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| Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador | |
|---|---|
| Name | Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador |
| Native name | Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador |
| Abbreviation | CONAIE |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Quito, Ecuador |
| Region served | Ecuador |
| Membership | Indigenous nationalities and peoples |
| Leader title | President |
Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador is a national indigenous organization established in 1986 to represent the interests of multiple Kichwa-speaking, Shuar, Awa, Waorani, Saraguros, Achuar and other Ecuadorian people across the Ecuadorian Amazon, Sierra and Coastal region of Ecuador. It emerged from regional federations and community movements influenced by precedents such as the Zapatista experience, the International Labour Organization frameworks, and continental coordination with bodies like the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin and the Pan-Amazonian Catholic Church. The organization plays roles in indigenous rights, land claims, intercultural policy, and electoral politics through alliances with parties, social movements, and international advocacy networks.
The confederation traces origins to regional federations including the Ecuadorian Amazonian Confederation, the National Federation of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Ecuador, and indigenous mobilizations in the 1970s and 1980s influenced by Indigenous movements in Latin America, CONAIPI-style organizing, and mobilizations concurrent with the 1988 Latin American indigenous congresses. Key milestones include mass uprisings of 1990 and 1992 that leveraged tactics from the March for Justice tradition and engaged with constitutional debates culminating in the 1998 Constitution of Ecuador and later the 2008 Constitution of Ecuador. Leadership transitions involved figures linked to provincial federations such as those from Cotopaxi Province, Pastaza Province, Napo Province, Orellana Province, and urban indigenous councils in Quito and Guayaquil.
The confederation is a federation of regional and ethnic organizations organized into a national assembly, provincial coordinations, and specialized commissions modeled partly on indigenous governance structures like those of the Kichwa people and the Shuar Federation. Its internal bodies include political committees, territorial commissions, women's secretariats inspired by the Women's movement in Ecuador, and youth wings that interact with institutions such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Decision-making blends traditional authority norms with modern statutes, and leadership posts have been contested in processes comparable to those of other indigenous confederations such as the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia and the Zamboanga indigenous councils.
Membership comprises provincial federations, nationalities, and local community organizations representing Kichwa, Shuar, Awa, Waorani, Tsáchila, Chachi, Siona, Secoya, Huaorani, Shiwiar, and other groups found in provinces including Pichincha Province, Azuay Province, Loja Province, Imbabura Province, and Esmeraldas Province. Affiliates include women's organizations, peasant unions like the Confederation of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Ecuador, student groups linked to the Universidad Central del Ecuador and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and environmental partners that coordinate with entities such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund on Amazonian conservation initiatives.
The confederation has engaged in electoral alliances with parties and candidates in contests involving the National Assembly of Ecuador, municipal governments of Quito and Cuenca, and provincial assemblies, often endorsing platforms emphasizing plurinational recognition similar to debates over the Law of Andean Integration and the Constitutional Assembly of 2007. It has lobbied international bodies including the United Nations, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the World Bank concerning project impacts and rights of indigenous peoples, and has filed complaints invoking instruments such as ILO Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Programs have targeted intercultural education modeled with curricula comparable to initiatives at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences and local bilingual education projects in partnership with the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, community health projects interfacing with the Pan American Health Organization, and economic cooperatives inspired by models like the Bolivian campesino cooperatives and the Movimiento Campesino networks. Initiatives include agroecology training, artisanal trade promotion in markets of Otavalo and Cuenca, and microfinance collaborations with regional banks and solidarity credit institutions similar to Banco del Pueblo experiments.
The confederation has prioritized territorial demarcation and titling campaigns in Amazonian provinces such as Sucumbíos, Orellana, and Pastaza and contested extractive projects including concessions for oil companies linked to controversies similar to those surrounding Texaco in Ecuador and disputes involving multinational corporations that appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It advances indigenous concepts of territoriality in policy dialogues with institutions like the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador and regional mechanisms in the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, promotes conservation strategies akin to community reserves, and litigates over environmental impact assessments within national legal frameworks.
The confederation led major mobilizations in the early 1990s, the landmark national uprising of 1990 and the 1992 protests that influenced constitutional reform processes, and later nationwide road blockades and demonstrations in alliance with unions such as the Unión General de Trabajadores del Ecuador, student federations, and urban social movements during the 2000 Ecuadorian economic crisis and the 2019 national protests that challenged austerity measures introduced by the President of Ecuador and engaged with institutions like the Organization of American States. Campaigns have combined legal petitions to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador with direct action and international advocacy involving the International Labour Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Category:Indigenous peoples in Ecuador Category:Social movements in Ecuador Category:Organizations established in 1986