Ecuador: “Lasso oot, oot,” the cry that echoes through the streets | The voice of the protest heroes occupying the capital and other parts of the country

A loud crash pauses communication with Andres Tapialeader of the Confenaie of the Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorean Amazon. “We are in the middle of a fierce battle. There are several helicopters flying over different buildings And facing around this central part of the city,” says Tapia of the streets of Quito, where Tens of thousands of indigenous people march for the eleventh consecutive day With a cry that unites them: “Lasso out, out!”.

A campaign led by women and students attempted to storm the National Assembly headquarters on Thursday, but ended up being suppressed by police with tear gas. Demonstrators arriving in Quito from different regions of the country regain strength at night, stay in two universities, and before noon disperse into different groups. They carry sticks, handmade shields, and wiphalas, the multicolored flag of the indigenous Andean peoples. When the combined forces of soldiers and police halt their march, they change course. They defy the state of emergency in the face of a government that has pushed the army out of the barracks in an attempt to regain control of the streets..

Indigenous people are not alone. They are accompanied by the student struggle, the peasant movement, and the workers of the various unions. This struggle that is taking place in our country has its stage The main confrontation between those in power and sectors affected by the neoliberal policies of the government. This fight has been framed since the beginning of Lasso’s presidency, as his politics signify the growth of poverty and extreme poverty,” he explains to Page 12 Nelson IrazuPresident of the Popular Front and the national leader of the General Trade Union of Ecuadorian Workers (UGTE).

The dialogue fuse is still not lit

In a dollar-based economy where fuels are subsidized, the increase in naphtha has increased the cost of shipping. Indigenous peoples claim that their agricultural products leave only losses. But the pressure does not discourage the lasso, who considers the allegations futile. Harassed and isolated by the recent COVID-19 infection, the president refuses to give in to the terms that indigenous peoples demand to sit down to negotiate. of between it The abolition of the state of emergency that governs six out of 24 provinces and the capitalwith a strong military deployment and the imposition of a night curfew.

“All sectors insisted on calling for dialogue. At the moment, the national government has indicated that it wants dialogue but it is suppressing the people and Prison for social activists. He tells us that he wants dialogue, but he has just drawn up presidential decrees in which the dismissal of public servants is a central element, and he continues his policy of selling state companies like Banco del Pacífico”, warns Irazo. Along the same lines, Tapia explains that the president “constantly calls for dialogue but does not It gives clear signals to try to find solutions to Konai’s proposals.”

The leader of the Amazon indigenous movement speaks to this newspaper from Ecuadorean Culture House, a place in Quito that security forces remained in control of, was finally opened this Thursday to protesters. The possibility of the return of this place to install a popular gathering that determines the continuity of the struggle plan was one of the conditions demanded by the government, Kony’s president and the main promoter of the protests, Leonidas Issa.

The prosecution is also a student

Last Monday, in the midst of mobilization, the Ecuadorean government published Decree 457 who establishes Guidelines for ‘improving’ public spending. Social and student organizations demand its abolition because, as they understand it, it involves termination of contracts. Mauricio ChiluisaNational President of the University Students Union of Ecuador (FEUE), believes that “Lasso’s intention is to weaken the state university” And that this new decree confirms that since then “Many teachers will be fired in universities”.

“While the government continues to protect itself with the police and continues to protect itself from the International Monetary Fund, it is suppressing our comrades from south to north. That is why we want to denounce that public universities are threatened by the government so that they are not threatened by the centers of peace and shelter. We have to tell them, as Che Guevara said, the university should be painted as a people, it should be painted as mulatto and indigenous people.Chiluisa expresses from Quito.

2019 anniversary

In October 2019, indigenous movements advanced in Quito The government of then-President Lenin Moreno even abandoned an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which, in practice, eliminated multi-million dollar fuel subsidies. The protests were severely suppressed by security forces, killing 11 people and injuring more than a thousand, forcing Moreno to retreat.

according to IrazuThe current scenario is “much higher” than the 2019 scenario. “You have a whole country fighting, you have an entire country growing up”It maintains the guild leader. For his part, Tapia expressed that the conflict may continue to escalate “to the point where the president is insensitive to understanding what is happening, continues to downplay the facts or simply postpones requests being made.”