In his presidential candidacy, Leonidas Iza faces headwinds from within the indigenous movement

By Liam Higgins

Although he was picked as the indigenous Pachakutik party’s presidential candidate, Leonidas Iza’s choice was by no means unanimous. Party leadership claims his selection followed a process in which all indigenous organizations had a voice while those opposed to the choice claim the process was undemocratic.

Leonidas Iza

Guillermo Churuchumbi, Pachakutik board president says Iza is “by all measures” the best candidate for the indigenous movement. “The selection process invited the participation of all sectors of the movement and Leonidas was the clear choice,” he says.

Former Pachakutik leader Cecilia Velázquez claims, on the other hand, that Iza’s selection was “pre-ordained” by the current leadership. “He was imposed on us and I believe he is a divisive choice,” she says.

“To many indigenous, he represents the failures of the 2019 and 2022 national strikes and there is a rejection of his communist ideology,” Velázquez says. “The organizing principles of the Pachakutik movement say our mission is to support the interests of all indigenous people, not a particular ideology.”

Velázquez adds: “And now Iza is advocating another strike regarding the subsidies, which would be disastrous for the next election.”

Following Iza’s selection, the idea of an alliance between Pachakutik and the Correista Citizens Revolution party was suggested. Former and possibly future CR presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez said such an alliance would “present voters with a strong leftist option” in the February election.

The idea, however, was ultimately rejected by both Iza and CR founder Rafael Correa. Iza simply said the objectives of the two movements “did not correspond” while Correa called Iza “obstinate, limited and biased.”

It was not the first time Iza and Correa have clashed. During the Correa presidency, Iza was an organizer of anti-government protests that turned violent in Quito and was labelled a “dumb Indian” by Correa.

Sofía Cordero, political analyst and former Conaie consultant, agrees with Velázquez that Iza’s candidacy is divisive. “That divisiveness will grow if Iza continues his pressure for a new subsidy strike,” which she says is destined to fail. “It must be remembered that Conaie and Pachakutik represent indigenous people not only from the sierra but the coast and the Amazon too. There are different priorities in the different regions, and these should be represented in a presidential candidate.”

Like Velázquez, Cordero see’s Iza’s advocacy of “Indo-American communism” as a losing strategy. “Most of the indigenous associate this with Venezuela and Cuba and want no part of it. They favor a leftist approach but one that works within the existing system.”

Cordero says there is a “strong feeling of frustration” approaching the February election. “We all realize that the fight against narco criminals is a priority for the country and this favors Noboa’s reelection. The challenge will be to make voters understand the underlying reasons for the violence, the poverty and lack of opportunities, and that military and police force is not the answer. Pachakutik should be the leader in putting this message forward.”