7. ECUADORAN INDIGENOUS NATIONS GRANTED LEGAL TITLE TO HOMELANDS

The government of Ecuador has granted more than three million acres of homelands to three indigenous tribes in the eastern province of Pastaza. After leading a march to Quito to press their demands, representatives of the Quichua, Achuar and Shiwiar tribes held extensive meetings with the government on the land issue and finally agreed to accept the land with the government's conditions: the government still has oil exploration and profit rights, though it must consult with the communities to avoid ecological damage; the military will continue to have unrestricted access to the area; and non-Indians living in the area are allowed to stay. [WP 5/15/92]

The amount of land granted is just over half the amount demanded by CONAIE, the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador. CONAIE originally rejected the government's conditions, and on May 7, a group of 60 indigenous protesters staged a peaceful takeover of the government's land tribunal offices in Quito to demand a satisfactory agreement. [Inter Press Service 5/8/92] Nor were non-Indian colonists in the region happy with the proposal: on May 8 they blocked highways to protest the granting of land titles to the Indians. Three police were injured and 21 colonists were arrested in clashes. [ED-LP 5/10/92 from AP]

But the government resisted pressure from either side, and stuck to its final offer. President Rodrigo Borja, who negotiated the land titles with Indian leaders, will soon end his term; in Ecuador, no president may run for reelection. According to the most recent polls, center-right candidates Sixto Duran Bellen and Jaime Nebot Saadi are expected to be the presidential front- runners in the May 17 elections, followed by populist Abdala Bucaram; Borja's Democratic Left party candidate Raul Baca Carbo has little chance of winning. A runoff between two winning candidates, scheduled for July 5, will probably be necessary. [ED-LP 5/17/92 from AFP; WP 5/15/92]