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Land Reform, Historical Consciousness and Indigenous Activism in Late Twentieth-Century Ecuador

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2017

SERGIO MIGUEL HUARCAYA
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Abstract

Studies of the emergence of the Ecuadorian indigenous movement, which burst onto the national political scene in 1990, have not paid enough attention to indigenous historical consciousness. Using historical and ethnographic evidence, this study examines the emergence of historical consciousness among indigenous peasants involved in the land struggle for the Quinchuquí hacienda, in Otavalo, Ecuador. The research demonstrates that it was only during the struggle for the land that the peasants became aware of the colonial dispossession of indigenous lands. Legitimating their politics in terms of history, they articulated a political identity that increasingly emphasised ethnicity over class.

Spanish abstract

Los estudios del surgimiento del movimiento indígena ecuatoriano, que irrumpió en la política nacional en 1990, no han prestado suficiente atención a la conciencia histórica indígena. Utilizando evidencia histórica y etnográfica, este estudio examina el desarrollo de una conciencia histórica en campesinos indígenas involucrados en la lucha de tierras de la hacienda Quinchuquí, en Otavalo, Ecuador. La investigación demuestra que fue solo durante la lucha de tierras que los campesinos llegaron a saber acerca de la usurpación colonial de tierras indígenas. Legitimando sus acciones políticas en términos de historia, ellos articularon una identidad política que enfatizaba cada vez más la etnicidad sobre la clase.

Portuguese abstract

Os estudos sobre o surgimento do movimentos indígena no Equador, que irrompeu no cenário político nacional em 1990, não deram atenção devida à consciência histórica indígena. Utilizando evidências históricas e etnográficas, este estudo examina a emergência da consciência histórica entre povos indígenas campesinos envolvidos na luta por território da Hacienda Quinchuquí, em Otavalo, no Equador. Esta pesquisa demonstra que foi somente durante essa luta por território que os campesinos ficaram cientes da dispossessão colonial de terras indígenas. Legitimando suas políticas sob uma perspectiva histórica, eles articularam uma identidade política que cada vez mais enfatizou etnia ao invés de classe.

Keywords

indigenous historical consciousnessindigeneityethnic consciousnessindigenous movementsindigenous activismland reformEcuadorAndesconciencia histórica indígenaindigeneidadconciencia étnicamovimientos indígenasactivismo indígenareforma agrariaEcuadorAndesconsciência indígena históricaindigeneidadeconsciência étnicamovimentos indígenasativismo indígenareforma agráriaEquadorAndes
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , May 2018 , pp. 411 - 440
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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References

1 ‘Without Indians, there are no haciendas’: Manuel de Rojas, Jesuit hacienda administrator, 1686.

2 ‘As far as the [agricultural] reform is concerned, it didn't happen; but there was the possibility of organising in order to take the lands’: Miguel Ángel Carlosama, indigenous intellectual, 2007.

3 See, for instance, Pachano, Simón, ‘Imagen, identidad, desigualdad’, in Puig, Salvador Martí i and Sanahuja, Josep (eds.), Etnicidad, autonomía y gobernabilidad en América Latina (Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2004), pp. 65–78Google Scholar; and Cazar, Fernando Guerrero and Peralta, Pablo Ospina, El poder de la comunidad: ajuste estructural y movimiento indígena en los Andes ecuatorianos (Buenos Aires: CLACSO, 2003)Google Scholar.

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