Since three decades the demands for ethnic rights and autonomy became central issues in the discourses of indigenous movements and in the debates about the transformation on states in Latin America (see González/Ortiz/ Cal y Mayor 2010). CONAIE´s proposal of a Plurinational State caused a polemic debate on the Constituent Assembly Ecuadors of 2008. The proposal dealt with the legal, political and social recognition of indigenous nations. In particular, the right to self-government and the authority to decide over the exploitation of natural resources located within their territory were claimed. Furthermore the proposal also aims at more fundamental politic, economic and social transformation: it proposed new mechanisms to enhance the participation of the entire population in decision-making processes. (see CONAIE 2007, Sousa 2007, Dávalos 2003/2005). However, in the new constitution, this important issues of a “Plurinational State” were either not considered or sidelined as so called ethnic issues. In the light of these developments the question arises if and how far this demands challenge liberal democracy conceptions. Further more, exemplifying CONAIE´s proposal and the debates on “Plurinationality” in the National Assembly of 2008, the proposed paper shall shed light on the contradictions and implementation difficulties of this demands.
