The Sarayaku Peoples: A Long Fight to Reclaim Their Rights By Fernanda González Ronquillo, Ecuador
Introduction Ecuador is a multi-ethnic country with 14 nationalities and 18 indigenous peoples (Go Raymi, n.d.). Among them is the Sarayaku people, who belong to the Kichwa community of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and which have approximately 1,600 inhabitants (Sarayaku, n.d.). The Sarayaku people consider themselves as children of the great jaguar and perhaps that explains their strength to confront the Ecuadorian State and oil corporations, as well as their consistency to become a symbol of resistance for many indigenous communities in the region. In this essay, I will analyse the strategic actions of the Sarayaku in their struggle to gain recognition by the Ecuadorian State. The Sarayaku struggle started more than 30 years ago when they began to resist the Ecuadorian State. In 1992 what is known as the first uprising ignited, where several communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon marched to the capital, Quito, to demand the government legalise the land titles of the territory they inhabit (Bravo, 2017). The government yielded and this was the first battle that the Sarayaku won. However, just 4 years later, the government granted a block of Sarayaku territory for oil exploration to an Argentinean company, and 10 years later they entered Sarayaku territory without communal permission to begin with the exploration on community land (InterAmerican Court of Human Rights, 2012). At that time, the Constitution of 1998 was in force and recognised some collective rights and responsibilities regarding indigenous communities, including the obligation to consult them on plans for the exploitation of non-renewable resources in their territory (Asamblea de la República del Ecuador, 1998). However, it also allowed indigenous communities to benefit from these projects and receive compensation in cases of any damage caused by corporations. Thus, since the 1998 Constitution, there have been constitutional guarantees to defend social and community rights for indigenous peoples (ibid, 1998). Once, the Sarayaku faced the invasion of the Argentinian oil company, CGC, and this is a good example that shows what they had to confront. They organised themselves as a community, but also legally to prevent the destruction of their territory and their lifestyle. During the invasion, the Sarayaku created the Campamentos de Paz y Vida (Peace and Life Camps), where the whole community went to the mountains to organise themselves and defend their territory (Romero, 2018). This was the first time where they had to directly confront the State, who used military interventions to harm and kidnap members of the community, in alliance with CGC’s workers (Pueblo Indígena Kichwa de Sarayaku VS. Ecuador, 2012). The Sarayaku community has been historically organised, and since the beginning, they have used legal mobilisation as a tool to fight for their rights and their leaders have the obligation to know the legal corps in order to defend their rights (Sarayaku, n.d.). An understanding of the concept of legal consciousness is central to understanding the capacity of legal mobilisation since it settles in people’s perceptions of the law and legal enforcement (Hertogh, 2014; as cited in Handmaker, 2019). As the Sarayaku have been a community with several state interventions due to mining and oil concessions, they have been able to organise themselves politically to ensure that their way of life is respected and above all, that their constitutional rights are recognised (Sarayaku, n.d.).
Sarayaku inner organisation To better comprehend the Sarayaku people, one must examine their inner organisation since it is key for understanding their decision-making capacity. Sarayaku people have organised themselves internally through two entities. First, through the Tayjasaruta, which is their governing council, and second, through the People's Assembly. The Tayjasaruta is made up of Sarayaku community leaders, who are elected as president, vice president, treasurer, and representatives of health, land, education, 44