Summary
In 2008, Ecuador adopted a new constitution, whose Preamble “celebrates” Nature, defined in terms of the Andean Indigenous concept Pachamama, and declares the goal of building “a new form of public coexistence, in diversity and in harmony with nature, to achieve the good way of living, the sumak kawsay.” In this way, the constitution is meant to create a foundation for a post-neoliberal approach to development rooted in the Indigenous concept of sumak kawsay, or “buen vivir” in Spanish. The constitution recognizes the rights of nature as part of a collection of rights that are presented as tools for achieving this goal of sumak kawsay.