Ecuador: Amerindian protest movement grows and arrives in Quito
A caravan of Native Americans arrives in the south of Quito to participate in the national mobilization against the Ecuadorian government, June 15, 2022. © VERONICA LOMBEIDA/AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The Native American protest movement announced Wednesday to continue its mobilization in Ecuador against the economic policy of the conservative government.
Hundreds of demonstrators were present in the center of Quito on Wednesday.
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Protesters have been denouncing for three days the rise in fuel prices, but also the lack of jobs and the granting of mining concessions in indigenous territories.
They demand a control of the prices of agricultural products and a renegotiation of the debts of the peasants with the banks.
Makeshift checkpoints and barricades have been erected on roads in at least eleven of the country's 24 provinces, partially cutting off access to the capital Quito.
La Conaie (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), the largest organization of indigenous peoples, welcomed
the release of its leader
, Leonidas Iza, arrested on Tuesday, tweeting: "
the mobilization continues
".
At midday, hundreds of demonstrators converged peacefully, in small groups, from the outskirts towards the historic center of the capital Quito, where the presidency is located, protected by the police.
Ingreso to Quito, el paro crece, the hope multiplied.
pic.twitter.com/gSYcXLMOCg
— La Poderosa Ecuador🔻 (@AsamPopulares) June 15, 2022
The presidency wants to “contain the violence”
“
We have the situation under control
,” Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo told reporters.
"
We can assure you that we will contain the violence with the progressive use (of force), but with the required firmness
", assured the presidency.
The army said ten soldiers were injured while preventing protesters from "
violently seizing
" an oil installation in the Amazon.
"
We are continuing the fight
", had launched a little earlier Leonidas Iza on Facebook during a broadcast organized by Conaie from the Andean city of Latacunga (south) where he was released by decision of a judge.
Leonidas Iza had been arrested for sabotage of public transport, an offense punishable by ten years in prison, but at the hearing the prosecution retained the charge of paralysis of a public service, punishable by three years in prison.
La Conaie had already led the
significant protests in 2019
, forcing then-president Lenin Moreno to abandon a plan to scrap fuel subsidies.
It also participated in the uprisings that overthrew three presidents between 1997 and 2005. Amerindian peoples make up at least one million of the 17.7 million Ecuadorians.
(With AFP)
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