Wrapped in his eternal red poncho, Leonidas Iza is the face of the massive mobilization that has cornered Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso for almost two weeks.

Inflexible and charismatic, the indigenous leader impressed with his fiery speeches which galvanized the demonstrators, nearly 14,000 men and women, spears and clubs in hand, determined to bring down the Conservative government.

Either the Head of State agrees to implement the measures demanded by the indigenous movement to reduce the cost of living, or he and his people will remain in Quito, a city that has been semi-paralyzed for more than ten days.

"If the President of the Republic responds to our demands, we will leave the same day", promised Leonidas Iza on June 13, at the start of the demonstrations.

Otherwise, "we will continue the movement for an unlimited period".

Stubborn and obstinate, the activist is accused by the government of being an "anarchist", but the indigenous peoples see in him a faithful defender of their causes.  

"Indo-American Communism"

The indigenous leader rose to public prominence in 2019 during major anti-austerity protests in Ecuador.

Alongside Jaime Vargas Vargas, another indigenous politician, Leonidas Iza led a protest movement in October against then-President Lenin Moreno's decision to end fuel subsidies.

Its role in the 2019 protests is proving essential.

This “black October” – as the middle and upper classes of Quito call it – is told by Leonidas Iza himself in a book he co-wrote, “Estallido” (“brilliance”).

The book is an anti-capitalist plea advocating an "Indo-American communism".

His references are Dolores Cacuango and Transito Amaguaña, pioneers in the struggle for indigenous rights in the middle of the 20th century.

He also willingly quotes the great thinkers of the Latin American left such as Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan writer and journalist, author of "Open Veins of Latin America", an indictment against the exploitation of the subcontinent since the arrival of the first settlers. Spaniards.

Humble origins and militancy

Born in 1982 in the community of San Ignacio, in the province of Cotopaxi, Leonidas Iza, 39, is a Kichwa of the Panzaleo people, originally from the heart of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Coming from a modest family, he is the only one of eight siblings to study at university, where he takes courses in agronomy.

As a teenager, he became involved in the movement for the rights of indigenous people.

A natural rebelliousness which he inherited.

"My mother, Rosa Elvira [Salazar], had a rebellious spirit," he said in an interview.

"She was always in the community actions, in the mobilizations."

As for her father, he says he passed on "ironclad honesty" to her.

Activism is the driving force behind Leonidas Iza, whose wife is a teacher at a community school.

He was a long time member of organizations and associations linked to the Catholic Church, before leading the Union of Peasant Organizations of North Cotopaxi (Unocan). 

At the head of the Indigenous and Peasant Movement of Cotopaxi (Micc), he is a candidate in 2021, with two other Kichwas, for the presidency of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), spearhead of the demonstrations and the largest organization of indigenous peoples. from the country.

"Campaign Defender"

After the protests of 2019, his name is mentioned as a possible candidate of the Pachakutik indigenous party for the presidency of Ecuador.

The 2021 presidential candidate will ultimately be Yaku Pérez, who came third in the first round with 19.39% of the vote, and narrowly eliminated by candidate Lasso (19.74%).

The powerful Ecuadorian indigenous movement, which represents one million of the country's 17.7 million inhabitants, has thus come close to power, no doubt contributing to the political frustration of the country's indigenous people.

In a recent interview with AFP, Leonidas Iza, who poses as a "defender of the countryside", says that "they [the government] are breaking the farmers" and proposes to reduce oil projects to make 'Ecuador an agricultural powerhouse.

>> To see and read on France 24: Ecuador: a "Toxic Tour" to raise awareness of the damage caused by the oil company Chevron

The indigenous leader and his supporters are now calling for the reduction of fuel prices, the renegotiation of bank loans granted to farmers or even the control of the prices of agricultural products.

But, beyond these demands for a reduction in the cost of living for rural communities hard hit by inflation, Leonidas Iza wants to restore to indigenous peoples the power of times past, when, through their popular uprisings, they overthrew presidents.

Between 1997 and 2005, three Ecuadorian heads of state were forced to resign under pressure from indigenous organizations.

With AFP

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