---
title: CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador)
type: governance
status: active
country: EC
website: https://conaie.org
logo: /assets/org-logos/conaie.ico
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-01
  email: conaie@ecuanex.net.ec
  note: Main site conaie.org returns a blank page; email found on legacy mirror at
    hosted.nativeweb.org
  source: http://hosted.nativeweb.org/conaie/index.html
summary: Ecuador's main confederation of indigenous nationalities — 14 nationalities,
  18 peoples — a governance actor as much as an advocacy body, having co-drafted Ecuador's
  2008 plurinational constitution and operating parallel indigenous justice and territorial
  governance systems.
concepts:
- buen-vivir
location:
  latitude: -0.2295
  longitude: -78.5243
  name: Quito, Ecuador
events:
- date: '1986-01-01'
  title: Founded to represent Ecuador's Indigenous nationalities, becoming the country's
    largest Indigenous organisation
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederation_of_Indigenous_Nationalities_of_Ecuador
  quote: CONAIE was founded in 1986
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
activity:
  dod:
    checked: 2026-06-28
    date: 2026-06-28
    note: 'Web search confirms continued activity: leadership change (Marlon Vargas
      elected president, July 2025) and ongoing protest/advocacy on extractivism and
      state repression through mid-2026.'
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-09
    note: No feed found
  sitemap:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    date: 2026-03-25
    note: Page last modified (from sitemap)
last_checked: '2026-06-28'
---

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador, CONAIE) was founded in 1986 and represents 14 indigenous nationalities and 18 peoples across the Ecuadorian Amazon, highlands, and coast. It is one of the most influential indigenous governance bodies in Latin America, operating not only as an advocacy organisation but as a governance actor with territorial jurisdiction and a recognised parallel justice system.

CONAIE was a principal drafter of Ecuador's 2008 constitution — the first in the world to constitutionalise **sumak kawsay** (Kichwa: "living well") as a governance principle and to recognise rights of nature (Pachamama) as constitutionally enforceable. The constitution also established Ecuador as a **plurinational state**, recognising indigenous juridical and governance systems as co-equal with state institutions in their territories.

## Governance role

CONAIE does not merely lobby the Ecuadorian state — it administers governance functions in indigenous territories:

- Operates indigenous justice systems (recognised under the 2008 constitution) handling land disputes, community conflicts, and local governance matters
- Coordinates territorial management across Amazon nationalities
- Maintains political representation structures that operate in parallel with the Ecuadorian electoral system
- Has convened and led national *levantamientos* (uprisings) that have directly changed national policy — most recently in 2022, when a 18-day uprising secured fuel price reversals and a formal dialogue process with the government

## Key people

- **[Leonidas Iza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_Iza)** — led CONAIE from June 2021 until July 2025, including the 2022 national uprising; ran for President of Ecuador in the 2025 general election (placed third).
- **Marlon Vargas** — elected CONAIE president for the 2025–2028 term at the confederation's eighth congress on 20 July 2025, defeating Iza 617 votes to 540. A former president of the Amazon affiliate Confeniae. ([El Comercio](https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/politica/marlon-vargas-gana-la-presidencia-de-la-conaie-tras-imponerse-a-leonidas-iza/); [Peoples Dispatch](https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/07/24/marlon-vargas-is-the-new-president-of-ecuadors-indigenous-movement-conaie/))

## Links

- Website: [conaie.org](https://conaie.org)

## See also

- [Fundación Solón](fundacion-solon.md)
- [Buen Vivir / Plurinational Democracy](../concepts/buen-vivir.md)