CONAIE
New Ecuador Constitution Addresses Demand for ‘Plurinational’ State
Indigenous People’s Issues Today runs a series of “Five Key Indigenous Peoples Issues” that in the latest edition features a story from Ecuador…
New Ecuador Constitution Addresses Demand for ‘Plurinational’ State
Ecuador’s new constitution, which a constituent assembly expects to finish drafting by mid-June, establishes a united “plurinational” state, recognising equality along with ethnic diversity, as agreed between the government and indigenous organisations.
“’Plurinationalism’ means admitting that several different nationalities coexist within the larger Ecuadorean state, which is obvious in this country and need not scare anyone,” said President Rafael Correa. “Everyone should have the same opportunities,” he added.
“The next step is to properly define the scope of plurinationalism, which basically means recognizing the different peoples, cultures and worldviews that exist, and for all public policies, such as education, health and housing, to recognize the plurinational dimension,” he said.
The Ecuadorean Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) agrees that the proposed plurinational state reflects reality in the country. Read the rest of the story here….
Marlon Santi on Correa’s government and the Constituent Assembly
Interview with Marlon Santi, New President of Ecuador’s Indigenous Confederation
Written by Patricio Zhingri T.
Thursday, 17 January 2008
And so it goes, that history repeats itself and the day after the revolution anyone is a conservative, I think Hannah Arendt once wrote. The morning after in Ecuador – after the floods – and we know which way the wind blows. For that we don’t need a weather man.
Here is, however, what CONAIE’s new president, Marlon Santi, reckons about the Correan revolution and the reconstructive Constituent Assembly – well no news there, really, it is business as usual:
“PZT: As the new president of CONAIE, how would you evaluate the first year of this government?
MS: Proposals from the Indigenous movement and other social sectors from the coast, highlands, and Amazon are not present on the national government’s political agenda. Nor are they on the agenda of the Constituent Assembly. The government says a lot and they say that they are going to open petroleum explorations, that they are going to privatize water, rivers, páramos (high communal grasslands). Nothing has changed. The only change is when the Indigenous movement rises up, because even in light of this we have made some advances in Collective Rights and other demands. Rafael Correa has not recognized the demands of Indigenous nationalities and peoples, and he should do so.
PZT: How will the government of Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples act with the current government of Correa?
colonos 