The protests that have taken thousands of indigenous people to the streets of Ecuador against the rise in fuel prices entered their ninth day this Tuesday (21) and culminated in emphatic statements by the country’s Armed Forces, where there is a history of presidents toppled after mobilizations. indigenous.
Defense Minister Luis Lara said the protests put Ecuadorian democracy at “serious risk”. “The action of passionate people who impede the free movement of the majority of Ecuadorians threatens democracy,” he said, who was speaking at the ministry’s headquarters accompanied by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Lara went on to say that the Armed Forces did not allow violations of the constitutional order and that there has been manipulation of the protests by groups interested in taking advantage of the popular uprising to demand political change in the government of Guillermo Lasso.
The mobilizations are largely led by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), which also actively participated in the waves of protests that led to the fall of three presidents between 1997 and 2005 in the South American country. The daily acts are mirrored across the country and gain intensity, especially in the capital Quito.
Guillermo Lasso’s conservative president finds himself under pressure in the streets and also in the legislature. The National Assembly, where the party linked to the Pachakutik indigenous movement is the second largest force, approved on Monday night (20) a resolution to demand that the government present a “serious, clear and honest” proposal for dialogue.
The government extended the state of exception in force since Saturday (18). “With this decision, we prevent the well-being of citizens against violence, while protecting the rights of those who demonstrate peacefully,” said the Communications Secretariat.
The price of a gallon of diesel in the country rose 90%, reaching US$ 1.90 (R$ 9.75), and that of gasoline, 46%, reaching US$ 2.55 (R$ 13) in one year. . Since last October, the values ​​have been frozen after popular pressure, but Conaie claims they reach US$ 1.50 and US$ 2.10, respectively.
As of Sunday (19), at least 63 protesters had been injured and 21 were detained by the police, according to government data. The Alliance of Human Rights Organizations says at least 79 were taken by the police and that 55 civilians were injured. It also states that, in the last 24 hours, one person died amid the repression.
Lasso accused the indigenous movement of seeking to end its government, which began in May last year. “We have been calling for dialogue, but they seek chaos, they want to remove the president,” said the president in a video posted on Twitter on Monday.
To sit at the negotiating table, indigenous leaders, who represent more than 1 million of the 17.7 million Ecuadorians, are asking the government to meet a package of ten demands. Among them are the moratorium on the payment of debts by peasants, more jobs and the suspension of mining concessions on indigenous lands.
The president, however, has already stated that lowering fuel prices, the main demand, is not under negotiation.
