Communists, indigenists e indigenous in the formation of the Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios and the Instituto Indigenista Ecuatoriano

En la década de los cuarenta, activistas urbanos en el Ecuador jugaron papeles importantes en la formación de dos organizaciones que trataron de buscar soluciones a los problemas persistentes que enfrentaban los indígenas: la Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios (FEI) y el Instituto Indigenista Ecuatoriano (IIE). Sin embargo, había muy poca comunicación o colaboración entre los involucrados en las dos organizaciones.In the mid-1940s, urban activists in Ecuador played key roles in the formation of two organizations that sought to address persistent problems facing Indigenous peoples, the Federación Ecuatoriana de Indios (FEI) and the Instituto Indigenista Ecuatoriano (IIE). There was, however, very little overlap, communication, or collaboration between those involved in the two organizations. Academics have commonly misinterpreted these organizations, and assigned to communists and the FEI characteristics more appropriate to liberal in - digenistas who founded the IIE. Surveying the participation of activists in the founding of the FEI reveals that far from white domination to the exclusion of Indigenous activists (as was the case with the IIE), the federation was a shared space where urban and rural activists worked together to struggle for Indigenous rights. Exploring the philosophy and ideologies behind the two groups reveals underlying and ongoing debates over different visions for how to address poverty in rural Indigenous communities in Ecuador