Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian 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 Ecuadors 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 Ecuadors poor or the movements own indigenous supporters. Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement is an extraordinarily valuable case study of Ecuadors indigenous movement and the challenges it still faces.