JATARISHUN: indigenous peasant uprisings of Ecuador and Good Living

Abstract

This article analyzes the Indigenous Peasant Movements (IPM) of Ecuador as a social force and political actor. By proposing an alternative to the Ecuadorian crisis based on the Sumak  Kawsay (Good Living) values, the IPM expand democratic spaces and  formulate an extended sense of  citizenship. The text focuses on the  events of the 2019 national strike in  Ecuador, in retrospective dialogue with  previous uprisings. It draws on the  testimonies of the Kayambi people,  collected before and after the strike, in  semi-structured interviews, and  ethnographic work. Results show that  the memory of previous struggles was  an essential motivation for the emergence of the uprisings. Besides,  unity and solidarity among rural actors and other sectors of Ecuadorian  society were the basis for the strike’s  strength and power. Finally, in dialogue with the Emancipatory Rural Politics,  the article contributes to critical  approaches to the role of indigenous  peasant peoples in struggles for life  alternatives.