The mobilization of militant indigenous politics is one of the most important stories in Latin American studies today. In this critical work, Kenneth J. Mijeski and Scott H. Beck examine the rise and decline of Ecuador’s leading indigenous party, Pachakutik, as it tried to transform the state into a participative democracy.

Using in-depth interviews with political activists, as well as a powerful statistical analysis of election results, the authors show that the political election game failed to advance the causes of Ecuador’s poor or the movement’s own indigenous supporters. Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement is an extraordinarily valuable case study of Ecuador’s indigenous movement and the challenges it still faces.

Kenneth J. Mijeski is professor emeritus of political science at East Tennessee State University. He has coauthored essays in various journals, including the Latin American Research Review, The Latin Americanist, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Annals of the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS).

Scott H. Beck is a professor of sociology at East Tennessee State University. He has coauthored essays in various journals, including the Latin American Research Review, The Latin Americanist, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, and Annals of the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS).