Conaie and Pachakutik face growing irrelevance amid internal fractures and electoral setbacks.

The once-powerful alliance between Ecuador’s indigenous social movements and their political arm is crumbling under the weight of internal discord, electoral failures, and competing visions for the future. The latest rupture between the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) and the Pachakutik political movement confirms a fragmentation long visible but often denied by its leaders.

For decades, Conaie and Pachakutik projected themselves as a unified force capable of shaking the political establishment. Today, that unity exists mostly in rhetoric. On the ground and in legislative halls, divergent agendas, personal ambitions, and ideological rifts are eroding what remains of the indigenous movement’s political capital.

The cracks have widened significantly since the 2025 presidential election, when Conaie president and Pachakutik’s candidate, Leonidas Iza, garnered a mere 5% of the vote. His third-place finish—nearly 40 points behind Luisa González and Daniel Noboa—signaled not only a personal defeat but a broader loss of influence for the movement he represents.

Worse still, even the historic anti-Correísmo stance that once defined indigenous electoral behavior failed to unify the base. In the second round, Pachakutik formally endorsed González, but the indigenous electorate largely ignored the call. The provinces and cantons where Iza had performed best instead swung toward Noboa—an embarrassing rebuke for a movement that once prided itself on grassroots discipline.

Iza has acknowledged the uncomfortable truth: Pachakutik is no longer a cohesive organization. In recent interviews, he admitted that unifying the party had proved impossible, noting that in some provinces, local actors resisted any efforts toward national coordination. That disunity is no longer a hidden issue—it is manifesting in both electoral results and legislative behavior.

A History of Missed Opportunities and Growing Divides

The current fracture is not a sudden collapse, but rather the culmination of years of tension. During the Correa administration, indigenous movements faced persecution, surveillance, and internal pressure to compromise. The national strikes of 2019 and 2022 reignited public visibility but also exposed generational and ideological shifts. A new wave of activists—concerned with environmental protection, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ issues, and broader human rights—briefly aligned with the movement, but that momentum was never consolidated into lasting political strength.

Pachakutik’s most significant political moment came in 2021, when it rallied behind Yaku Pérez, a candidate seen as capable of broadening the movement’s appeal beyond traditional constituencies. The gamble paid off—Pachakutik posted its best-ever electoral result, becoming the second-largest force in the National Assembly. But that success quickly unraveled. Internal rivalries emerged, particularly after Jaime Vargas, another Conaie leader, attempted to align with Correísmo during the runoff. His actions cost him his position and laid bare the ideological divide within the movement.

The split deepened in the aftermath of those elections. Factions clashed over party leadership, culminating in the controversial appointment of Guillermo Churuchumbi, a close ally of Iza, to Pachakutik’s national coordination role. But Churuchumbi’s leadership failed to reinvigorate the party. By the August 2023 snap elections, Pachakutik had been virtually sidelined from the national stage.

Now, as the new legislative term begins, the erosion is accelerating. Government Minister José de la Gasca recently claimed that the nine elected Pachakutik legislators have reached a governing agreement with President Noboa’s administration. While Pachakutik quickly issued a denial, the effort was undercut almost immediately by Assembly member José Nango, who confirmed that at least five of his colleagues intend to cooperate with Noboa during the legislative inauguration on May 14th.

This contradiction further discredits the leadership’s claims that Pachakutik is fielding candidates loyal to its political project. Iza himself had boasted that the latest list excluded opportunists and instead featured committed movement leaders. Now, those very legislators are being branded as traitors by the party’s base.

From Protest to Power—and Back Again

The betrayal, however, is hardly shocking to political observers. The indigenous bloc has historically struggled to maintain unity in power. In 2021, its 27-member delegation quickly fragmented into competing factions: one aligned with Conaie’s hardline positions, another loyal to Pachakutik leadership, and a third group driven by individual political calculations.

Corruption scandals also damaged the movement’s credibility. The most damaging involved legislator Peter Calo, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for rape. Initially defended by Iza as a victim of political persecution, Calo’s case became a symbol of the poor candidate vetting and ethical lapses that have plagued the party.

During the short-lived legislative period that followed the death cross decree by former President Guillermo Lasso, Pachakutik’s remaining representatives sought to distance themselves from Correísmo. But despite repeated declarations of independence, they often voted in alignment with González’s bloc, further muddying their identity.

Now, with the reelection of President Noboa and the formation of a new National Assembly imminent, Conaie and Pachakutik leaders once again position themselves as part of the opposition. Yet, with internal defections mounting and public trust eroding, it’s unclear how much of an opposition they can credibly offer.

What once was a movement anchored in grassroots organization and collective identity has devolved into a loose constellation of individual agendas. The 2025 elections were not just a defeat—they were a reckoning. The indigenous political project in Ecuador stands at a crossroads, facing questions of relevance, coherence, and survival.

And with each passing election cycle, the promise of a unified indigenous voice seems further out of reach.