Sumak Kawsay and Clashing Ontologies in theEcuadorian Struggle towards De-coloniality : Progressive mobilization, romanticized constitutional reforms and local conceptions of Sumak Kawsay / Alli Kawsay in Ecuador

Abstract: This thesis analyzes and problematizes the challenges and dilemmas associated with the implementation in practice of the indigenous conceptualization Sumak Kawsay/Buen-Vivir that originally is a conceptualization of a lifestyle in indigenous communities in Ecuador. The concepts were included in the new Constitution of Ecuador in 2008 that was ratified during progressive constitutional reforms under the former president Rafael Correa and with the support of the indigenous movement. Methodologically, by focusing on the implementation in practice, this ethnographic field study also examines Sumak Kawsay/Buen-Vivir as a conception of a lifestyle on local community level among indigenous peoples in two different regions of the country. More specifically, in the provinces of Imbabura in the northern Andean highlands and the Amazonian Pastaza. By applying a comparative approach, the research objective of this thesis is to study how these conceptions are perceived, interpreted and practiced on local community level and how similarities and differences are shaped by connotations of territoriality. The central findings of the study illustrate how many challenges and dilemmas linked to the implementation in practice of the values and visions of Sumak Kawsay/Buen-Vivir are grounded in the country’s continuous reliance on extracting natural resources as an important revenue to finance social welfare. Another central finding is that different socio-political, cultural and spatial factors contribute in shaping local perceptions, interpretations and how Sumak Kawsay/Buen-Vivir is practiced on local community level among indigenous peoples.