NINA AGRAWAL, RICHARD ANDRÉ, RYAN BERGER, AND WILDA ESCARFULLER Political Representation, Policy & Inclusion
social development of many of these
communities, as to how and when
these gains will translate into concrete social policy demands (
education, health care, pensions) targeting
their communities.
Such focused social policy efforts
are essential to overcoming the cen-
turies of economic and social exclu-
sion—but largely appear to be lacking.
IMPROVING LEGISLATIVE SUCCESS
Perhaps more than any other political sector, the substan- tive representation of Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups is
strongly linked to international support and the social and institutional
environment in each country.
In all four cases studied, we discovered that, as social and political
identities and movements formed, international actors, civil society, electoral laws (including, but not limited
to, reserved seats) and executive–
legislative relations shaped and often determined the ability of Indigenous
and Afro-descendant representatives
to affect their legislative agendas.
exploitation of [natural] resources
pertaining to their lands”), laid out a
framework for governments to abide
by when dealing with extractive issues, although many have complied
with only token measures rather than
with the full spirit of the convention.
International Actors
The ILO’s Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, ratified by 20
countries to date, has been the single
most influential treaty with regard to
lending legitimacy to Indigenous and
Afro-descendent movements within
individual countries. It has helped define their specific demands concerning the recognition of cultural and
land rights. In particular, the convention’s articles regarding consultation
of Indigenous peoples, which say that
“governments shall consult the peoples concerned[…]whenever consideration is being given to legislative or
administrative measures which may
affect them directly” (including, later,
“programmes for the exploration or
Social Movements
In every country studied, Indigenous
and Afro-descendant social movements cast a long shadow over political representatives from those
communities, and have been critical, if not in the initiation of legislation, then in its success in becoming
law, through outside pressure, mobilization and broad political advocacy.
In Bolivia and Ecuador, these movements have been represented by solitary, dominant organizations—MAS
in the former, CONAIE in the latter.
In Bolivia, despite recent signs of
splits within MAS over President
Morales’ policies in the Territorio
Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro-Secure (TIPNIS), MAS remains the
primary vehicle for Indigenous political participation. And in matters of
successful Indigenous-related legislation, until now supported by social
movements, the Indigenous representatives in all four of the periods
studied, including in the 2006–2007
Constituent Assembly, have tended to
vote as a bloc.
Meanwhile, in Ecuador, Indige-
nous interests were long represented
by the dominant CONAIE and its po-
litical arm, Pachakutik. That union
has come apart, however, as Presi-
dent Correa seeks to mobilize sup-
port of Indigenous voters through his
Alianza País party. While Pachakutik
supported Correa when he first ran
in 2006—as it did with Lucio Gutiér-
rez before him—it has since broken
with him, splintering the Indigenous
political movement and for the first
time presenting a challenge to the
unitary claims of CONAIE and Pacha-
kutik to represent Ecuador’s Indige-
nous peoples. And in the 2009–2013
National Assembly, for the first time
Indigenous representatives in the as-
sembly failed to vote as a bloc in the
approval of an Indigenous-sponsored
bill—further reflecting the fracturing
of Indigenous representation in the
congress across the three parties, as
well as the strength of the executive.
Electoral Systems
In theory, the allocation of reserved
seats based on racial or minority status would suggest increased legislative representation of that group. In
our research, only Colombia and Bolivia have such reserved seats; and in
the case of Colombia, it has proved a
double-edged sword. (In the case of
Bolivia, it is still too early to measure
the broader effects on the party system and in the legislative process).
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105 Americas Quarterly SPRING 2012
