Construction of a "new paradigm" for a "sustainable civilization" to uphold the principle of "buen vivir [7]" (good life) was one of the resolutions to emerge from the Third Congress of the Andean Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations (CAOI [8]), held July 15-7 at Chinauta in Colombia's central Cundinamarca department. Presided over by CAOI's director Miguel Palacín Quispe [9] of Peru, the meeting brought together leaders of four member organizations: the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC [10]), the Confederation of Kichwa Peoples of Ecuador (ECUARUNARI [11]), Peru's National Confederation of Communities Affected by Mining (CONACAMI [12]) and Bolivia's National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (CONAMAQ [13]). The closing statement charged that "in the Andean Region and all the continent, States, whether openly neoliberal, 'alternative' or 'progressive,' persist in application of a neoliberal extractive model, that undermines the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, plunders the natural resources, and defiles Mother Earth..." (Servindi [14], Aug. 1; CONAMAQ [15], July 26)
