Development: On 10 August Ecuador’s main indigenous organisation, Conaie, announced a nationwide “uprising” against the government led by President Rafael Correa.
Significance: Uprisings by Ecuador’s indigenous have toppled governments in the past. President Correa is more popular than his predecessors who suffered this fate and his strategy of divide and conquer has successfully emasculated the indigenous movement, but his approval rating has fallen in recent months as falling international oil prices begin to bite and an unpopular inheritance tax reform has spawned protests. Correa has been dismissive of the Conaie march which departed from the southernmost province of Zamora Chinchipe on 2 August and is due to arrive in Quito tomorrow (12 August) ahead of a general strike being staged the following day by the umbrella trade union Frente Unitario de Trabajadores (FUT). But Correa remains wary and has urged supporters of the ruling Alianza País (AP) to gather to express their backing for his ‘Citizens’ Revolution’.
- The president of Conaie, Jorge Herrera, addressing marchers from Latacunga, the provincial capital of Cotopaxi province, drew up a list of 10 demands, including archiving a constitutional reform project that would allow indefinite re-election; annulling the ‘water law’ governing access to water and responsible management of water resources; providing free university education; ending negotiations with the European Union (EU) on a free trade agreement; and terminating large-scale mining activities.
- Writing on Facebook, Correa said that this would be “a crucial week for the country”, pitting the country’s past of strikes and protests against the future of unity and progress offered by the ‘Citizens’ Revolution’. Correa accused Conaie of serving “the destabilising interests of right-wing groups”, something Conaie vehemently denies, denouncing Correa for stigmatising legitimate protests. So far AP supporters have provided the greatest disruption, filling a square in Latacunga where the indigenous marchers had intended to convene, and forcing them to find an alternative venue. Conaie denounced on Facebook “an enormous and disproportionate presence of anti-riot police”.
Looking Ahead: Conaie insists it will not leave Quito “empty-handed”. But Correa is in no mood to negotiate. He said the march would be “a massive failure” and ruled out dealing with “the indigenous elite”.
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