Colonialidad del Espacio y Autogestión Territorial: La Lucha de los Kichwa de Pastaza en la Amazonía Central de Ecuador (1980‐ 2010)

The paper to be presented refers to an existing case in the Central Amazon of Ecuador that brings together the Waorani, Shiwiar, Andoas, Sapara, Achuar, Shuar and Kichwa, seven of the ten Amazonian indigenous peoples of Ecuador. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the space occupied by these groups of about 30 thousand square kilometers, was the scene of the early presence of the extractive industry, when the Ecuadorian State signed an exploration contract with the oil companies Royal Dutch Shell and Leonard Exploration Co. Their presence lasted for more than three lustrums without concrete results. In the second half of the century, in the context of the agrarian reform in the Andean region, and as a mechanism to mitigate the existing pressure for the lands of the former haciendas, the State defined the Amazon as a region to be released and promoted policies based on a premise that considered the indigenous territories as empty spaces or wastelands. This generated important organizational processes in the indigenous peoples that revolved around the defense of their ancestral territories and their recognition by the State. In the case of Pastaza, this meant the creation of a provincial federation based on 13 grassroots organizations from the seven nationalities, with a clear demand for the legalization of the territories and the recognition of the right to self-government and self-determination.