On 15 August an `enlarged council' of the umbrella indigenous movement, Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de Ecuador (Conaie) met to adopt a formal position vis-í -vis the Gutiérrez government. It did not get much further than stating that it was moving into opposition, that it would seek to press the government to stop taking instructions from the IMF, and that it would oppose privatisations, even if these took the form of concessions. The reason for this is that much of the debate was taken up by the issue of Conaie's relations with its political arm, Pachakutik (PK), and the associated issue of Conaie's own leadership - which will come to a head when internal elections are held on 15 September.
Some Pachakutik legislators who defied Conaie's directives were sanctioned with the traditional punishment of being bathed in icy water and later rubbed with nettles. Some may suffer political sanctions as well: the largest of the member organisations of Conaie, Ecuarunari - which represents the majority Quichua people of the highlands - has been demanding the expulsion of several PK leaders.
One thing was made clear at the 15 August council meeting: that Conaie intends to exercise firmer control over PK. Another problem it hopes to deal with is the unity of Conaie, already showing vulnerability to government enticements. Two member organisations, Conaice (which represents the indigenous communities of the coast) and Confeniae (the confederation of Amazonian peoples) have already broken ranks with Conaie and declared their support for the government.
Undermining Conaie
The ruling PSP has been working hard at eroding Conaie's influence for months. It has been promoting the emergence of a rival organisation, the Federación de Pueblos Indígenas, Campesinos y Negros del Ecuador (Fedepicne), formed by a group that broke away from Conaie in 1996 in a spat over the nomination of officials for the ministry of indigenous affairs created by President Abdalá Bucaram. That it never amounted to much is best illustrated by the fact that its leaders did not bother to seek formal registration with the ministry of social welfare - until three weeks ago, when they did so at the urging of the government.
The government's wooing of Fedepicne began with the appointment of two of its leaders, Ricardo Guambo and Pedro Guamán, as presidential adviser and coordinator of indigenous affairs, respectively. The next step was to build up Fedepicne's prestige by using it as the channel for the distribution of government largesse (picks, shovels, computers and the like) to indigenous communities. The strategy appears to have enjoyed some success: Fedepicne president Luis Pachala claims that the federation now has 180 provincial branches representing about 350,000 people. To put this in perspective, Ecuarunari represents about 10 times more. Fedepicne wants all the ministries PK used to hold; the PSP does not rate it highly enough to grant all that.
The government has also tried to play the racial card, by underlining that some of the most prominent Pachakutik leaders are actually mestizos, not pureblooded Indians. This does not seem to have made much impact on the Conaie leadership. Humberto Cholango, president of Ecuarunari, says that his aim is not to `indigenise' PK, only to judge the performance of those PK members who held government positions.
First street confrontation
Conaie has announced that it will support - but not co-sponsor - the countrywide protests against the government's economic policies called by a number of unions and social organisations for 21 August. The government, through communications secretary Marcelo Cevallos, chose to ignore Conaie's backseat role and issued an exhortation to the indigenous sector to `avoid chaos', adding menacingly that `there are legal mechanisms that will be applied [should the demonstrations] alter public order.' The ruling party, Sociedad Patriótica (PSP), has called for a counter-demonstration, in support of the government, on 22 August.
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