in the high-
lands. Most of this land is located on steep mountain
ridges, and is useful only for pasture. Indigenous land
ownership, in general, is very limited.
cuador, like most Latin American countries, pur-
sued a state-led model of development in the
1960s and 1970s. Military rulers in power in
Ecuador during a good part of that era sought to devel-
op the country through import-substituting industrial-
ization, a continuation of the agrarian reform initiated
in 1964, state-regulated commercialization of basic
foodstuffs, and state control over the oil industry. While
industrialization marched on with the help of generous
government subsidies, the agrarian reform was stunted
by the tenacious resistance of the landowners, grouped
in the Chamber of Agriculturalists and the Association
of Livestock Producers. The few bits of land given to
the indigenous and campesino population were of poor
quality and located on precarious mountainsides.
Under the rubric of "modernizing agriculture," these
regimes promoted the importation of machines and
agricultural products, such as fertilizers and insecti-
cides. These policies had an immediate impact on rural
communities, because the mechanization of agriculture
meant that the large estates had less need for laborers.
The use of chemical inputs also severely contaminated
No 55
XXIX, No MARCH/APRIL 1996
Vol XXIX,
Vol MARCH/APRIL 1996
MOVEMENTS
the environment. At the same time, growing demand
for land meant that existing parcels were shrinking
rapidly in size and availability. These combined factors
led to a drastic increase in un- and underemployment
in the countryside, which fueled rural migration to the
cities. This general policy orientation continued until
1982, when a crash in oil prices in concert with the
drying up of international credit in the aftermath of the
debt crisis forced a radical change in policy. Like other
Latin American countries with large external debts,
Ecuador was pressured by multilateral lending institu-
tions to implement structural-adjustment policies.
Following the orthodox recipes of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the gov-
ernment of Oswaldo Hurtado (1979-1984) devalued
CONAIE'S Agrarian Law Proposal
The "Integral Agrarian Law," presented by
ONAIE, consists of five main points:
* Existing demands for land should be processed
quickly, systematically and fairly, and there
should be equal access to land for all. Land con-
flicts should be dealt with not violently, but
through peaceful negotiations.
* Indigenous-campesino economies should be
modernized to improve their productivity levels.
Assuring better prices for agricultural products
will help resolve the problem of rural poverty.
The ultimate objective of this proposal is to pro-
duce better-quality, lower-cost products for the
domestic market, with a priority on food securi-
ty for all Ecuadorians, and secondarily, on agri-
cultural exports.
* Individual and community initiatives should be
promoted to sustain productivity, multiply
resources, and guarantee a rational redistribu-
tion of resources. Establishing efficient communi-
ty enterprises could help channel these energies.
* Any agrarian law must actively promote the pro-
tection and recuperation of the soil and other
renewable natural resources. It should promote
ecologically sound technologies and use ances-
tral technologies where appropriate.
* Organized groups of civil society in the country-
side (indigenous groups, campesinos, Afro-
Ecuadorians and small farmers) must play a
leading role in implementing a new agrarian
law. The state has a specific role: to administer
the law fairly and in a timely manner, and to
ensure the assignment of the appropriate
resources. While the market acts as a dynamic
force and improves the efficiency of many enter-
prises, it cannot rationally distribute access to
land. Rather, if the market is given free rein,
land tends to become concentrated in the hands
of a few. -NP
25
25
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS
the local currency, eliminated subsi-
dies and price controls, and
increased the cost of public services.
While manufactured products
became more expensive, the price of
agrarian products fell or stagnated.
At the same time, salary increases
failed to keep pace with most peo-
ple's dramatic loss of purchasing
power. In the agrarian sector, neolib-
eral policies later on promoted the
cultivation of "nontraditional"
exports, such as flowers and tropical
fruits like papayas and mangos.
Agribusiness, which is closely tied to
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international consumer markets and
has the money to buy the latest in
The World Bank's Indigenous Policy
Inannounced
early 1994, the Ecuadorian government
the seventh round of oil leases to open
up ten new areas of the Amazon for oil exploration
and production. At the same time, the Ecuadorian
Congress was discussing a legislative proposal devel-
oped with advice from the World Bank to allow pri-
vate-sector participation in the oil sector. The Bank,
meanwhile, was preparing a $20 million loan to the
Ecuadorian government to privatize the state oil
company Petroecuador, and implement other public-
sector reforms.'
Both the oil leases and the new law were met with
harsh criticism by indigenous groups from Ecuador's
Amazon region, who have suffered the negative
consequences of oil development for decades. New
oil expansion in the Amazon, they argued, would
lead to greater encroachment into their territories
and further pollute their environment. After learn-
ing of the Bank's proposed loan, Ecuador's most
powerful indigenous organization, the Con-
federation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador
(CONAIE), along with other indigenous groups and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), sent a let-
ter to the Bank, urging it to apply Operational
Directives 4.01 and 4.20-the Bank's established poli-
cies to mitigate the adverse effects of Bank projects
on the environment and indigenous peoples, respec-
tively. The Bank refused, arguing that the loan had
no direct implications for the environment or indige-
nous peoples.
Indigenous organizations and NGOs have long crit-
icized the World Bank for financing projects that
destroy the lives and livelihoods of indigenous peo-
ples around the globe. Dam projects have displaced
Kay Treakle is the Latin America and Caribbeanproject director
for the Bank Information Center
26NACLA
26
MOVEMENTS
technology, has profited from these
market policies. The majority of the
rural population, however, remains
mired in extreme poverty and lacks
access to credit. Because of demo-
graphic pressures and the inability
of most communities to acquire
more land, the situation is growing
worse-giving way, for example, to
indigenous landlessness, a phenom-
enon that would have been unthink-
able a decade ago. This combination
of the negative impact of neoliberal
policies and the growing lack of
The army destroyed the offices of the
billingualeducation program in Caiar
during the 1994 mobilization.
entire indigenous populations, while road building
has brought new agricultural settlers, loggers and
miners into their territories. The Bank adopted its first
policy toward indigenous peoples in 1982, partly in
response to violent indigenous opposition to a World
Bank-funded dam project in the Philippines. 2
The policy, which was updated in 1991, looks good
on paper. The objective of the current policy,
"Operational Directive 4.20: Indigenous Peoples," is
to provide "policy guidance to (a) ensure that indige-
nous people benefit from development projects, and
(b) avoid or mitigate potentially adverse effects on
indigenous people caused by Bank-assisted activi-
ties." O.D. 4.20 recognizes the rights of indigenous
peoples to natural and economic resources, and
urges their "informed participation" in Bank activi-
ties that affect them. The Bank, it suggests, should
assist borrowing governments "in establishing legal
recognition of the customary or traditional land-
tenure systems of indigenous peoples." When a pro-
posed investment might harm indigenous concerns,
borrowing governments should develop an
"Indigenous Peoples Development Plan" that would
commit resources for health care, productive infra-
structure, education, or "entitlement to natural
resources." The policy includes mechanisms for the
participation of indigenous peoples in developing
such a plan, but indigenous communities cannot veto
Bank projects. There is, however, a provision for stop-
ping or postponing projects where "adverse impacts
are unavoidable and adequate mitigation plans have
not been developed."
"O.D. 4.20 is a valuable tool that can be used by
indigenous peoples to avoid becoming victims of
Bank-financed projects," says Cindy Buhl of the Bank
Information Center. "However, its practical value
depends on implementation." The Bank does not
REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
NACILA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

access to land detonated the first ignored many of CONAIE's 16 princi-

indigenous uprising in June, 1990.
After weeks of organizing, and
frustration with stagnating talks with
the government over indigenous land
rights, CONAIE orchestrated this
uprising that nearly paralyzed the
country for a week. Main roads were
blocked with large boulders and
walls of rock, markets were boy-
cotted, water supplies to the urban
areas were cut off, and several police
and local officials were taken
hostage.
The mobilization ended when the
"rebellious Indians."
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pal demands, the social democratic gov-
ernment of Rodrigo Borja did finally
make two important concessions: the
administration gave CONAIE the
authority to name the director of the
bilingual education programs, and
The government granted large tracts of land to the
called on the army Huaoranis and the OPIP in Pastaza.
All sectors of Ecuadorian society
to restore were surprised by the magnitude and
the broad-based nature of the 1990
internal order and uprising. While the Borja government
beat back the and the large landowners explained it
away as "manipulation" and "foreign

government agreed to national-level interference," progressive sectors of

negotiations with CONAIE. While it society interpreted the uprising as a

routinely apply its indigenous policy to projects that
have only an indirect negative impact on indigenous
peoples. In fact, Operational Directive 4.20 is often
not enforced in lending that directly affects indige-
nous peoples. 3 For example, three of the five cases
filed with the World Bank's Inspection Panel since
1994 allege that the Bank violated, or did not apply
appropriately, O.D. 4.20 in the projects. The Pangue
dam on the Bio Bio River in Chile, financed by the
Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), was
one such case. The claimants alleged that the IFC
failed to consult adequately with Pehuenche leaders
who opposed the dam, among other violations. The
panel rejected the case because it does not have
jurisdiction over the IFC, which lends to the private
sector.
One problem with implementation of O.D. 4.20 is
that many Bank task managers are unfamiliar with
the policy. Others resist applying it to their projects.
While some operations staff have been trained in
how to apply the policy, implementation seems to
depend largely on those few Bank staff in the
Environment Department and regional technical
departments that are interested in and concerned
about indigenous peoples. 4 Moreover, the policy is
straightforward for projects with a territorial
impact, like dams or roads, but it is less clear how
the effects of sectoral lending might be addressed.
O.D. 4.20 was not considered applicable in the case
of Ecuador, even though privatizing the oil sector
could have accelerated oil development in the
Amazon with clear negative consequences for
Amazonian indigenous peoples. Another central
problem is that the Bank deals only with govern-
ments, who are often unconcerned about the impli-
cations of their development projects for indigenous
populations.
BY KAY TREAKLE
Outside pressure, coupled with increased staff
awareness, can sometimes lead to greater implemen-
tation of O.D. 4.20. For example, in 1994 the Bank
began to apply the policy in a proposed loan to the
Mexican government for aquaculture development,
but only after NGOs brought to the Bank's attention
the existence of indigenous fishing communities that
would be adversely affected by the development of
industrial fish ponds. The Bank responded by ear-
marking 7% of the loan for indigenous development.
The Bank is currently revising O.D. 4.20 to clarify
which parts of the policy must be complied with and
which parts are only advisory. Indigenous organiza-
tions have requested that the Bank hold consulta-
tions with them before formalizing the draft. While
Bank staff have agreed, this consultation process has
yet to be implemented.
Indigenous organizations have increasingly assert-
ed their right to participate in Bank policy revisions
and specific Bank projects. If more vigorously applied,
the World Bank's indigenous policy may help reduce
the negative impact of Bank-funded projects. At the
same time, however, O.D. 4.20 fails to address the
impact of the neoliberal development model itself on
indigenous peoples, which ultimately undermines
their traditional economies and cultures.
1. World Bank, Ecuador: Public Enterprise Reform Technical
Assistance Loan, November 22, 1994.
2. See Marcus Colchester, "Changing World Bank Policies on
Indigenous Peoples," Third World Network Features 1093
(Malaysia), 1993.
3. Andrew Gray, "Development Policy-Development Protest:
The World Bank, Indigenous Peoples and NGOs," in
Jonathan Fox and L. David Brown, eds., The Struggle for
Accountability: Social Movements, NGOs and the World
Bank, forthcoming from MIT Press, 1996.
4. Andrew Gray, "Development Policy-Development Protest:
The World Bank, Indigenous Peoples and NGOs."

1996
MARo-i/APRI 1996
27
Vol
Vol XXIX, No 55
XXIX, No MARCH/APRIL 27
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

response to Ecuador's wors-

ening economic crisis.
The uprising was not only
about alleviating the eco-
nomic hardship in the coun-
tryside in the wake of struc-
tural-adjustment policies. A
central element was recov-
ering the lands that had
been stolen from indige-
nous people. The uprising
also reflected the fruition of
a long-term process in
which the indigenous peo-
ple recognized the impor-
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tance of developing our own

identity, constructing an
indigenous perspective on
national politics, and defin-
ing our role in the broader
struggle for civil, political,
economic and cultural Members of the Organizationof Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OPIP)march in the nationwide
rights. It was the first time uprising in 1990.
that the indigenous movem ent articulated what has
become its central demand: the reform of the first arti-
cle of the Constitution to rec ognize Ecuador as a pluri-
national country.
s part of its larger neo
liberal agenda, the present
government of Sixto Durin Ball6n decided to
replace the Agrarian Reform Law of 1964 with
new legislation that would govern the rural sector
according to free-market pri nciples. The government's
"Agrarian Development Law " was based on a legisla-
tive proposal developed by E cuador's large landowners,
grouped in the Chamber off Agriculturalists and the
Association of Livestock Pr'oducers. The landowners'
proposal rolled back the few gains won by the agrarian
reform, threatening the inter crests of indigenous and
campesino communities alikee. The new law was passed
by Congress in May, 1994 and signed into law by
President Durin on June 13, 1994, over the objections
of CONAIE and other popul ir organizations.
Indigenous organizations vere outraged not only by
the law's content, but by the undemocratic methods by
which it came into being. The National Agrarian
Commission (CAN), former1 by CONAIE and other
indigenous and campesino or-ganizations, had drafted a
detailed proposal for the refo rm of the nation's agrarian
laws and had submitted it to the legislature for consid-
eration in June, 1993. The pro posal, drafted over a peri-
od of two years, was the outcome of an elaborate
process of consultations wiith CONAIE's grassroots
constituents, including indige nous communities as well
as non-indigenous campesino,s and farmers. CONAIE's
28NACIA
28
proposal was completely ignored by both the Congress
and the President. Instead, the approved law was draft-
ed by a small minority behind the backs of the people.
The law was never publicly debated, despite the fact
that it would have vast repercussions for broad seg-
ments of rural society.
Part of the conceptual framework of the Agrarian
Development Law came from the conservative think-
tank Institute of Agricultural Strategies (IDEA).
Headed by Neptalf Bonifaz, a member of the Chamber
of Agriculturalists, IDEA actively promotes market-
based reforms in the agricultural sector. Based on a
number of highly questionable "investigations," IDEA's
researchers claim that "the Indians are the new land-
lords" in Ecuador. As a consequence, they reason, an
agrarian reform that would redistribute land is no
longer necessary. In fact, they argue that the hold that
these "new landowners" have on agricultural land is a
barrier to further growth in the agricultural sector.
Based on these premises, the Agrarian Development
Law proposed the freeing up of communal land to mar-
ket forces. This would ostensibly permit new invest-
ment and productivity in the rural sector, as well as
resolve the problem of supposedly inefficient commu-
nal properties.
The idea that the indigenous people are Ecuador's
"new landlords" is absurd. The most fertile lands in the
Ecuadorian countryside remain concentrated in the
hands of a small group of large landowners, and many
of those lands remain idle and unproductive. "This will
become a serious social problem for indigenous com-
munities, cooperatives and agriculturalists," says Luis
REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

Macas, president of CONAIE. "By submitting these
lands to the market forces of supply and demand, those
who have little money will sell their small parcels, and
those who have more money will begin to buy up all the
land. As a result, the number of rural people who
migrate to the city will increase significantly, and the
misery in the shantytowns will also increase."'
Dividing up communal lands and putting them up for
sale is, in reality, a legal dispossession of indigenous
land, a kind of counter-agrarian reform reminiscent of
colonial times. The law would have led to an even
greater concentration of land in few hands, and the pro-
liferation of small private landholdings. It was also an
unabashed attempt to destroy the principle of communal
solidarity, the foundation of
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Hydraulic Resources (INERHI), a government agency,
currently regulates concessions regarding water usage.
Many landowners were trying to assert their control
over the water supply. This was an especially impor-
tant issue for landowners who grow flowers for export
since flowers require an extraordinary amount of irri-
gation. "INERHI should focus on providing the
water," said one landowner, "and the water itself
should become a negotiable product." 2 The effort to put
water under the dominion of the market caused
tremendous commotion among Ecuador's indigenous
and rural sectors, who argue that water is a natural,
public resource.
The underlying premise of proposals such as the
Agrarian Development Law is that indigenous and

the indigenous worldview. campesino agriculture cannot be profitable given the

In the end, the fragmenta- small size of their parcels and the subsistence nature of
tion of communal lands their agriculture. This, however, overlooks several
would threaten the very advantages of this sector. The mutual coexistence of an
existence of indigenous exchange-based subsistence economy and a money-
The Dur~in communities. based economy has facilitated the survival of the
The law also granted indigenous-campesino sector in times of economic cri-
administration conditional credit for qual- sis. This sector also has a high degree of technical and
ified agriculturalists. To organizational flexibility, which allows it to produce a
believed it could qualify for the money, variety of products. The coexistence of a communal
get away with however, the farmer was land system with individually- and family-owned small
required to receive training parcels allows us to maintain our values of solidarity
imposing its by a private agency that and community participation, while permitting individ-
knew little about tradition- ual initiatives.
al forms of cultivation and Moreover, indigenous and campesino communities
Agrarian management of highland provide 70% of Ecuador's main staples, such as corn,
soil, or the integral use of potatoes and barley, despite the fact that the land is of
Development Law resources. These are not relatively poor quality. "The products that feed the
without any sort just agricultural tech- majority of Ecuadorians are produced by small
niques-they are a funda- landowners (under 25 acres)":' says CONAIE president
of national mental part of the indige- Macas. "If the indigenous people and campesinos, who
nous worldview. Previous are the primary owners of these small parcels, sell their
debate. attempts to "reform" the land, there will be a huge food shortage, which will
agricultural sector from the result in price speculation and price increases. The gov-
outside did not obtain any long-lasting benefits either in ernment is apparently not concerned with these prob-
terms of increasing agricultural productivity or reduc- lems." 3 If the government implemented policies that
ing rural poverty precisely because they did not take developed the potential of the indigenous-campesino
into account indigenous knowledge about the environ- sector, food security for all Ecuadorians could be guar-
ment. "In order to propose strategies to attack the social anteed and agricultural production for export could be
and ecological crisis:' states one study, "it is imperative stimulated.
to begin with the supposition that the social agents, in
this case the popular sectors of the countryside, are in
general both knowledgeable and able administrators of
Si1992,
nce theit Durnin administration assumed power in
has tried to minimize, demobilize and
their own resources." The way the law defined who was destroy the indigenous movement. Government
a qualified agriculturalist would have actually prevent- authorities have not hesitated to lash out against indige-
ed indigenous people and campesinos from obtaining nous leaders in a blatant attempt to delegitimize them.
credit. Arrogant in the face of the severe weakness of the labor
The Agrarian Development Law also included an movement and certain that its tactics would also weak-
extremely controversial provision that would have pri- en the indigenous movement, the Durdin government
vatized the public water supply. The Institute of believed that it could get away with imposing its
Vol XXIX, No 5
XXIX, No 5 MAPcHIAmiL 199629
MARcHIA.r 1996 29
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS
Agrarian Development Law without any sort of nation-
al debate.
The response of the indigenous movement was imme-
diate. Before the bill was signed into law by the Presi-
dent, CONAIE, along with the National Ecuadorian
Federation of Campesino and Indigenous Organizations
(FENOC-I), and the Evangelical Federation of
Indigenous Ecuadorians (EFIE), convened an emer-
gency assembly in June to prepare for a national "Mobi-
lization for Life" in protest. The mobilization's central
objective was the repeal of the Agrarian Development
Law, though its leaders also called for a halt to unre-
strained oil exploration in the Oriente and to the perse-
cution of indigenous leaders. Over 3,500 indigenous
communities representing
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all of Ecuador's indigenous
nationalities participated in
the mobilization. Regional
federations representing
communities from the high-
The indigenous lands and coastal areas
joined with groups repre-
movement's senting lowland communi-
central demand ties in the Amazon. Campe-
sino groups, small farmers,
is the reform of trade unions, popular orga-
the Constitution nizations and other progres-
sive groups joined the mobi-
to recognize lization. An impressive array
of international human
Ecuador as a rights and environmental
groups offered their support
plurinational
as well.
state. After its attempts to quell
the mobilization by violent
means failed, the government finally agreed to negotiate
the terms of the law with the indigenous organizations.
The Catholic Church mediated the negotiations.
Delegates from the Indigenous Initiative for Peace, an
organization founded by Nobel laureate Rigoberta
Menchd, and the Costa Rica-based Inter-American
Institute for Human Rights, helped monitor the process.
A commission was established to debate proposed
reforms to the Agrarian Development Law. The indige-
nous organizations demanded that the negotiation
process be broadcast without interruption on the radio
to ensure both the transparency of the dialogue and the
government's serious consideration of the indigenous
proposals. The radio broadcast also helped stamp out
rumors propagated by some sectors of government that
"the indigenous leaders sold out" and that "the leaders
are tricking the people, they haven't even read the
4
law."
The negotiation process was extremely difficult for
the indigenous movement, which had the weaker hand.
MOVEMENTS
Chile's Mapuches Organize Against
ndigenous organizations in Chile, especially those
representing the Mapuche nation, have been
mobilizing against government plans to enter into
the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). The Council of All Lands, a Mapuche
nationalist organization, has called the treaty "a
new form of colonial and neocolonial expansion-
ism" that fundamentally undermines Mapuche
self-determination. Mapuche organizations char-
acterize NAFTA as the "third invasion of Mapuche
territory"-after the Conquest in the late sixteenth
century and the Chilean Army's incursions in the
latter half of the nineteenth century, which effec-
tively ended Mapuche autonomy.
The Mapuches are the largest indigenous group
in Chile. About one million Mapuches live in Chile,
comprising 10% of the population. (Other ethnic
groups, including the Aymaras, Quechuas,
Kawashkar and Yamanas, represent less than 1%
of the population.) The center-south region of
Chile, known as the "Frontier" or "Araucania," is
the historic center of Mapuche culture. Depressed
living conditions have led to a diaspora, however.
An estimated 400,000 Mapuches-almost half the
Mapuche population-now live in the capital city
of Santiago. Even though the Mapuches are a
minority within Chilean society, they are spear-
heading the opposition to NAFTA in Chile.
Mapuche opposition to NAFTA has its roots in
the historic forms of resistance adopted by Chilean
indigenous peoples. The Mapuche Cultural Center
was founded in 1979 to oppose Pinochet's plans to
divide Mapuche reservations. Political differences
led to a splintering of the group in 1980, giving rise
to a number of Mapuche organizations, including
the Council of All Lands, Admapu, Nehuen Mapu
and Choin Folil Che. Their common stance of oppo-
sition to NAFTA has helped unify the diverse
Mapuche organizations. It has also led them to
seek out allies among other sectors of Chilean soci-
ety that oppose NAFTA, including campesinos,
agriculturalists, urban grassroots groups, students
and artisans. These different sectors have come
together in the Coordinating Committee for Fair
Development and Commerce of Araucania. While
its focus is economic issues, the Committee has
become a social and political reference point for
anti-NAFTA organizing in the region.
The Mapuche organizations have organized tra-
ditional protest marches against NAFTA in the city
of Temuco, the urban heart of Araucania. They
Rosamel Millaman is a doctoral candidate in anthropologyat
the GraduateCenter of the City University of New York. He was
a Mapuche leader from 1976 to 1986, and currently teaches at
Lehman College. Translated from the Spanish by NACLA.
NACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

NAFTA BY ROSAMEL MILLAMAN

have also been developing Malleco, where the U.S.-

more innovative strategies. based Simpson Papers
Last December, Chile's indige- Company has claimed owner-
nous organizations partici- ship of over 500 acres of
pated in a national meeting Mapuche land. 2
organized by the Foundation Other government plans to
of Indigenous Development, "modernize" Chile have seri-
a Santiago-based non-gov- ously harmed the land-the
ernmental organization. foundation of Mapuche cul-
They are now preparing a ture. The Frei government has
national indigenous congress begun to build a highway
to strategize about how to along the Pacific coast,
organize protest against destroying dozens of commu-
NAFTA and thwart Chile's
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nities and Mapuche reserva-

participation in both NAFTA tions in the provinces of
and Mercosur, a regional Arauco, Cautin and Valdivia in
common market comprised the process. The government
of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay also plans to construct a road
and Paraguay. A Mapuche community lead•eraddressesa gathering in linking the Pan-American
The Mapuche groups are Temuco. Highway, which runs north to
also calling for a broader dialogue over the meaning south along the Chilean coast, to the eastern side of
of NAFTA for Chile. At the regional level, they have the city of Temuco. This would destroy seven indige-
demanded that indigenous organizations be included nous reservations and affect thousands of Mapuche
in local forums that are debating Chile's participation landowners.
in NAFTA. At the national level, they have urged the Mapuche organizations fear that Chile's participa-
current government of Eduardo Frei to initiate a tion in NAFTA will further open the door for transna-
nationwide debate about the treaty. They have also tional companies to extract the country's natural
sought to mobilize support from international allies resources, like timber and water, with no considera-
with whom they worked during the continent-wide tion of the social and environmental consequences.
Quincentenary campaigns. Mapuche leaders have There is also growing concern that Mapuche labor
toured the United States to speak about the negative will be exploited. Low levels of education and train-
impact that NAFTA would have on their communities, ing among the Mapuches, coupled with ethnic dis-
and they plan to meet with Democratic Senators later crimination, have made them highly vulnerable.
this year in Washington to discuss their opposition to National and transnational companies, for example,
the treaty. increasingly rely on Mapuche labor, which is grossly
underpaid. The Mapuches fear that under NAFTA,
The Mapuches believe that NAFTA will strengthen transnational corporations will set up new manufac-
the neoliberal model-imposed during the turing industries in Araucania which will exploit the
Pinochet dictatorship and continued under democra- local labor force without bringing any real benefits
tic rule-that has been so devastating for their peo- to the area.
ple. The Chilean government's drive to impose mar- Mapuche anti-NAFTA organizing is not just a rejec-
ket-oriented production has encouraged Mapuche tion of an economic system. It is also a protest
assimilation and undermined traditional indigenous against the cultural and ecological implications of
economies, based on reciprocity and subsistence the treaty. Most importantly, NAFTA threatens the
agriculture. realization of a long-term Mapuche objective-
The government's neoliberal policies have caused regional and economic autonomy. The Mapuches
environmental damage with repercussions for may be a small minority of the Chilean population,
Mapuche communities. For example, the six hydro- but their voice on NAFTA-and other issues of
electric dams constructed on the Bio Bio River under national importance-is increasingly being heard, U
the Aylwin administration (1990-94) flooded more 1. "Presas del Bio-Bio: la base para desaparici6n de los
than 1,250 acres of Mapuche land and forced more Mapuches y para la destruccion del ecosistema," Africa
than 600 families to migrate.' Neoliberalism also Amrrica Latina, Cuadernos, No. 11, 1993.
threatens the integrity of Mapuche territories. The 2. Aukin, No. 25, Official newspaper of Aukin Walmapu Ngulam
Frei government's reforestation policy allows (Temuco), October, 1995.
3. Diane Haughney and Pedro Mariman, "Acerca del desarrollo
transnational corporations to fraudulently acquire y la di-spora Mapuche," Documentos Krma-Liwen (Temuco),
Mapuche reservation land. Such was the case in March, 1994.
31
Vol XXIX,
Vol No 5
XXIX, No 5 MARC•HIAPRIL 1996
MAO4APR1L 1996 31
 REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS

Little was gained, however, regarding the

issue of land expropriation. While the law
now formally recognizes demographic pres-
sures as one of the reasons why land is taken
over, the practical value of this change is
unclear. Much will depend on the strength of
indigenous and campesino organizations to
make it a reality.
Building upon the organizational develop-
ment that has been achieved thus far, the
indigenous movement is trying to formulate
an alternative project to defend our commu-
nities against the dangers presented by the
neoliberal model. Our demands are not
based only on immediate economic con-
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cerns. Nor do we object only to the state's

administrative apparatus. We are demanding
that the government recognize the different
Indigenous people build road blocks in Chimborazo, Ecuador to pro)test the indigenous nationalities that exist in
Quincentenary celebrationson October 12, 1992. Ecuador. We are questioning the very con-
cept of an "Ecuadorian Nation" at the same
As sociologist Alejandro Moreano observed: "the time that we question the model of capitalist develop-
Indians had to negotiate with the Damocles' sword of ment that sustains it economically and the "civilizing
the approved law and the power of the state over their project" based on material progress and individualism
heads." The persistence of colonialist mentalities pro- that sustains it culturally. In essence, we are question-
hibited the country's elite from really considering the ing the ongoing exclusion of our collective rights as
proposals set forth by the indigenous movement. Racist peoples.
comments against the indigenous people were constant- We are conscious that we are an essential part of the
ly batted around by the government to mobilize public country, and that we possess a substantial part of the
opinion against the indigenous cause. "I do not know if human potential as well as productive resources of
it is ignorance or premeditated, but the government fails Ecuador. Our true capacities have, however, often been
to see the historical anguish that is the basis of the neutralized by the context of domination in which we
indigenous peoples' actions," wrote the journalist Javier have subsisted for 500 years. The
Ponce Cevallos in the Quito daily Hoy. "The govern- nationwide indigenous uprisings of
ment prefers to imbue the political debate with its own 1990 and 1994, as well as more
arrogance in order to hide its incapacity to understand regional actions such as the March
the historic dimensions of these problems.... The coun- of the Organization of Indigenous
try does not want to discuss its most profound dramas." Peoples of Pastaza in 1992, have
One of the key conceptual points conceded by the helped indigenous people reaffirm
government was that the process of agrarian reform had our identity realize our limits, and
not terminated, and that the redistribution of land-- develop our proposals.
especially the most fertile land that remains in the same The uprisings also illustrate that our demands go
few hands as always-was an ongoing necessity. In beyond a concern for agrarian issues. The movement is
addition, the government agreed that the communal focusing on the historic necessity of changing the rules
lands would not be divided up and sold. of the political game: how resources are distributed,
The government also expressly recognized the diver- how the state is structured, and how policies are
sity of actors in the rural sector, and the state's obliga- formed. Because we are not the only sector of society
tion to respect their cultures, forms of organizing, and that has been marginalized, we have found important
technologies. The government promised to fund train- allies in our struggle among non-indigenous people. As
ing workshops and other efforts by indigenous organi- one observer suggests, "there are many reasons to
zations to improve productivity in the indigenous- believe that at the heart of the present crisis of civiliza-
campesino sector. The article in the law regarding the tion, the hour of indigenous people has arrived. Their
privatization of water was also completely modified. presence as historic subjects is undoubtedly one of the
The government agreed to recognize water as an essen- greatest events of this century, with tremendous import
tial public resource that cannot be privatized. for the future"'

32 NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS