Latin America marks day of Indigenous Resistance with marches, celebrations, and clashes: Video
Across Latin America, thousands took to the streets and plazas on Sunday, October 12, to mark the Day of Indigenous Resistance.
This commemoration mixes celebration, memory, and defiance against centuries of colonisation and injustice.
From Venezuela to Guatemala, Chile, and Ecuador, the date revealed the region’s shared struggle for identity, sovereignty, and cultural survival.
In Caracas, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro joined the “Great March for Peace and Sovereignty,” led by Indigenous communities in support of what he called the country’s fight against “imperialism.” Wearing a traditional headdress and addressing thousands in Plaza Venezuela, Maduro declared that Venezuela would never submit to foreign powers.
In Guatemala, the celebration took a different form — one of art and tradition. The capital hosted the ‘Encuentro de Conviteros’, a massive cultural parade that drew more than 3,000 dancers and musicians from 14 departments. Participants wore colourful Mayan dresses, feathered headdresses, and handcrafted armour inspired by pre-Hispanic iconography. Ana Stephany López López, one of the participants, said wearing traditional dress was an act of “resistance and empowerment.”
Meanwhile, in Santiago, Chile, the day was marked by tension. Demonstrations in support of Mapuche rights turned violent as police clashed with protesters near the University of Chile. The Mapuche, Chile’s largest Indigenous group, demanded the restitution of ancestral lands, an end to mining and forestry activities in their territories, and greater political autonomy.
Meanwhile, in Ecuador, the day coincided with massive protests against the government’s decision to eliminate the diesel subsidy. Thousands took to the streets of Quito, where police and military forces clashed with demonstrators led by Indigenous groups.
While the commemorations differed from country to country — the message was shared: Latin America’s Indigenous peoples continue to stand against dispossession, cultural erasure, and external domination, asserting that their resistance is far from over.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
