Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement: Volume 51 (Research in International Studies, Latin America Series) - Softcover

"A wonderfully insightful analysis of the rise and fall of one of the most important and powerful social movements in the Americas." - Marc Becker, author of Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador's Modern Indigenous Movements "Mijeski and Beck's book is a concise, tightly argued, briskly written, theoretically grounded and dispassionate, though far from dry, work of political science, with some harsh truths to tell (echoed by some of the indigenous leaders whom they have interviewed over time)." - International Affairs "The argument (in Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement) is coherent and convincing.... (T)he book presents a well-written, easy to follow and comprehensive overview for those interested in the development of the Ecuadorian indigenous movement." - Political Studies Review "An excellent work.... Without a doubt, (Pachakutik) will become a reference for all those who are interested in analysing indigenous politics after the Decade of Indigenous Peoples." - Bulletin of Latin American Research "A fascinating and well-researched account. This book is mandatory reading for students of indigenous politics." - Carlos de la Torre, coeditor of The Ecuador Reader

One of the most important stories in Latin American studies today is the emergence of left-leaning social movements sweeping across Latin America includes the mobilization of militant indigenous politics. Formed in 1995 in Ecuador to advance the interests of a variety of people's organizations and to serve as an alternative to the country's traditional political parties, Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement (Pachakutik) is an indigenist-based movement and political party. In this critical work, Kenneth J. Mijeski and Scott H. Beck evaluate the successes and failures experienced by Ecuador's Indians in their quest to transform the state into a participative democracy that would address the needs of the country's long-ignored and impoverished majority, both indigenous and nonindigenous. Using a powerful statistical technique and in-depth interviews with political activists, the authors show that the political election game failed to advance the cause of either Ecuador's poor majority or the movement's own indigenous base. Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement is an extraordinarily valuable case study that examines the birth, development, and in this case, waning of Ecuador's indigenous movement. The mobilization of militant indigenous politics is one of the most important stories in Latin American studies today. In this critical work, Kenneth J. Mijeski and Scott H. Beck examine the rise and decline of Ecuador's leading indigenous party, Pachakutik, as it tried to transform the state into a participative democracy. Using in-depth interviews with political activists, as well as a powerful statistical analysis of election results, the authors show that the political election game failed to advance the causes of Ecuador's poor or the movement's own indigenous supporters. Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement is an extraordinarily valuable case study of Ecuador's indigenous movement and the challenges it still faces.