The president of Ecuador, the rightist Guillermo Lasso, escaped from being removed from office by the opposition Congress on Tuesdaywhen he suspended negotiations with the highest indigenous leader to end protests over the cost of living, which lasted 16 days.
(Read: Ecuador: Government suspends dialogue with leaders of the indigenous protest)
A motion to remove him from office, for constitutional cause of “serious political crisis and internal commotion”, gathered 80 of the 92 necessary votes, according to the National Assembly. “We defended democracy and now we must restore peace,” Lasso said after the vote.
(He is interested in: Ecuador: indigenous people see ‘authoritarianism’ in Lasso after suspending dialogues)
Congress has been discussing since Saturday the request for removal raised by the opposition Union for Hope (Unes) party, the main party with 47 seats and related to former socialist president Rafael Correa (2007-2017).
Despite the coup attempts, today (Tuesday 28) the country’s institutions prevailed.
“It is clear who works for the political mafias. Meanwhile, we continue to work for Ecuador,” added the president, a 66-year-old former banker.
In the morning, the president suspended the negotiations that the Executive started on Monday with the head of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), Leonidas Iza, which promotes the demonstrations for an indefinite period.
Lasso made the decision after a soldier died and 12 other soldiers were wounded in an attack by protesters against soldiers in the Amazon. In a speech, the head of state pointed out that Iza defends only “his political interests” and emphasized that “we are not going to negotiate with those who hold Ecuador hostage.”
The Conaie accused him in turn of “authoritarianism, lack of will and inability” and said that he will have to answer for “the consequences of his warmongering policy.”
The secretary of the OAS, Luis Almagro, stated on Twitter that the “protest must be peaceful and democratic (…) Violent destabilization of a democratic government is always reprehensible.”
no negotiations
A first face-to-face meeting between Conaie and a delegation from the Executive, headed by the Minister of Government, Francisco Jiménez, took place for more than six hours on Monday in an attempt to defuse the crisis. But the second day of talks collapsed on Tuesday when the official representation did not appear in response to the attack.
“You deserve more than an opportunist as a leader (…) It is a criminal act to play with the lives of innocents. The country has witnessed all the efforts we have made to engage in a fruitful and sincere dialogue,” said Lasso, who took office a year ago.
The head of Conaie acknowledged that the negotiation is at a “stalemate” but was open to continuing the dialogue.
“Why go back if enough progress has already been made?” he said. He asked the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference to intercede in the crisis on behalf of Pope Francis, who on Sunday called for “dialogue” and “social peace.”
Jiménez replied on Twitter: “There are no conditions for dialogue when violence continues to be promoted.”
After the suspension of the negotiations in the Basilica of the National Vote in Quito, hundreds of indigenous people returned to the fray in Quito. In groups they mobilized through the streets and as they passed the shops closed.
“irrationality”
At night, demonstrators clashed with the public force in the north of the capital, setting fire to two police stations. “The irrationality and lack of reasonableness in the protest is not understood. Ecuador needs Peace,” Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said on Twitter.
The high cost of living fueled by the increase in fuel prices pushed thousands of protesters out of their communities since June 13, most of them in Quito. They demand measures that cushion the economic blow to agricultural production.
With festive marches, roadblocks and violent confrontations with the security forces, the indigenous people put pressure on the unpopular Lasso, who has a 17% acceptance rate but has military support.
The ruler has issued compensation, which the natives consider insufficient. He reduced fuel prices, although not in the proportion requested by Conaie; he granted a debt moratorium of up to 3,000 dollars for peasants and lifted the state of emergency, under which the military left the barracks in six of the country’s 24 provinces and a curfew was imposed in Quito.
Ecuador’s indigenous movement participated in revolts that toppled three rulers between 1997 and 2005. The dollarized Ecuadorian economy, which was beginning to recover from the effects of the pandemic, loses some 50 million dollars a day due to the crisis, according to official figures.
The protests leave a total of six dead (including five demonstrators), more than 600 injured (including agents and civilians) and about 150 detainees, according to various sources. Worn out by the crisis and shortages of some products, Quito is also the scene of counter-protests led by the upper middle class.
AFP
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