Contribution short abstract:

The theory and praxis of the Indigenous movement in Ecuador, long influenced by Marxism, resonates particularly strongly with Marx's recently-discovered later writings. I suggest that these points of convergence reflect important truths that might inform a contemporary politics of the common.

Contribution long abstract:

Indigenous leaders and intellectuals in Ecuador have engaged with Marxism for a hundred years, beginning with the founding figures of the modern Indigenous movement and continuing until today. During this time, they have developed a political praxis that combines an emphasis on class struggle and contesting state power with the assertion of community autonomy, self-governance, and collective rights, as well as the defence of peasant agriculture and nature against extractivism. This praxis has allowed the Indigenous movement to make common cause with other subaltern groups and position itself as a champion of popular interests, while advancing a critique of capitalist exploitation and the defence and affirmation of the common and collective. While distinct from most orthodox traditions of Marxist politics, the theory and praxis of the Indigenous movement in Ecuador resonates in significant ways with Marx's later writings on ecology, peasant communities, and colonialism, uncovered by recent scholarship on Marx’s archive. I will argue that these points of convergence reflect important truths grasped independently by both the mature Marx and Indigenous intellectuals, and advance some suggestions for how they might inform a politics of the common in the face of the contemporary capitalism’s challenges to collective life.