Conaie insisted that the census should have national coverage in rural and urban areas. | Photo: @CONAIE_Ecuador

Quito, November 12 (RHC)-- The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) insisted through an official statement that the 2022 Census in the country is not a statistical genocide, nor a political or judicial tool.   The population census and the first registration of communities cannot turn the indigenous population into mere objects of mediation, as has happened historically, said CONAIE.  

The Conaie emphasized that in the framework of the Plurinational and Intercultural State where 18 indigenous peoples and 15 nationalities live, and from the pressure and advocacy at the dialogue tables, they made several observations.

These assessments, the organization specifies, were made to ratify "the recognition as collective subjects and holders of rights, the respect for our organizational structure, to promote the organization and self-identification of the indigenous, Afro, Montubian and other identities."  "The results should show the social, labor, economic, political, health, education, food gaps, among others, that the indigenous, Afro, Montubian population face for having the highest poverty indicators," stressed the confederation.

Conaie expressed that "the census should be a valid instrument that allows the formulation of public policies in order to generate structural changes in society and promote the life plans of the peoples".  

Another of the Conaie's value elements insists that this socio-demographic survey should have a national coverage in rural and urban areas. Likewise, they insisted that through a census process new towns cannot be created without sufficient time to consolidate their right to self-determination.