Quito-. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) has expressed concern over the breach of agreements made with the government, while their communities today face a difficult situation in areas such as healthcare.
For the organization’s vice-president, Zenaida Yasacama, there is no political will on the part of President Guillermo Lasso’s executive to implement what was negotiated at the dialogue tables set up after the strike in June.
Yasacama said in press releases in Pastaza province in the Amazon region that these are agreements in favor of Ecuadorian citizens that the government is forgetting, harming the population in areas such as health.
In this vein, he denounced the lack of medical care in the area’s indigenous communities, where he claimed “there are no specialists, no medicines, no equipment, no ambulances”.
Oil has been extracted for more than 50 years and indigenous peoples continue to be the most neglected in health, education, road infrastructure and services, the Conaie leader accused. That group, the National Confederation of Peasant, Indigenous and Black Organizations and the Council of Evangelical Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of Ecuador, led the protests that paralyzed the country for 18 days in June 2022.
Quito has been the epicenter of demonstrations calling for fuel price cuts, a cessation of privatizations and illegal mining, citizen security and indigenous autonomy, labor rights and a banking moratorium, among others.
For 90 days after the protests, the three organizations sat at a negotiating table with the executive and made progress on issues such as health, bilingual intercultural education, the environment, oil exploration and agriculture.
However, they claim these achievements are kept in promises, and in February they will assess the response if the government continues to fail to put into practice what has been agreed.