El matrimonio ancestral en la legislación ecuatoriana: un análisis jurídico de la vulneración de derechos de los pueblos y nacionalidades indígenas a partir de la Constitución de 2008

Abstract

The lack of legal recognition of ancestral marriage in Ecuador constitutes a problem that generates structural discrimination against indigenous peoples and nationalities, limiting the exercise of their collective rights and violating the principle of legal pluralism enshrined in the 2008 Constitution. The general objective of this research is to analyze the legal status of ancestral marriage within the Ecuadorian constitutional framework, identifying normative gaps and evaluating international standards and comparative law. The methodology used was qualitative, documentary, and doctrinal, supported by an analysis of doctrine, national and international regulations, Constitutional Court jurisprudence, and pronouncements of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The results show that the Ecuadorian State maintains an exclusionary normative framework that only recognizes marriages formalized before the state (colonial) authorities, disregarding indigenous peoples' own legal institutions and affecting rights such as cultural identity, family reunification, and social protection. Finally, a normative reform is proposed that expressly recognizes ancestral marriage, allowing its registration in the Civil Registry through community acts, thus consolidating a truly plurinational State