Ecuador: 250,000 march against corruption

On January 26, up to 250,000 Ecuadorians marched in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. Their demands included an end to rampant corruption and crime, improved health and sanitation services, and the reinstatement of the Supreme Court, which was unceremoniously sacked on December 8 by a narrow majority of the Ecuadorian Congress.

The dismissal of the Supreme Court, a majority of whose presiding judges were affiliated to the opposition Social-Christian Party (PSC), was precipitated by Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez accusing it of favouring a PSC-led impeachment attempt against him last November.

Gutierrez has been under mounting pressure over the last year, as his ruling alliance has been unravelling and he has been under pressure from allegations of his involvement with drug-money and misuse of public funds resurfacing. The action against the Supreme Court is widely viewed as an unconstitutional power grab.

Indigenous uprising paralyses Ecuador

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).

About

Occasional articles and political comment by Duroyan Fertl - political analyst and former Political Advisor for Sinn Féin and GUE/NGL (the Left in the European Parliament).

All articles are by myself, unless otherwise stated. All opinions are my own and should not be taken to reflect the views of any employer, past or present.

To contact me, please email: duroyan [at] gmail.com.