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An essay is presented on the intercultural transformation of Kichwa community in Ecuador. The author discussed topics including Ecuador's indigenous movement, the highly influential Kichwa mayors and indigenous organizations in municipal politics, and the economic globalization which has established powerful transnational communication networks.

Although Ecuador's Indigenous movement has had mixed political success at the national level, the municipalities of Otavalo and Cotacachi have had Kichwa mayors since 2000 and 1996, respectively. Both of these communities are ethnically mixed, and an important element of Kichwa political success has been politicians' abilities to promote intercultural alliances. The policies and strategies that these Kichwa-led municipalities have implemented suggest that interculturality goes beyond coalition building and implies instead a desire and ability to borrow from multiple cultural traditions. At the same time, the efforts of these municipal governments reflect and contribute to those intercultural efforts that are altering relations in the country between ethnic groups as well as contributing to internal changes about what it means to be Indigenous in contemporary Ecuador. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past twenty years, Ecuador's indigenous movement has been at the forefront of theorizing and putting into practice intercultural dialogues and political practices aimed at decolonizing institutions and cultural processes. An integral part of the movement's argument is that a truly intercultural society is one that not only recognizes cultural differences, but also one that is able to engage those differences in order to carry out a transformative project that challenges patterns of exploitation and seeks radical alternatives to development. This project carries important examples for the academic practices of the humanities as it opens up the possibilities of deep dialogue based on the recognition of cultural and epistemological differences within a context of constructing a more equitable and just society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]