The biggest obstacle for Pachakutik (PK) was the alliance with Lucio Gutiérrez. They let that colonel and a small group of soldiers turn the indigenous people’s protest into a coup d’état. They became the bearers of the election campaign and participated in the Government with important positions. Finally, what was planned happened. The kick in the butt kicked him out of the Government and sank him in organizational and electoral terms. It took almost twenty years to get over that traumatic experience that came from his innocence.

Previously, PK played an important role in national politics. Guided by a well-formed leadership in political and academic terms, he managed to solve fundamental issues that had been neglected throughout republican history. The inclusion of historically excluded sectors has progressed in a tough fight against deep-rooted prejudices and behavioral patterns. The successful work of its leaders in local authorities and in the legislature was the basis of the acquired legitimacy and respect. An outstanding result of this action was the definition of Ecuador as a multicultural and multiethnic state in the 1998 Constitution and the recognition of proper forms of governance in indigenous communities.

One factor that explains this progress – expressed numerically in the results achieved in the 2021 presidential and legislative elections – was the inclusion of issues of importance to the entire Ecuadorian society. Although originally born as an expression of indigenous organizations, particularly Conaia, they soon realized that the success of their proposals and their survival as a party forced them to break through that narrow margin. For this reason, he included proposals of a general scope, especially on issues such as the environment, which broadened his social and political base.

However, in the last two years, PK has fallen prey to what it calls itself punishment for Trump, on the one hand, and, on the other, the takeover of Conaie leadership by the radical sector. In the first one, he fell into what he swore to bury with his motto: don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t be idle. Legislators, mayors and PK leaders added to the long list of corrupt politicians and officials. The assembly member who advised to steal well, the mayor who was denounced by the municipal officials for collecting “tithe”, the assemblyman denounced for rape, even threats and assassination attempts against dissidents from his own ranks are the most famous, but not the only cases.

As for the second, the presence of Iza in the presidency of Conaia is the biggest danger for PK. A harmonious relationship with a healthy distance between the social organization and the political party was beneficial to both. But for Iza’s radical ethnicism, this is unacceptable. He clearly said this during the election of the PK government, when he imposed his candidate with violence and illegality, which are the only means he knows. It will probably be overturned by evidence of fraud, but it seems that the mariateguista leader will achieve his goal with the vote of PK legislators who cannot shake their innocence. (OR)