Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador's Modern Indigenous Movements

Marc Becker is Associate Professor of History at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. He is the author of MariÁtegui and Latin American Marxist Theory and a co-editor of Highland Indians and the State in Modern Ecuador.

• Acknowledgments ixChronology xiiiAcronyms xxiii1. What Is an Indian? 12. Socialism 173. Strike! 504. Federacion Ecuatoriana de Indios 775. Guachala 1056. Agrarian ReforM? 1237. Return of the Indian 1448. Pachakutik 166Notes 195Glossary 251Biographies 255Bibliography 261Index 293

“In this timely contribution to Latin American history and the study of Indigenous South Americans, Marc Becker documents the long history of Indigenous political activism in Ecuador, reminding us that current events never spring into existence without historical precedent. The impressive amount of new documentary evidence he provides makes this a book that will be immediately read and discussed, and then debated for years to come.”-Mary Weismantel, author of Cholas and Pishtacos: Stories of Race and Sex in the Andes “Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements corrects numerous misconceptions about indigenous movements in Ecuador that are likely to be relevant to understanding experiences in neighboring countries. It is the most comprehensive and insightful narrative available of the development of relations between an important indigenous movement and the political left. The book also fills a gap in our understanding of the historic role of indigenous women in the success of indigenous mobilisations in Ecuador.” - Donna Lee Van Cott (Journal of Latin American Studies) “Becker provides a detailed history of indigenous political organization back to the early twentieth century and documents the complex, two-way relationship between indigenous leaders and the national left.” - John A. Peeler (Latin American Research Review) “Scholars from diverse disciplines will appreciate the book’s vivid attention to individual activists as well as its broad scope. . . . Indians and Leftists provides an important new perspective on this history by revealing crucial connections between rural indigenous movements and the urban left.” - Laura Gotkowitz (Hispanic American Historical Review)