I belong to the Kichwa-Otavalo people, from my mother’s side I know firsthand something about life in the community, and from my father’s side I know the indigenous urban life in Otavalo and the Peguche community. In addition, I worked in the province of Imbabura with indigenous communities and authorities.

Added to this is the development of social life in these places. Something that caught my attention is that in communities it is almost impossible to know with certainty the start time of an event. There is a reference time, but they will always tell you that you have to come a little later. Moreover, if you come at the reference time, you probably won’t find anyone, not even the responsible people or the organizers. Even at institutional events, it is common to plan with a delay of 30 minutes to 1 hour. For work meetings, in addition to being late, it happens that they cancel the appointment without prior notice or simply decided to do some other activity at the scheduled time and asked you to wait. Why such disrespect among the native population?

Why are there people who are always late?

Lateness is a constant and widespread phenomenon in Ecuador and the Andean region. To the extent that it has become our characteristic depicted in digital “memes”. However, unlike big cities and mestizo working and social circles, among the indigenous population it is something repetitive and deeply rooted.

For someone who works with the sectors of indigenous peoples and nationalities, or belongs to one of them, or lives among them, it is not surprising that events start at least an hour later. It is common among the authorities not only to be late, but also to fail to fulfill planned obligations.

The “Agenda” remains a nice addition that shows the busy time and formality that the staff or secretary must respect when they arrive.

accuracy

There will certainly not be a shortage of “decolonialists” who claim that arriving at the agreed time corresponds to Western culture, that is, to the capitalist ethos, and that the indigenous population, since they have a close relationship with nature, have a different understanding of time and appropriate to cosmic “cycles”, unlike the time of modern of the city.

But accuracy goes further. It is a commitment to another person. Being on time means honoring your word and valuing the time of others. It is no doubt a matter of respect. Don’t say it at a meeting or event. It is not only a question of time and resources, but above all it is a sign of the value of commitment to others.

Although culture is a collective fact, it also includes our individual actions and decisions.

Let’s stop the so-called “Ecuadorian time”, force ourselves to be punctual in our events, honor our word and appreciate each other’s commitment. Let’s do it not because of a productive issue, but because of the individual harvest of value and respect for the collective. (OR)