Quito awaited the arrival of Monday night’s massive indigenous demonstrations, with a heavy deployment of soldiers and police at key points in the Ecuadorian capital, such as the Presidential Palace or the National Assembly. The marches, called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities for eight days, are set to take over the historic center to protest the national economic shortage and pressure the Ecuadorian government into alleviating hardships caused by soaring food and fuel prices. In response, and with images still fresh of the October 2019 violent mobilizations that lasted 20 days, President Guillermo Lasso declared a new state of emergency in the provinces hit by the general strike and road blockades.
In the Andean city, there is a curfew from 10 a.m. to 5 a.m. to restrict freedom of movement and assembly on the streets. The restrictions have been in effect in three provinces in the Ecuadorian Andes since last Friday, as the demonstrations were expected to intensify over the weekend. This Monday, as the marches to Quito’s entry points progressed, the executive replaced that state of emergency with a new one that extended to the six provinces where the blockade of highways and forced disruptions to manufacturing activity have caused millions in losses. , according to government calculations and claims.
With this maneuver, the Latin American president also avoided a political coup de grace, which wanted to turn his opposition in the assembly against him. Lawmakers from Pachakutik, the political arm of the indigenous organizations, had garnered enough votes with the UNES caucus, which is related to former President Rafael Correa, to challenge and disable the state of emergency, and with it the power of the state against protesters to leave. With the formality of replacing last Friday’s decree with a new one this Monday, Lasso bought time and postponed this interpellation against him to another day that does not coincide with the days of the most intense protests.
“We stretched out our hands, we called for dialogue,” the president began in a video on Twitter. “But they don’t want peace; they seek chaos. They want to kick the President out, I’m here, I’m not going to flee.”
I’m here to protect the citizens. I will always fight to defend democracy and the will of the Ecuadorian people. I will not allow chaos to reign. pic.twitter.com/ZJUspYuVMP
— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) June 20, 2022
In eight days of marches and clashes, protesters have staged violent episodes against citizens and transport companies attempting to cross the tracks. For their part, the police suppressed the advance of the demonstrators with tear gas and reported dozens of injuries on both sides. The death of a 22-year-old man who fell into a ravine on the outskirts of Quito was confirmed this Monday.
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The mobilizations follow an agenda of 10 items under which the indigenous organizations accuse the government of failing to help the population with subsidies or grants to counter the rise in the cost of living caused by the rise in international oil prices. Fertilizer shortages, increases in the prices of agricultural and productive commodities, and transportation costs have impoverished families with fewer resources in recent months. In addition, the Lasso administration has not managed to solve Ecuador’s structural problems in a year of leadership, such as corruption and shortages of medicines in the public health system or the deterioration of the labor market. The economic suffocation is the trigger that the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) argued to call a national strike.
“Compañeros and compañeras, we cannot delegitimize our struggles, they must not be confused with vandalism,” Leonidas Iza, President of Conaie, demanded this Monday when his arrival in Quito was expected as the culmination of the week of protests. “Let us not leave an image (of violence) like what they intend to position; this city is of peace. These people also have dignity and have rebelled to resist.”
After eight days, neither the Ecuadorian President nor the leader of the protesters have found a space for dialogue, although both political leaders recognize that this is the way to end the protests and improve social conditions in the country. Lasso has agreed to freeze the prices of bulk gasoline and diesel for transportation, forgive debts of up to $3,000 to public bank borrowers and subsidize half the cost of urea, which is used in agriculture. Iza, arrested for disrupting public service and released on the second day of mobilizations, is demanding guarantees that all his demands will be met before sitting down for a meeting with President Lasso and making a phone call to explain the atmosphere of tension in Ecuador to relax. On their way to Quito, the demonstrators are shouting that the Lasso government must be overthrown.