Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10714839.1996.11722889
ECUADOR
Taking
On the
Neoliberal
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 pletely ignored the concerns of Ecuador's indigenous
organizations in Ecuador shut down the country for people, campesinos, and small farmers.
two full weeks. The protests were directed against Indigenous organizations set up roadblocks and boy-
the new so-called Agrarian Development Law, a key cotted marketplaces nationwide to protest the law. Trade
piece of the larger neoliberal structural-adjustment pro- unionists called a general strike, stopping the delivery of
gram being implemented by the government of Sixto goods into the city. Commerce throughout Ecuador
Durdin Ball6n. The law approved by Congress called for ground to a halt. There were widespread rallies and
the elimination of communal lands in favor of agricul- protest marches in Quito and other urban centers. In
tural "enterprises," along with other measures that parts of the Amazon, indigenous communities took over
favored the interests of the big landowners. It com- oil wells to protest the privatization of Petroecuador, the
state-owned oil company.
Nina Pacariis a lawyer and a leader of the Confederation of The protesters rallied behind the alternative proposal
Indigenous Nationalitiesof Ecuador (CONAIE). She played a key
role in the negotiations with the government following the developed by the Confederation of Indigenous
1994 indigenous uprising. Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) [see "CONAIE's
Translated from the Spanish by NACLA. Agrarian Law Proposal", p. 25]. This proposal called for
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In the 1970s and 1980s, indigenous organizations the environment. At the same time, growing demand
tended to focus on local issues-such as higher wages for land meant that existing parcels were shrinking
for farmworkers or access to a piece of land-and cul- rapidly in size and availability. These combined factors
tural issues-such as bilingual education-without a led to a drastic increase in un- and underemployment
broader political perspective. In the 1990s, while these in the countryside, which fueled rural migration to the
concrete demands remain central concerns of the cities. This general policy orientation continued until
indigenous movement, they are now accompanied by 1982, when a crash in oil prices in concert with the
demands of a more political stripe: the right to self- drying up of international credit in the aftermath of the
determination, the right to our cultural identity and our debt crisis forced a radical change in policy. Like other
languages, and the right to develop economically Latin American countries with large external debts,
according to our own values and beliefs. The struggle Ecuador was pressured by multilateral lending institu-
against oppression, exploitation and exclusion led by tions to implement structural-adjustment policies.
the indigenous movement has coalesced into a key Following the orthodox recipes of the International
demand: the construction of a plurinational state that Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the gov-
tolerates and encourages diversity among different ernment of Oswaldo Hurtado (1979-1984) devalued
groups in society.
Land has become a key rallying point for indigenous CONAIE'S Agrarian Law Proposal
groups across the country, and has helped unify the
struggle. Unlike the landowners, who see land as an
The "Integral Agrarian Law," presented by
instrument of production like any other, indigenous ONAIE, consists of five main points:
people see land as an essential foundation for our cul- * Existing demands for land should be processed
tural, political, organizational and economic develop- quickly, systematically and fairly, and there
should be equal access to land for all. Land con-
ment, and of life itself.
flicts should be dealt with not violently, but
Land in Ecuador is concentrated in the hands of a through peaceful negotiations.
few. According to 1994 data, in the highlands, 1.6% of * Indigenous-campesino economies should be
farms occupy 43% of the land, while on the coast, 3.9% modernized to improve their productivity levels.
of farms occupy 55% of the land. Communally owned Assuring better prices for agricultural products
lands, while legally recognized and protected under the will help resolve the problem of rural poverty.
Constitution, represent only 4% of land in the high- The ultimate objective of this proposal is to pro-
lands. Most of this land is located on steep mountain duce better-quality, lower-cost products for the
ridges, and is useful only for pasture. Indigenous land domestic market, with a priority on food securi-
ownership, in general, is very limited. ty for all Ecuadorians, and secondarily, on agri-
cultural exports.
cuador, like most Latin American countries, pur- * Individual and community initiatives should be
sued a state-led model of development in the promoted to sustain productivity, multiply
1960s and 1970s. Military rulers in power in resources, and guarantee a rational redistribu-
tion of resources. Establishing efficient communi-
Ecuador during a good part of that era sought to devel-
ty enterprises could help channel these energies.
op the country through import-substituting industrial-
* Any agrarian law must actively promote the pro-
ization, a continuation of the agrarian reform initiated
tection and recuperation of the soil and other
in 1964, state-regulated commercialization of basic renewable natural resources. It should promote
foodstuffs, and state control over the oil industry. While ecologically sound technologies and use ances-
industrialization marched on with the help of generous tral technologies where appropriate.
government subsidies, the agrarian reform was stunted * Organized groups of civil society in the country-
by the tenacious resistance of the landowners, grouped side (indigenous groups, campesinos, Afro-
in the Chamber of Agriculturalists and the Association Ecuadorians and small farmers) must play a
of Livestock Producers. The few bits of land given to leading role in implementing a new agrarian
the indigenous and campesino population were of poor law. The state has a specific role: to administer
quality and located on precarious mountainsides. the law fairly and in a timely manner, and to
Under the rubric of "modernizing agriculture," these ensure the assignment of the appropriate
regimes promoted the importation of machines and resources. While the market acts as a dynamic
agricultural products, such as fertilizers and insecti- force and improves the efficiency of many enter-
prises, it cannot rationally distribute access to
cides. These policies had an immediate impact on rural
land. Rather, if the market is given free rein,
communities, because the mechanization of agriculture
land tends to become concentrated in the hands
meant that the large estates had less need for laborers. of a few. -NP
The use of chemical inputs also severely contaminated
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REPORT ON INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS
the local currency, eliminated subsi- technology, has profited from these
dies and price controls, and market policies. The majority of the
increased the cost of public services. rural population, however, remains
While manufactured products mired in extreme poverty and lacks
became more expensive, the price of access to credit. Because of demo-
agrarian products fell or stagnated. graphic pressures and the inability
At the same time, salary increases of most communities to acquire
failed to keep pace with most peo- more land, the situation is growing
ple's dramatic loss of purchasing worse-giving way, for example, to
power. In the agrarian sector, neolib- indigenous landlessness, a phenom-
eral policies later on promoted the enon that would have been unthink-
cultivation of "nontraditional" able a decade ago. This combination
exports, such as flowers and tropical of the negative impact of neoliberal
fruits like papayas and mangos. policies and the growing lack of
Agribusiness, which is closely tied to The army destroyed the offices of the
international consumer markets and billingualeducation program in Caiar
has the money to buy the latest in during the 1994 mobilization.
BY KAY TREAKLE
routinely apply its indigenous policy to projects that Outside pressure, coupled with increased staff
have only an indirect negative impact on indigenous awareness, can sometimes lead to greater implemen-
peoples. In fact, Operational Directive 4.20 is often tation of O.D. 4.20. For example, in 1994 the Bank
not enforced in lending that directly affects indige- began to apply the policy in a proposed loan to the
nous peoples. 3 For example, three of the five cases Mexican government for aquaculture development,
filed with the World Bank's Inspection Panel since but only after NGOs brought to the Bank's attention
1994 allege that the Bank violated, or did not apply the existence of indigenous fishing communities that
appropriately, O.D. 4.20 in the projects. The Pangue would be adversely affected by the development of
dam on the Bio Bio River in Chile, financed by the industrial fish ponds. The Bank responded by ear-
Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), was marking 7% of the loan for indigenous development.
one such case. The claimants alleged that the IFC The Bank is currently revising O.D. 4.20 to clarify
failed to consult adequately with Pehuenche leaders which parts of the policy must be complied with and
who opposed the dam, among other violations. The which parts are only advisory. Indigenous organiza-
panel rejected the case because it does not have tions have requested that the Bank hold consulta-
jurisdiction over the IFC, which lends to the private tions with them before formalizing the draft. While
sector. Bank staff have agreed, this consultation process has
One problem with implementation of O.D. 4.20 is yet to be implemented.
that many Bank task managers are unfamiliar with Indigenous organizations have increasingly assert-
the policy. Others resist applying it to their projects. ed their right to participate in Bank policy revisions
While some operations staff have been trained in and specific Bank projects. If more vigorously applied,
how to apply the policy, implementation seems to the World Bank's indigenous policy may help reduce
depend largely on those few Bank staff in the the negative impact of Bank-funded projects. At the
Environment Department and regional technical same time, however, O.D. 4.20 fails to address the
departments that are interested in and concerned impact of the neoliberal development model itself on
about indigenous peoples. 4 Moreover, the policy is indigenous peoples, which ultimately undermines
straightforward for projects with a territorial their traditional economies and cultures.
impact, like dams or roads, but it is less clear how
the effects of sectoral lending might be addressed. 1. World Bank, Ecuador: Public Enterprise Reform Technical
O.D. 4.20 was not considered applicable in the case Assistance Loan, November 22, 1994.
of Ecuador, even though privatizing the oil sector 2. See Marcus Colchester, "Changing World Bank Policies on
could have accelerated oil development in the Indigenous Peoples," Third World Network Features 1093
(Malaysia), 1993.
Amazon with clear negative consequences for 3. Andrew Gray, "Development Policy-Development Protest:
Amazonian indigenous peoples. Another central The World Bank, Indigenous Peoples and NGOs," in
problem is that the Bank deals only with govern- Jonathan Fox and L. David Brown, eds., The Struggle for
ments, who are often unconcerned about the impli- Accountability: Social Movements, NGOs and the World
Bank, forthcoming from MIT Press, 1996.
cations of their development projects for indigenous 4. Andrew Gray, "Development Policy-Development Protest:
populations. The World Bank, Indigenous Peoples and NGOs."
1996
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Macas, president of CONAIE. "By submitting these Hydraulic Resources (INERHI), a government agency,
lands to the market forces of supply and demand, those currently regulates concessions regarding water usage.
who have little money will sell their small parcels, and Many landowners were trying to assert their control
those who have more money will begin to buy up all the over the water supply. This was an especially impor-
land. As a result, the number of rural people who tant issue for landowners who grow flowers for export
migrate to the city will increase significantly, and the since flowers require an extraordinary amount of irri-
misery in the shantytowns will also increase."' gation. "INERHI should focus on providing the
Dividing up communal lands and putting them up for water," said one landowner, "and the water itself
sale is, in reality, a legal dispossession of indigenous should become a negotiable product." 2 The effort to put
land, a kind of counter-agrarian reform reminiscent of water under the dominion of the market caused
colonial times. The law would have led to an even tremendous commotion among Ecuador's indigenous
greater concentration of land in few hands, and the pro- and rural sectors, who argue that water is a natural,
liferation of small private landholdings. It was also an public resource.
unabashed attempt to destroy the principle of communal The underlying premise of proposals such as the
solidarity, the foundation of 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
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