The October 2019 Indigenous and Citizens’ Uprising in Ecuador

• Author: Karina Ponce,Andrés Vasquez,Ronaldo Munck,Pablo Vivanco
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20931113
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X20931113

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 234, Vol. 47 No. 5, September 2020, 9–19

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20931113

© 2020 Latin American Perspectives

9

The October 2019 Indigenous and Citizens’

Uprising in Ecuador

by

Karina Ponce, Andrés Vasquez, Pablo Vivanco, and Ronaldo Munck

Once again the indigenous movement in Ecuador has shown its considerable capacity

for mobilization and the creation of social alliances for change. Media coverage of the

October 2019 uprising has been both weak and openly biased, giving credence to a myth-

ical “enemy within.” A chronology of events from the social movements themselves shows

that this insurgent event and the aftereffects now being felt have changed the political map

of Ecuador and represent a significant blow to the neoliberal project of Lenín Moreno, who

replaced President Correa in 2017.

Una vez más, el movimiento indígena en Ecuador ha demostrado su considerable capa-

cidad de movilización y de creación de alianzas sociales para el cambio. La cobertura en

medios del levantamiento de octubre de 2019 ha sido poca y abiertamente sesgada, ape-

lando a la idea de un mítico “enemigo interno”. Una cronología de los acontecimientos por

parte de los movimientos sociales mismos muestra que este evento insurgente y las actu-

ales secuelas han cambiado el mapa político de Ecuador y constituyen un golpe importante

al proyecto neoliberal de Lenín Moreno, quien sustituyó al presidente Correa en 2017.

Keywords: Ecuador, Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador, Lenín

Moreno, Indigenous politics, Neoliberalism

Rafael Correa became part of the “left turn” in Latin America after he was

elected president as an “outsider” in 2007. Analysts soon placed him in the “hard

left” sector alongside Chávez in Venezuela and Morales in Bolivia. However, he

was from a very different professional and liberal background, and much of his

external discourse was rhetorical. His platform and the widespread support for

it were based on a commitment to end neoliberal policies, rebuild the capacity of

the state, and construct a new form of social citizenship (see Clark and García,

2019). He garnered political support across the spectrum, from orthodox Maoists

to right-wing liberals, former liberation theology sectors, some indigenous sec-

tors, and, crucially, environmentalists. There was a great acceleration of growth

at the start of his two terms, along with a decisive reduction in poverty and

unemployment indices. Congruent with his liberal background there were a

Karina Ponce is a student in the Master’s program in comparative politics of the Facultad

Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales in Quito. Andrés Vásquez is completing his thesis for an

economics degree from the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL). Pablo Vivanco is a

student in the Master’s program in sociology at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. Ronaldo

Munck, who is head of civic engagement at Dublin City University, is a visiting professor at the

UTPL and the author of Social Movements in Latin America: Mapping the Mosaic (2020).

931113LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X20931113Latin American PerspectivesPonce et al. / The October 2019 Uprising in Ecuador

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