From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: LAND AND NATIONS IN ECUADOR
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 09:15:10 GMT

/** gen.newsletter: 158.7 **/
** Written 11:12 pm  Oct 26, 1992 by web:act in cdp:gen.newsletter **
LAND AND NATIONS IN ECUADOR

By Vannina Sztainbok
Special to the ACTivist

Protests took place around the world in commemoration of 
Columbus' invasion of the Americas, on and around Columbus Day, Oct. 
12. In Ecuador, the protests were violently repressed by the government.

On Oct. 9, soldiers fired on demonstrators in the province of Imbabura,
 killing one man and wounding six others. In other provinces, 
demonstrators were arrested;  a 13 year old girl was among those held 
in prison.

CONAIE, the indigenous peoples' network, called for continuing protests 
but renounced any use of violence.

ACTivist writer Vannina Sztainbok is currently travelling in South 
America; in August, she was in Ecuador. While there, she interviewed
 Luzmila Vasquez, "a staunch feminist and native rights activist" who 
works for the organization Inca Pirca. Inca Pirca is a native-run group
 promoting self-development in native communities, helping to set up
 projects such as the building of latrines, cholera injection campaigns,
 guinea pig farms so that women can be self-sufficient, and promotion
 of bilingual (Spanish/Quechua) education. In the interview, they 
explore the situation of native peoples in Ecuador today, and the 
tensions that led to the October demonstrations and shootings.


I talked to Luzmila at the office of Inca Pirca. We sat in the shadow 
of Imbabura, aware that, on the other side of that great volcano, in the 
500th year after the invasion, there are Quechua people still living 
under the hated "huasipungo" system. They work on the owner's land 
during most of the day, then try to eke a living out of the inhospitable 
bits of land given to them for subsistence. The landowner's huge 
hacienda lies in the fertile valley, the huasipungos are located higher 
up, where crops struggle to grow at challenging angles. 

Though the system was officially ended in the 1960s, it still persists. 
Some communities were able to buy back their land at reduced rates -- 
this was the case in La Bolsa, where they set up a semi-coop and gained
 ownership of their land about ten years ago.

But many are still struggling for their bit of land. In early August, 
over 250 people took their land claims to the streets of Quito, the capital
 city of Ecuador. Natives from the Yuracruz area in the province of 
Imbabura marched to Quito and set up camp in Parque El Ejdo, in the 
city's central area, demanding a full review of their land situation.

By early September, there were still several families camping in the 
park. They were hoping to get some kind of action our of the 
newly-elected government of Sixto Duran Ballin. But the attitude of the 
new government had been quickly established in August when the 
President declared, "I will not permit the existence of a nation within 
a nation."

This was a clear stab at the indigenous nations of Ecuador (Siona, 
Secoya, Cofn, Huaorani, Shuar, Tsachila, Chachi, Awa and Quechua), 
who want to be recognized as distinct nations, not parallel states, 
desiring self-determination but not separation from Ecuador.

Conservative estimates put the indigenous population of Guatemala at 
10% of the total. Luzmila and other believe it's over 50% -- a census 
hasn't been done in a long time, probably because the results would 
be upsetting to the status quo.

Native nations are not waiting to be officially recognized. Native 
Parliaments are in the process of being formed all over the country. 
There is the Parlamento Indio y Popular de Imbabura, which will be
 composed of different native organizations, clubs, activists, etc. 
Eventually other sectors of the population, who share their goals, will 
be invited to participate; for example, blacks, and environmentalists.

Luzmila pointed out that one of the big problems is that when the 
government does return land, it gives individual titles to small 
pieces of land, not a general title and stewardship of the territory, 
to the indigenous nation. She and other activists see that as the priority. 
As long as the government hands out parcels of land, native 
stewardship is not established. The land is still fragmented and open 
to selling and exploitation. It can be lost from native hands once more.
 Luzmila emphasized the need to talk about territory, not land.

A current example is the Oriente (the Amazon region of Ecuador). In 
April, there was a 13-day, 500 kilometre march from Puyo to Quito 
by 1,300 natives from the area, young and old. They were demanding 
legal recognition of ownership of their ancestral territory, and reform 
of the constitution. The government responded by giving individuals 
titles to some pieces of land. The government emphasized that they 
were giving rights to the surface of the land, and that the state 
maintained its right to exploit the subsoil.

Organizers of the march were opposed to this. They were also against 
the giving of titles to the "colonos", mestizos who are opposed to 
indigenous claims and own large tracts of land, often involved in 
exploitation of the environment. 

Oil exploitation is one of the main culprits in the Oriente. It is, of 
course, causing great harm to the environment. On July 26, about 
5,000 barrels of oil were spilled in the river Napo, contaminating at 
least 60 km, at a conservative estimate. One anonymous official of 
Petro Ecuador admitted that a huge ecological disaster is just waiting 
to happen in the Oriente, since most installations are over twenty years 
old and don't receive adequate maintenance.

Of 364 oil wells in the area belonging to Petro Ecuador, 59 have 
been abandoned, and 221 leak oil to surrounding areas due to 
improper drainage.

There are 30 other, foreign-owned, oil companies working in the area. 
An estimated 250,000 people live in the Oriente, of whom at least
100,000 are native. They often clash with oil companies which are
 destroying their ancestral territory.

In the aftermath of the July 26 spill, CONAIE (the Confederation 
of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador) called for a halt to all oil exploration 
until native demands were met. These demands included reparations 
for damages from Petro Ecuador, and a requirement that all oil 
companies show their plans for exploration and exploitation, as well 
as stricter environmental regulations.

"We don't trust the environmental promises of oil companies," said a 
CONAIE statement. "It's time to put an end to the aggressive destruction 
of our land." They are calling for the immediate passage of 
environmental legislation.

Luzmila put it best when she said, "We have to stop this 
wrongly-called 'development'."

*Inca Pirca
Casa Comunal de Peguche
Casilla 55
Otavalo, ECUADOR



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