From February 16, tens of thousands of Ecuadorians poured
into the nation's streets and highways in a 48-hour wave of protest,
paralysing much of the country. They demanded the resignation of the
president, Lucio Gutierrez, and called for an end to corruption and
military ties with the United States.
The protests began with up to 20,000 protesters blocking the streets
of the highland province of Cotopaxi, which contains a large proportion
of Ecuador's 4 million indigenous population, and extended the length of
the country, from the city of Loja in the south to the Colombian border
in the north.
In the Cotopaxi capital Latacunga, police used tear gas to disperse
crowds of thousands, and in Nabon at least four protesters were killed
and dozens injured when police used bullets to quell the demonstrations.
Throughout most of Ecuador's provinces, highways and roads were
blockaded and the economic life in these areas slowed to a trickle.
This wave of protests was initiated by the Confederation of
Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), in response to the
attempted assassination of its president, Leonidas Iza, earlier in
February. Iza was attacked outside his home on February 1 as he returned
from a meeting in Havana, Cuba, against the Free Trade Agreement of the
Americas (FTAA).
