Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Spanish: Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador) or, more commonly, CONAIE, is Ecuador's largest indigenous rights organization. The Ecuadorian Indian movement under the leadership of CONAIE is often cited as the best-organized and most influential Indigenous movement in Latin America.
Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador | |
Bartolo Ushigua, Zapara delegate at the 2nd CONAIE congress | |
| Abbreviation | CONAIE |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1986 |
Region | Ecuador |
President | Leonidas Iza |
| Website | conaie |
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Formed in 1986, CONAIE firmly established itself as a powerful national force in May and June 1990 when it played a role in organising a rural uprising on a national scale. Thousands of people blocked roads, paralyzed the transport system, and shut down the country for a week while making demands for bilingual education, agrarian reform, and recognition of the plurinational state of Ecuador. This was the largest uprising in Ecuador's history and established a new form of contention that would serve as a blueprint for a string of later uprisings.
CONAIE-led uprisings had a role in the fall of president Abdalá Bucaram and subsequent drafting of a new constitution in 1998. CONAIE leaders also participated in the 2000 coup d'état that deposed president Jamil Mahuad.