Who is CONAIE? A two-minute explainer

Amelie: CONAIE is short for the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador — the umbrella organization for Ecuador's indigenous nationalities, founded in 1986. It represents fourteen distinct nationalities and eighteen peoples, organized across three regional federations.

Amelie: Its decisions are made by an assembly. That structure matters here, because it means that even when a CONAIE spokesperson sits at a negotiating table, what they bring to the room has been mandated by the assembly that sent them.

Amelie: In 2019, the federation led a national mobilization against fuel-subsidy cuts that lasted eleven days and ended with the government rescinding the relevant decree. In 2022, a similar mobilization, on similar grounds, ended in a partial concession. The current mobilization, on similar grounds again, is now in its fifth day.

Amelie: Whether this one moves further than 2022 is, mostly, a question about the federation's position on the targeted-voucher proposal — and about how long the government chooses to keep the talks open.