#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #ITALY #ECUADOR #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) #Italy, GA galatea: #Ecuador: the national strike shows that the resistance to neoliberalism is strengthened (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has obtained

from the Ecuadorian government a small reduction in the price of fuel and a
promise to stop the development of new mining projects. Demonstrations broke out
in most of Ecuador's provinces on June 13 and continued on June 30, when the
government signed an agreement with CONAIE. ---- The Ecuadorian Episcopal
Conference acts as a mediator between the government and CONAIE. And he will
maintain this position with a technical table to monitor the implementation of
the agreement with the government. ---- However, the president of the Conaie,
Leonidas Iza Salazar, said that a failure to implement the agreements within 90
days of signing would lead to a new national mobilization in late September.

Demonstrations by the leaders of the indigenous organization begin on June 13,
2022. Quickly, civilian and student organizations joined the indigenous movement,
supporting the latter's demands. CONAIE has submitted to the government a list of
10 requests, including a freeze on diesel and petrol prices, a debt moratorium
and debt cancellation for small and medium-sized producers, fair prices for
products linked to the non-subscription of free trade treaties, the right to
unionize and respect for the rights of all workers, the end of the expansion of
the "mining frontier" and the extractive industry and the preservation of forests
and water, respect for 21 collective rights of indigenous peoples in Ecuador, and
the end of the privatization of "Ecuadorian heritage" such as hydroelectric dams,
highways, banks and the health system.
Other demands include: pricing policies that put an end to speculation on the
prices of food and other basic necessities, guarantee all Ecuadorians access to
higher education and an investment in school infrastructure (colleges and
universities) - as well as the education system is inclusive and intercultural -,
and the procurement of the health system in terms of medicines and hospital
staff. They also called for an end to the violence unleashed by drug trafficking
gangs and organized crime in Ecuador.

"It is important to underline that the struggle platform proposed by CONAIE
clearly has a national character, since it encompasses the heartfelt requests of
the entire Ecuadorian population", said Inti Cartuche V., Ecuadorian indigenous
researcher and activist Kichwa, in an analytical essay on the strike national and
published on Indymedia Argentina.

"These riots have touched one of the country's sore points, I mean colonialism
and the racism of the ruling classes."

The Ecuadorian government's initial response was repression, with the deployment
of riot police, tear gas and physical force. During the 18-day national strike,
at least 6 people died and up to 500 people were injured, according to BBC Mundo.
At the start of the national strike, the national police with military support
made CONAIE president Leonidas Iza Salazar disappear on June 14 for almost 15
hours. A judge has declared his legal detention and government prosecutors have
initiated criminal proceedings against him for his role in organizing the
demonstrations. In a complaint published on June 22, Conaie stressed that the
arrest of its president was "a clear example of criminalization and an attempt to
repress the exercise of the universal right to social protest embodied in the
leader of the Indigenous Movement".

Despite the signing of an agreement with CONAIE, the government continues the
legal process against Leonidas Iza Salazar. However, on July 4, the case against
him fell and he was released. The government must decide if it wants to try again
and if the Constitutional Court decides to proceed[against Iza Salazar].

The Ecuadorian government is headed by the new president Guillermo Lasso, who was
previously a banker. His right-wing coalition won the April 12, 2021 elections by
a small margin.

Despite the suspension of the national strike, the government has launched
another strategy to discredit CONAIE and its leadership. In a televised interview
with Argentine Infobae, the president of Ecuador accused the indigenous movement
of being supported and financed by drug traffickers, with the support of former
president Rafael Correa. So far, no concrete evidence has been brought to support
this claim. Furthermore, the control of organized crime and the power of drug
traffickers was one of the key demands of the national strike itself.

"As vice president of CONAIE, as a woman, we categorically reject Lasso
Guillermo's claims based on his total ignorance of Ecuador's peoples,
nationalities and history. We are predisposed to dialogue, but we will never stay
on our knees, "said Zenaida Yasacama, vice president of Conaie, who responded to
the interviews and on Twitter.

La Conaie denounced on Twitter: "The Ecuadorian state stigmatizes and
criminalizes indigenous guards, generating serious risks for their integrity and
that of those who provide technical support".

This entry was posted in Articles and tagged Ecuador: the national strike
demonstrates that the resistance to neoliberalism is strengthened. Mark the
permalink.

Original article: Ecuador: el paro nacional demuestra que la resistencia al
neoliberalismo se fortalece

https://gruppoanarchicogalatea.noblogs.org/post/2022/08/20/ecuador-la-sciopero-nazionale-dimostra-che-la-resistenza-al-neoliberismo-si-rafforza/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca