CONAIE leader, Leonidas Iza, giving his speech during the talks with the Ecuadorian government. Photo: CONAIE.
Last Friday, February 24, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) decided to break up the dialogue with the government of President Guillermo Lasso. The decision was made due to the fact that the government breached agreements signed in October 2022, the organization pointed out.
The organization’s leader, Leonidas Iza, remarked: “We break up this dialogue process and we withdraw from these follow-up tables, holding the national government responsible, which has been the one that has not complied [with the agreements] at the dialogue tables.”
The main indigenous organization in the country urged the National Assembly to promote a political trial against Lasso, due to the investigation undertaken by a multi-party commission which analyzed the alleged cases of corruption in the government.
Likewise, the indigenous representative said that the Ecuadorian people will not allow a dictatorship, as Iza remarked: “We declare ourselves on alert with respect to any dictatorial act or decision taken by the President of the Republic Guillermo Lasso. We will not allow him to dissolve state functions and rule by decree. If any initiative of any kind happens, we will immediately declare a national strike in Ecuador.”
In October of last year, CONAIE and the Ecuadorian government had agreed to peace, and with that they put an end to the protests that kept the country ablaze; at the time, at least six people died and some 600 were injured.
The Government and CONAIE closed negotiations in October, which they had entered into as part of a so-called act of peace that put an end to the June demonstrations, albeit without reaching an agreement on fuel prices, the most critical issue in the talks.
The indigenous movements accused Lasso’s government of applying neoliberal policies that impoverish the population and enrich the traditional oligarchy, and at present they claim that the government is still doing the same. Likewise, they have announced that they will continue fighting against mining, and reaffirmed their struggle for their ancestral claims.
(RedRadioVE) by Dubraska Esteves, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/DD
