The Land Returns · Episode 9 of 14 · 22 min
The Plurinational Andes: Bolivia and Ecuador
Ecuador's 2008 and Bolivia's 2009 constitutions rewrote the state around Indigenous nationhood and the rights of nature. The episode then turns to the paradox: Bolivia's TIPNIS highway conflict, where an Indigenous-friendly government drove a road through protected Indigenous territory, and Ecuador's 2023 vote to halt Yasuni oil drilling that the state did not honor. The development case is weighed fairly.
Who's who
- Evo MoralesBolivia's first Indigenous president, 2006-2019
- Rafael CorreaEcuadorian president who convened the 2008 constituent assembly
- Daniel NoboaEcuadorian president who floated a moratorium after the Yasuni deadline passed
Where it happens
- TIPNIS, BoliviaIndigenous territory and national park crossed by a proposed highway
- Yasuni National Park, Ecuadoroil Block 43-ITT overlapping Waorani territory
- Charagua, Boliviaearly Indigenous autonomous government
Timeline
- 2008 (Sept 28)Ecuador approves a plurinational constitution with rights of nature
- 2009 (Feb 7)Bolivia's Plurinational State constitution enters force
- 2011 (Sept 25)police break up the TIPNIS march
- 2017 (Aug)Law 969 repeals TIPNIS's protected status
- 2023 (Aug 20)Ecuadorians vote about 59% to halt Yasuni drilling
- 2024 (Aug 20)deadline passes with Petroecuador still pumping
Still debated
Whether plurinationalism transferred real control or mainly recognition is argued. Morales and Correa defended extraction as funding poverty reduction, while critics note the same governments criminalized protest.