Sanchez[1]

USOU #334938, VOL 10, ISS 3

Multiethnic Nations and CulturalCitizenship

Jhon Ant�oon S�aanchez

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Multiethnic Nations and Cultural Citizenshipw Jhon Ant�oon S�aanchez

New Social Movements in the African Diaspora, I

Multiethnic Nations and CulturalCitizenshipProposals from the Afro-Descendant Movementin Ecuador

Jhon Ant�oon S�aanchez

This article analyzes the collective action, political proposals, and organizationalstrategies of Afro–Ecuadorian civil society. At the end of the twentieth century,

10the issue of multiculturalism arrived in Latin America with great force. In coun-tries like Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, and Uruguay, Afro–LatinAmericans became an important socio-cultural group, able to intercede innational politics, demanding cultural rights, combating racism, and calling foran end to inequality and poverty. In this article, I explore how Afro–Ecuadorians

15have contributed to strengthening models of multicultural nation-building, inclu-sive democracies, and pluralistic systems of political participation.

Keywords: Afro-descendants, Afro–Ecuadorians, Afro–Latin Americans, citizenshiprights, Ecuador, multicultural, nation-building

In this essay I discuss the multiethnic and pluricultural national model established in Ecua-20dor with the reformed Constitution of 1998. The concomitant rise of Afro-descendant

organizations has generated a positive environment for the elaboration of cultural politicsintended to protect the citizenship rights of ethnic minorities, especially regarding the rightto cultural identities. However, those rights are not guaranteed by the state and are notsufficient to surmount the challenges of poverty, economic inequality, racial discrimina-

25tion, and social exclusion that Afro-descendant and indigenous communities experience.This article analyzes the Afro–Ecuadorian movement’s circumstances given the political

and social transformations currently underway in Ecuador, including its transition to anew constituent assembly, as it has been proposed by the current government. Afro–Ecuadorian organizations defend the multiethnic national model, pushing for a more

Souls 10 (3): 1–12, 2008 / Copyright # 2008 The Trustees of Columbia University

in the City of New York / 1099-9949/02 / DOI: 10.1080/10999940802347715

3b2 Version Number : 7.51c/W (Jun 11 2001)File path : p:/Santype/Journals/Taylor&Francis/Usou/v10n3/usou334938/usou334938.3dDate and Time : 16/8/08 and 18:05

Souls

30democratic, participatory, and inclusive framework. The state proposes that it is capableof eliminating the structural racism that the ethnic minorities suffer. It proposes affirma-tive action policies that would allow greater guarantees of social, economic, and culturalrights, and would be mechanisms that could facilitate access to education, employment,and economic credit. Such measures could benefit social groups that are victims of racism

35and discrimination.I begin by presenting a brief sketch of the multi- and pluricultural character of

Ecuador and both the country’s ethnic diversity and its current political and social tran-sitions. The second part of the article is dedicated to the Afro–Ecuadorian community’shistory and gives a brief overview of the slavery period. I then present a summary of the

40demographic, economic, and social conditions experienced by Afro–Ecuadorians, whereI emphasize the degree to which the community faces both poverty and exclusion. Thisis followed by a discussion of the Afro–Ecuadorian movement, their proposals to the2007 Constituent Assembly for a multiethnic nation and their demands for social inclu-sion and measures to combat the racism, poverty, and inequality that they have histori-

45cally suffered.

IntroductionQ1

Ecuador is a beautiful and small South American country, rich in natural resources anddiverse in population. According to the 2001 census, 77% of the inhabitants are raciallymixed, 10% white, 8% indigenous, and 5% Afro-descendant. This last group, the

50Afro–Ecuadorians, along with the indigenous population, is the poorest and mostexcluded sector of the country’s population, upon whom both structural racism andsocio-economic inequality weighs heavily. Nevertheless, since the end of the 20th century,Afro–Ecuadorian organizations have become a significant presence in civil society. As inother Latin American countries, Afro-descendants in Ecuador have developed a social

55movement capable of making claims on the nation and on the dominant racially mixedsociety. Their social organizations have won cultural rights and have encouraged thedevelopment of national public policies that respond to the challenges of persistentdiscrimination.

In 1998, Ecuador enacted its 19th Constitution, establishing the country as a ‘‘multi-60ethnic and pluricultural nation.’’ The Constitution established Afro–Ecuadorians as an

ethnic and cultural group, or a ‘‘pueblo’’ (Article 83), subject to collective rights (Articles84 & 85). Ecuador’s constitution is the only constitution in the Americas that affords suchrecognition to Afro-descendants, in particular acknowledging their right to the protectionof their cultural identity, ancestral territories, and to improved opportunities for participa-

65tion in the country’s economic development.Today Afro–Ecuadorians, along with the Ecuadorian nation in general, confront new

political, social, and economic challenges. Although Afro-descendants have significantcultural rights recognized in the Constitution, their condition of general poverty remainsintact. They suffer racial discrimination, exclusion, and inequality.

70For the past ten years Ecuador has been in deep economic and political crisis. Amongthe events of this decade, the country was forced to adopt the dollar as its national cur-rency, three presidents were removed from office before completing their terms, and thestate’s institutions suffered from compromised credibility. With the election of the newsocialist President Rafael Correa in January 2007, the country is preparing for a profound

75reconstruction. A constituent assembly will soon draft a new Constitution, Ecuador’s 20thMagna Carta since gaining independence from Spain in 1830.

2 ^ Souls July^September 2008

The central aim of the constituent assembly is to achieve political renewal in Ecuador.An intense debate is raging over how to change the political structures and institutions of acountry characterized by a fragile democratic system, extensive social inequality and racial

80discrimination. Afro–Ecuadorian civil society has played a visible role in this debate; sev-eral organizations have developed proposals for combating inequality and racism. In par-ticular, they propose that the new Constitution include a new concept of citizenship anddemocracy that departs from a cultural perspective, so that Ecuador can truly become amultiethnic and pluricultural nation.

85This article analyzes the proposals that Afro–Ecuadorians have for the 2007 constituentassembly. Particular attention is directed towards a document titled ‘‘The EcuadorDesired by Afro–Ecuadorians,’’ drafted by the Institute for Afro–Ecuadorian Thoughtand Development, an organization comprised of Afro–Ecuadorian leaders and intellec-tuals. The reading of this document gives rise various questions: Do the proposals reflect

90the political agenda of Afro–Ecuadorian social movements? How do these organizationsconfront the challenge of exclusion, poverty, and racism? Are Afro–Ecuadorians relevantstate actors, capable of producing or influencing extensive social transformations?

Afro^Ecuadorians: Origins, Slavery, and Resistance

In the 16th century Ecuador was known as the Real Audience of Quito, belonging to95the Viceroy of Peru. Since 1535, the year Quito was founded, the presence of Africans

has been notable (Tardieu 2006). During the colonial period, slave traders imported slaves

‘‘Dia Nacional da Consciencia, Brasil’’ 2007# Marcio Ramos.

New Social Movements in theAfrican Diaspora, I ^ 3

from Cartagena or Panama. There, they bought Africans for 100 or 300 pesos, dependingon their sex, age, health status, and knowledge (Jurado Noboa 1987). Once they werebought, the slaves were taken to Quito, Guayaquil, or Cuenca.

100Various scholars note that enslaved Africans came to the Real Audience of Quitofrom many villages in Africa. According to Tardieu (2006) during the period1568–1660, slaves from Ecuador came from four zones in Africa: (a) Guinea (Jolofos,Folupos, Ba~nnol, Mandinga, Biafra, Bioj�oo, Guinea, Nalu, y Zape); (b) San Tome, (Bran,Arar�aas, Pop�oo, Caravalı, Mindas); (c) the Bantu zone, (Congos, Monicongos, Musicongos

105Labolo, Angolas, Anchico, Casanga, Tshal�aa); and (d) the Northern African zone(Berbesicos, Or�aan). Jean Capenda’sQ2 ethnolinguistic studies (2001) locate some of the pre-served last names in Ecuador to African origins, confirming the presence of diverse Afri-can nations in the country, among them: Mairongo, Congo, Cuabu, Anangon�oo, Kang�aa,Cango, Matamba, Quenambu, Quendambud, Cambindo, Ayovı, Minda, and Banquera.

110The enslaved who were introduced into Ecuador performed distinct jobs in the gold andsilver mines in Zaruma, Zamora, Cuenca, Quijos, and Esmeraldas. In the same areas otherslaves worked on sugar, tobacco, and cotton plantations or in large vineyards. The mostfamous plantations were those of the Jesuits (Costales 1964). However, the most impor-tant slave-owning centers were in Guayaquil, Quito, Esmeraldas, Chota Valley, and Loja

115in the south of the country.The slaves did not accept their enslavement. On the contrary, throughout all of the

Americas they engaged in distinct forms of resistance that were often violent and threaten-ing to the system. Enslaved people built hidden refuges, engaged in banditry, uprisings,sieges of cities, burning plantations, and there was also the emergence of small guerrilla

120groups (Chal�aa Cruz 2006).One of the best known cases of resistance was Martina Carillo’s complaint from the

plantation La Concepci�oon, reclaiming her freedom before a tribunal in Quito in 1778(Costales 1990Q3 ; Savoia y Ocles 1999). In 1794 in Guayaquil, enslaved Marıa deChiquinquir�aa Dıaz filed a complaint against her owner, priest Alfonso Cepeda, who

125was accused of not giving her the liberty that she deserved because her mother had beenfree (Ch�aavezQ3 2000).

The abolition of slavery in Ecuador was a process that started in 1821 when the legis-lators of Great Colombia ordained partial freedom. Although Ecuador declared its ownindependence in 1830, the country continued to enforce slavery. Only in 1851 did the coun-

130try decree the liberation of slaves previously indemnified by their owners. Though theConstituents of Guayaquil terminated slavery in Ecuador in 1852, slaves were still beinggranted their freedom to slaves in 1860.

Afro^EcuadoriansToday

Ecuador’s Afro-descendants are a demographic minority: their population does not135surpass one million people. This group is spread throughout the country, but concentrated

particularly in two regions: in the Coastal zone (the province of Esmeraldas) and in thecentral Andes (the region denominated by the ‘‘Chota Valley’’). Many Afro–Ecuadoriansalso live in the cities of Guayaquil, Quito, Ibarra, and Lago Agrio in the Amazon region(Ant�oon S�aanchez 2007: 15).

140The available official statistics underscore the situation of poverty, marginalization,and discrimination confronted by Afro–Ecuadorians. The 2001 Census conducted bythe National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) indicates that more than70.6% of Afro–Ecuadorians live in poverty. In certain rural communities, the povertylevel is as high as 99.6% (Technical Secretariat of the Social FrontQ3 2005: 14). In addition,


145Afro–Ecuadorians have higher illiteracy rates than the racially mixed and white popu-lations. Their levels of schooling and access to university education are lower than thatof other racial groups. A national survey on social development conducted in 2005affirms that the Afro-descendant population has the highest rate of unemploymentin the country (11%). In 2006 the average Afro–Ecuadorian person had a monthly

150average income of 210 U.S. dollars (USD), as compared to the white average incomeof 316 USD.

Nonetheless, despite these conditions of extreme inequality and poverty, Afro–Ecuadorians have developed significant strategic responses. Since 1990 their capacityfor collective mobilization and their establishment as important civil society actors have

155been notable. In Quito, Guayaquil, Emeraldas, and the Chota Valley, their communityorganizations have conducted collective political battles to demand of the state socialinclusion, democratic participation, and greater citizenship rights (De la Torre 2002;Tamayo 1996; Haldesman 2005Q3 ).

The current Afro–Ecuadorian social movement has its roots in movements of the1601960s, ’70s, and ’80s (Maloney 1983Q3 ). The movement is also strongly influenced by

the last century’s Negritude movement, civil rights struggles in the United States, andby Afro-descendant organizational development in Colombia and Brazil (Ant�oon2007bQ3 ). In the last decade of the 20th century the Afro-descendant organizational pro-cess in Ecuador grew significantly stronger. During this period the Ecuadorian nation

165experienced the escalation of neo-liberalism, the rise of discourses on multiculturalism,and an economic crisis that intensified poverty. As the state’s social programs becamedebilitated, social protest was radicalized; in particular, the indigenous movementemerged as a powerful social actor.

In the ’90s Ecuador’s social movements were presented with opportunities for the rea-170lization of their social and cultural demands. In the context of multiculturalism, indigen-

ous and Afro-descendants mobilized and proposed a different vision of the state, thenation, democracy, and citizenship. In 1998, a Constitutional reform declared Ecuadorto be a multiethnic and pluricultural nation. Afro-descendants are now recognized as a‘‘people’’ subject to collective rights—the only country in the Americas that grants

175Afro-descendant populations such recognition. The Afro–Ecuadorian social movement,comprised of a network of some 350 social and cultural organizations, thus obtained asingular position in the public sphere.

TheAfro^Ecuadorian Social Movement

Few scholarly studies of the Afro–Ecuadorian movement exist. Within the current lit-180erature there is a significant focus on ethnicity, identity politics, and social mobilization

that emphasizes the indigenous movement as a point of reference. In 1983 sociologist Ger-ardo MaloneyQ3 wrote a Master’s thesis about the social and political situation of Afro–Ecuadorians. His study emphasized the variables of race and class as central axes of theethnic group’s problematic. He affirmed that ‘‘the topic of blacks has been dealt with

185within the context of politico-ideological systematic exclusion,’’ a situation which has lim-ited the further development of their particular interests (1983: 12).

Between 1996 and 2005 various articles appeared about the Afro–Ecuadorian socialmovement (Tamayo 1996; Whitten and Quiroga 1998; Tadeo 1998; Halpern and Twine2000; Hansdesman 2001, 2005; De la Torre 2002, 2004; Minda 1996; Walsh and Garcıa

1902002Q4 ). These studies describe both regional and local dynamics of the movement’s organi-zational development. They reflect upon particular experiences in the Chota Valley, in the


North of Esmeraldas, in the capital city of Quito and in Sucumbıos province. However, acomplex analysis of the realities for Afro–Ecuadorians on a national scale does not exist,nor does an analysis of the social movement within the context of mobilizations against

195racism and discrimination by the larger African diaspora in the Americas.The few studies about Afro–Ecuadorian civil society analyze the phenomenon from

different perspectives. The first perspective derives from the North American theoryof Resource Mobilization (TRM). This perspective emphasizes the corporate characterof the Afro–Ecuadorian social movement and reduces it to interest groups propelled by

200the state, the church, and international bodies. This line of thinking is defended by Carlosde la Torre, who analyzes the organizational development processes of Afro-descendantsin Quito. Another perspective is situated in European theories of New Social Movements.It presents the movement as a form of alternative modernity that privileges Afro-centrismand the struggle against racism. This takes a distinctive approach which aims at the con-

205struction of a more inclusive, pluralistic, and democratic national body, and is elaboratedby Michael Halsdelmann, Catherine Walsh, and Juan Garcia.

This analysis of Afro–Ecuadorian social movements presented in this article takesaccount of various dimensions of the above mentioned frameworks while revealing theways in which these analyses are problematic. To situate the phenomenon within corpor-

210atism or culturalism requires that we specify certain heterogeneous aspects of theAfro-descendant movement. For example, Peter Wade emphasizes that although theAfro-descendant movement may fit within the context of those that exploded with forcein Latin America since the 1960s, these movements are not so new (2000: 116). Theyemerged at the beginning of the 20th century, when various groups of defenders of Black

215civil rights appeared. The most notable of these experiences occurred in the United States,Colombia, and Brazil.

In this sense, I believe that the nature of the Afro-descendant movement should be readwithin an extensive period of resistance. I locate the first antecedents in mobilizations rea-lized by slaves during the European conquest and colonization of the New World. During

220that period there emerged palenques and quilombos (autonomous Afro-descendant com-munities). After independence, enslaved people sought their freedom through a combina-tion of various strategies: participation in campaigns for liberation, the purchase of theirfreedom, and finally, through the abolition of slavery in the middle of the 19th century.Later, during the period of liberal modernity in the nascent Latin American states,

225Afro-descendants had to fight for citizenship in the context of scientific racism, andagainst the implementation of mestizaje as the dominant ideology of exclusion (Sansone:2004Q5 ; Agudelo 2006). In agreement with Wade, I suggest that the Afro-descendant move-ment has had a political agenda distinct from other Latin American social movements.According to Jesus GarcıaQ6 (2001), this agenda is constructed around an ethnic and racial

230identity, the struggle against racism, discrimination, and economic inequality. It deals withthe challenges that impede the exercise of citizenship rights for Afro-descendants, and pro-motes an agenda for greater involvement in the political sphere and greater participationin the nation’s democracy.

I suggest that thanks to the actions of Afro-descendant social movements in the arena235of Latin American democracy, topics such as identity, race, and ethnicity have gained

great political importance on the continent. Focusing on these issues, Afro–Ecuadorianshave demanded political recognition and have been able to position themselves as impor-tant citizen-actors. This is our point of departure for analyzing the Black movement inEcuador as a social movement that, in agreement with J. GarcıaQ3 (2001), fights for citizens’

240rights, including social, economic, and cultural rights. The movement also fights againstpersistent discrimination, structural racism, poverty, and inequality. In this manner,Afro-descendants contribute to the cultural modernization of their nations.


The 2007 Constitution: TheAfro^Ecuadorian Political Proposal

This article now turns to an analysis of the proposals for Ecuador’s new Constitution,245developed by a sector of the Afro–Ecuadorian organizations. In response to the political

crisis and the county’s institutional weakness, new president Rafael Correa and a largepart of the citizenry proposed the formation of a constituent assembly to change thestate’s institutional framework and to create a new Constitution. This assembly wasapproved via referendum on April 15, 2007 in which more than 81.7% of the electorate

250voted in favor and was installed in October 2007 (Vanguardia, Number 83, April 2007,Quito).

This was preceded by an intense debate amongst the electorate in Ecuador in 2006 anda strong current of popular opinion insisted upon convening a new constituent assembly.In this context, a sector of the Afro–Ecuadorian social movement developed and distrib-

255uted a document entitled, ‘‘The Ecuador We Envision and Want, as Afro–Ecuadorians,’’signed by an NGO called the Institute for Afro–Ecuadorian Development and Thought(IPEDA). For the first time in many years, Afro–Ecuadorian civil society articulated theirvision for the country, making public a proposal about the type of state, nation, economicdevelopment, citizenship, and democracy that they desired for Ecuador’s future.

260The document has a central proposal: ‘‘As Afro–Ecuadorians, we propose that statepolitical reform must be oriented towards strengthening inclusive and intercultural democ-racy and towards consolidating a multiethnic and pluricultural nation’’ (IPEDA 2006: 9Q7 ).With this, Afro–Ecuadorians insist on maintaining the multiethnic and pluricultural char-acter of the nation, as it had been expressed in the Constitution of 1998. But in maintain-

265ing these principles, they demand that the country develop as a modern democracy that‘‘guarantees to cultural and ethnic minorities and to subordinate social sectors, participa-tion as subjects of cultural rights, in a manner that respects their differences, and makescultural rights relevant, without racism or discrimination’’ (IPEDA 2006).

The defense of this section of the 1998 Constitution is a consequence of the victories270which the Afro–Ecuadorian people won in the 1990s, above all in respect to collective

rights. However, the document affirms that such rights have not been fully realized. Pov-erty and racial discrimination persist in their communities. They argue that this continuesbecause the ‘‘1998 Constitution did not contemplate the path to changing the economic,social, and political structures. It did not combat the traditional model of governance,

275nor was it able to change the existing political, economic, and administrative system . . . ’’(IPEDA 2006).

Q8 For Afro–Ecuadorians, political and social problems are concentrated in two arenas:a) ‘‘the political class that mocked the Constitution and has made democracy itsown business, and b) the economic model of neoliberalism that has sunk the country into

280under-development.’’ For these reasons they consider constitutional reform urgent and astrategic means to strengthen intercultural democracy. For this to be possible, theypropose these steps:

1. Restore a new, independent electoral system, that is pluralist and inclusive, thatstrengthens citizen representation.

2852. Create a normative framework that regulates the political parties, and guaranteesthe participation of political and economic minorities.

3. Reinforce and amplify the mechanisms of citizen control: programmatic agreements,financial transparency, and the possibility to revoke politicians’ mandates.

4. Guarantee political electoral representation, and participation by ethnic and cul-290tural minorities in the government.


5. Strengthen the autonomy of the organisms of control, in relation to influence fromthe political parties and hegemonic sectors.

In this specific manner, the Institute for Afro–Ecuadorian Development and Thoughtargues that Ecuador’s new Constitution must concretize the multiethnic and pluricultural

295nature of the nation, by introducing novel instruments into the country’s institutional fra-mework that will ensure the political participation of ethnic minorities and an interculturaleducational system.

According to the document, the participation and political representation of ethnicminorities, like Afro–Ecuadorians (5% of the total population) are essential elements

300for combating racism and discrimination. They assert that the new constitution must guar-antee these groups the right to political representation in both the National Congress andin different state institutions. They propose participation quotas in the political parties,control of public administration, courts of justice, and in the entire public sector. Thisis envisioned as a measure of affirmative action intended to combat racism, a course of

305action that would be in accordance with international law, pacts, agreements, and declara-tions signed by the state.1

Another Afro–Ecuadorian objective for the constitution is the reform of the educa-tional system. The IDPEDA’s document asserts that the country requires ‘‘the formationof a new Ecuadorian citizenry, with a civic nature, with a profound spirit of homeland,

310familiar with the values of democracy and exhibiting pride in the multiethnic and pluricul-tural nature of the nation.’’ The document proposes that the educational system guaranteethe exercise of cultural citizenship. The State must endeavor to make education intercul-tural, and it must institutionalize a model of ethno-education and create a National Chair-manship of Afro-Descendant Culture.

315Liberal Societies, Multiethnic Nations, and Cultural Citizenships

The proposal that IDPEDA presents for the new constituent assembly seeks a politicalreform that consolidates the nation’s multicultural character. It is a type of proposalwhich, in many modern and liberal societies, is defended by ethnic and cultural minorities.This author is in agreement with Kymlicka, who argues that the multiethnic nation is the

320best model that liberal societies can adopt to neutralize violent conflicts that arise fromcultural differences between citizens (1996: 16–17). For Kymlicka, one of the principalcharacteristics of the modern world is its cultural diversity.2 This diversity is a challengeand ethno-cultural conflicts have become the most common source of political violencein the world (1996: 13).

325Nevertheless, in place of seeing cultural differences as irreconcilable spaces, that couldbring us to a state of what Huntington (1996) calls a clash of civilizations, Kymlicka con-siders that multiethnic3 or plurinational states could resolve modern concerns about cul-tural asymmetry and injustice. The challenge is to accommodate said cultural differenceswithin a liberal democracy, even where positive and individual rights prevail by force. He

330explains that ‘‘in a multicultural state, an inclusive theory would include equally universalrights, assigned to individuals independent of their belonging to a group, as well as group-differentiated rights, which is to say: a special statue for cultural minorities’’ (19).

Authors such as Habermas (1999) and Taylor (1993) have spearheaded intense debatesabout cultural policies suitable for dealing with cultural differences within liberal democ-

335racies. For Michel Wieviorka, modern societies have dealt with minority cultural rightsthrough three frameworks: (a) assimilation, making cultural particularities invisible inpublic space, but dissolving them into the normative standard of the dominant society;


(b) tolerance, accepting differences so long as they do not create difficulties, and (c) thepolitics of recognition of minorities, so long as that practice does not question the society’s

340universal values (2003: 27). But Wieviorka warns that this debate is exhausted. In LatinAmerica, for example, the complexity of cultural identities is resolved on a stage set bythose identity groups that are able to dominate, in the context of mestizaje (whitening)or hybridization. In this manner, we enter into a phenomenon that Kymlicka (1996: 85)denotes multiculturalism, a political model that groups the diversity of cultural expression

345within in a social nucleus.Multiculturalism, according to Wieviorka (2003: 28), is understood as ‘‘a policy

inscribed in the state’s institutions, the law, governmental action, with the intention of giv-ing different cultures recognition in the public sphere.’’4 In this manner, multiculturalismis a response to cultural diversity. In a culturally diverse society, a multicultural political

350response is necessary, wherein recognition of identity differences among citizens is a cru-cial concern.

Here, the concept of identity assumes a tactical importance, not as an essential and per-sonal element, but as something strategic and differentiating. According to Stuart Hall(1996: 17), identity is constructed within social discourses and power relations. Identity,

355in Hall’s perspective, is a ‘‘product of demarcation and difference,’’ which is to say, iden-tity is constructed because of difference and not at the margin of it (Hall 1996: 19). In thismanner, in a multicultural society like Ecuador, identity differentiation (linguistic, ethnic,religious, or national) becomes a principle characteristic of the citizenry.5 And in liberalmodern democracies, the question is how to guarantee to citizens with diverse and differ-

360entiated cultural identities not only individual and universal rights, but also those rightsthat refer exclusively to their cultural identities.

Kymlicka argues that differences in citizens’ identities can be regulated in a modernstate in which a ‘‘universal theory of minority rights is applied,’’ that should generate spe-cific rights for each cultural group. In particular, this refers to specific cultural citizenship

365rights for groups like Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples. This concept of citizen-ship is understood, following Iris Marion Young (1989) as being differentiated citizenship:those specified to the individual, in accordance with his=her culture.

To speak of cultural or differentiated citizenships implies that liberal democratic gov-ernments like Ecuador can implement specific measures to guarantee expression of differ-

370ences in its citizenry, via policies that promote individual respect and peaceful coexistence.According to Kymlicka, these policies should be expressed in the consecration of culturalor collective rights. Those rights can take three forms: self-government, poly-ethnicity, orrepresentation.6 In particular, these minority rights respond to the need to overcome his-toric disadvantages or structural barriers present to racial or ethnic groups that tradition-

375ally have been excluded. In practice, this deals with rights to positive discrimination oraffirmative action, like those put into practice in various countries like the United Statesand Colombia.

But affirmative action policies as a means to combat racism must be made more precise.For Wieviorka (2003), affirmative action, ‘‘is not a cultural recognition policy’’ (29) but a

380social policy that grants opportunities to individuals who suffer disadvantages becausethey belong to a certain historically mistreated minority group.

Afro^Ecuadorians Between Multiculturalism and Social Inclusion

This article has analyzed the political proposals that Afro–Ecuadorians have developedin response to the 2007 Constituent Assembly—proposals that are framed within theories

385of multicultural politics applied in liberal and modern democracies. These proposals oblige


us to reflect upon the vision of nation and society desired by Afro–Ecuadorians—a societywherein the cultural rights of ethnic minorities are guaranteed via cultural policies andaffirmative action.

But apart from general proposals for the transformation of the country, Afro–390Ecuadorians are betting on strategies of social inclusion. For social organizations, inclu-

sion is understood as a concrete strategy to break with the centuries of social, economic,and political exclusion to which Afro–Ecuadorians have been victim. This exclusion hasexisted since the period of slavery and has been sustained by means of structural racismand persistent discrimination. As a result, factors like socio-economic inequality and

395poverty are some of the principle challenges for descendents of Africans in Latin America,who make up more than 150 million of the continent’s population (Psachaopoulos andPatrinos 1994; Banco Mundial 2004).7

Demands for social inclusion and for the construction of a model of nation based inmulticulturalism are central themes in their political agendas. These are strategies that

400aim to end poverty and achieve the right to an education that considers their cultural spe-cificities. Additionally Afro–Ecuadorians have other objectives: halting the loss of theirancestral territories, which are often rich in biodiversity and ending forced migration thathas compelled Afro-descendants to settle in peripheral urban areas where they acceptbadly paid, poor quality, and precarious jobs (Bello and Hopnehayn 2001: 15).

405Afro–Ecuadorian proposals for an inclusive democracy are framed within the transna-tional agenda of the Afro-descendant social movement. In the international arena, theactions of continental networks of Afro-descendant organizations have achieved influencein multilateral bodies like the United Nations and the Organization of American States(OAS). These institutions intend to provide a more global response to discrimination and

410poverty, and their positive effects are already visible. For example, the majority of LatinAmerican countries have signed the International Convention for the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination (CERD).8 Recently, at the 2001 United Nations World Conference AgainstRacism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Connected Forms of Intolerance condi-tions were established for a series of initiatives oriented to eliminating racial inequality.9

415According to Peter WadeQ3 , these strategies for recognition and global struggle againstracism make up part of a ‘‘postmodern celebration of diversity, that could call itself a post-modern nationalism, which defines the nation in terms of multiculturalism’’ (2001: 126).From the perspective of Amartya Sen (2004), these strategies are means by whichnation-states counteract the effects of cultural domination that could be generated in

420the asymmetric encounters of globalization. Sen suggests that the modern play of culturalinterrelations runs the risk of developing asymmetric cultures, as well as intolerance anddisrespect for the diversity and cultural freedom of its citizens. For this reason, he pro-poses the need for democracies to ‘‘generate respect for diversity and the creation of moreinclusive societies by adopting policies that recognize in explicit manner cultural differ-

425ences, which is to say: multicultural policies’’ (2004: 2).

Conclusions

Afro–Ecuadorians have been pushing for the consolidation of a multicultural nationalmodel under an inclusive democratic regime as they move into the national constituentassembly of 2007. This model seeks to develop mechanisms by which all ethnic groups feel

430included and share in the benefits of the cultural rights that they deserve. To strengthena model of the nation with these principles of inclusion will naturally be a challenge.Constitutional reforms must generate policies capable of transforming the cultural politicsof a society that historically has been a ‘‘racial dictatorship’’ (Cervone and Rivera 1999).


In Ecuador, which, according to Carlos de la Torre, has reproduced ‘‘different racialized435social systems,’’ wherein, ‘‘racial inequality is articulated alongside class, regional and gen-

der inequalities’’ (2002: 17), this transformation is necessary.Additionally, the cultural policies necessary to achieve a multicultural and pluricul-

tural nation imply a new concept of citizenship and recognition of cultural rights. Fol-lowing Alvaro Bello, this new concept of citizenship is based not only in a structured

440process of individual civil rights, but also is a modern conception based in identity dif-ferentiation, cultural plurality, and recognition of collective rights (2004: 24). By thisdefinition, citizenship can allow for greater participation based in interculturality andmulticulturalism.

To put into practice a concept of cultural citizenship within the context of modern445democracies and multiethnic states moves us towards a guarantee of economic and poli-

tical participation for various cultural groups. It also responds in a coherent manner tothe cultural conflicts that, in Latin America, have exploded in recent years. To understandthe phenomenon of cultural citizenship is to understand that which Stavenhagen (1992)calls the ‘‘ethnic question.’’ That ethnic question clearly is still not resolved, as ethnic

450minorities continue to suffer from a host of social and economic ills and are disproportio-nately subject to governance crises of the region’s political systems.

Notes

1. In particular, the International Convention against Racial Discrimination, the Declaration and Plan of

Action of the Third World Summit against Racism and Discrimination of the United Nations (Durban 2001)455and ILO Convention 169. In countries like the United States and Colombia, these policies have already been

put into practice.

2. ‘‘At present, the majority of countries are culturally diverse. According to recent estimations, the 184 Inde-

pendent states of the world contain more than 600 groups of live languages and 5000 ethnic groups. There are few

countries whose citizens all share the same language or belong to the same national ethnic group’’ (Kymlicka4601996: 13).

3. The author uses the expression ‘‘polyethnic state’’ for multiethnic. According to Kymlicka, the multiethnic

state is circumscribed within the framework of the liberal theory of minority rights, which are as necessary as

human rights in the context of efforts to achieve peace.

4. It could be understood in two manners: integrated multiculturalism, that takes into account the same poli-465tical demands for recognition as well as political struggles against inequality (as in the case of Sweden and

Canada), and exploded multiculturalism, that separates the treatment of cultural differences from the topic of

social inequalities (as in the case of Latin America and the United States). Wieviorka (2003: 28–29).

5. In the case of Ecuador, Carlos de la Torre defines citizenry as the condition of the subject to ‘‘have a series

of civil, political and social rights’’ (2002: 146).4706. Rights of self-government are related to the interests of territorial autonomy, justice, and development of

indigenous groups within nation-states. Poliyethnic rights—explains Kymlicka—aim to do away with discrimina-

tion and prejudice. Additionally, they apply anti-racist cultural policies that permit racial, religious, or ethnic

minorities to freely express their cultural pride. The objective is not self-government, but societal integration

(53). Rights to representation relates to the visibility of subordinate groups in the political sphere. It considers475that all liberal democratic nations should contemplate political pluralism, and include racial and ethnic minorities

in its different electoral, representative, and government institutions.

7. A report by the United Nations in 2004 reveals that 92% of Afro–Latinos live below the poverty line, and

35% are illiterate. ‘‘La pobreza castiga al 92% de los afroamericans,’’ in the Daily El Comercio, Quito, September

2004, A7.4808. The signing and ratification was opened and approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations by

means of Resolution 2106 A(XX) of December 21, 1965, and assumed with vigor on January 4, 1969. Ecuador is

one of the ratifying countries.

9. As a product of the Conference, the ‘‘Global Declaration against Racism’’ and the ‘‘Plan of Action against

Racism’’ were approved. Today, five years since its passing, the continental organizations of Afro-descendants, in485particular the Strategic Alliance of Latin-America and the Caribbean, developed a process of evaluating the

impact of these measures. The process is known as Santiago plus Five.


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