ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the thoughts and practices of the protagonists of this movement and their interrelation with various contemporary, social, and political forces. The indigenous presence in the national scenario corresponds to a political moment dominated by the interests of "Colombian society", when indigenous people are relegated to a marginal position. Landowners, closely connected to the two traditional parties exercising power under the National Front Pact, were the main adversaries that indigenous peasants or settlers had to face in their fight for land. When the Indigenous Authorities decided to invite President Betancur, the Guambia cabildo and the communities were again suffering persecution on the part of the civil, political, and military authorities. There is a clear political meaning in the defense of their own authorities on the part of the struggling communities that are becoming unified under the Indigenous Authorities Movement.
