The Ecuadorian case has received considerable scholarly attention because of the meteoric rise of the indigenous-movement–based party Movimiento de Unidad Plurinacional Pachakutik (Pachakutik or MUPP). The party has been an important national actor since its first election in 1996. It helped elect President Lucio Gutiérrez in November 2002 in an alliance that garnered five Pachakutik militants seats in the cabinet. Pachakutik was formed by one of Latin America's most effective and internationally renowned indigenous peoples' organizations, CONAIE.

The Ecuadorian case emphasizes the importance of organizational unity and the existence of a dense network of affiliates to compensate for the absence of material resources. Despite the existence of numerous internal conflicts, based in regional, ethnic, religious, and personal rivalries, Ecuador's indigenous movement as a whole mobilized as a coherent collective actor during moments of crisis and opportunity. Both CONAIE and Pachakutik fended off challenges from rival organizations and harnessed the support of at least 80 percent of the indigenous population, while forging ties to sympathetic social organizations and political elites. But it wasn't easy. Significant attention is paid in this chapter to the fragile relationship between movement and party, which has reduced the electoral potential of the latter.