Reclaiming the Páramo
Tristan Partridge
with Myriam Allauca, Porfirio Allauca, and Tannia Rojas
"We, as Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples, have a long history of struggle. We have survived difficult times – through 528 years of resistance. Throughout this time we have been dying, but we have also been reclaiming our lives. Now, we are ready to continue fighting for another millennium – to preserve our Pachamama (Mother Earth) and to protect our communities around the world.
We see our páramo moorland as our source of life, our sister, our home, our refuge, our strength – as our life itself. And yet, at this current moment, the páramo is under threat; it is threatened by groups of people who want to seize the páramo for private enterprise – in contravention of our constitutional collective rights as indigenous communities. Those groups who are looking to privatize the páramo include cattle ranchers and mining companies.
Before it is too late, we need to defend the páramo and ensure it remains community property indefinitely. We need to recover what these lands have been: the territory of our dear ancestors, the true owners of the land – before they were cruelly dispossessed.
Now that we, the Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples of Ecuador, have been recognized within the national constitution and within international agreements, we have the possibility of using the law to recover our territory for the community, in the name of collectivity, and for the benefit of all humanity, its current and future generations."
Porfirio Allauca
"Las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas tenemos historia, etapas duras como lo que vivimos ya 528 años de resistencia, allí venimos muriendo y volviendo a nacer, ahora proponemos seguir luchando un milenio más por nuestra Pachamama y por nuestros ayllus de todo el mundo.
Contamos con un páramo que es nuestra fuente de vida, nuestra hermana, nuestra casa, nuestro refugio, nuestra fuerza, en si nuestra vida; en este momento está amenazada por grupos de personas con ambición económica (ganaderos y posibles mineros) que quieren apoderarse de esa tierra de manera ilegítima.
Antes que sea demasiado tarde, necesitamos defender y dejar como una propiedad comunitaria recuperando lo que estas tierras han sido: territorio de nuestros antepasados, sus verdaderos dueños y del que lastimosamente fueron despojados.
Ahora que hemos sido considerados dentro de la constitución del Ecuador y acuerdos internacionales, tenemos esta posibilidad de recuperar de manera legal nuestro territorio para la comunidad y la colectividad en beneficio de la humanidad, de sus actuales y futuras generaciones."
Porfirio Allauca
