( Spanish) — After a twelve-hour meeting of the Expanded Council of leaders and grassroots structures of the indigenous movement at the Casa de la Cultura in Quito, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), Leonidas Iza, announced this Friday that they have decided break the dialogue with the government of Guillermo Lasso and withdraw its delegates from the follow-up tables of the agreements reached last year after the day of protests in Ecuador.
According to Iza, the government has not had the “political will” to comply with the agreements and for that reason, it reported that the indigenous bases will remain mobilized.
“We declare ourselves in mobilization and permanent assembly and we radicalize the struggle in the territories in defense of our historical demands as peoples and nationalities,” Iza said.
In addition, the president of CONAIE asked President Lasso to resign from his post, considering that the investigation undertaken by the Prosecutor’s Office of an alleged structure of corruption in public companies tarnishes his government.
“We demand that President Guillermo Lasso, for the dignity of our country, for his inability to govern and solve the most heartfelt problems of Ecuadorians, present his resignation to the country and step aside,” said Iza.
The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), Leonidas Iza, speaks to the press during the first meeting of the indigenous guard in charge of protecting native territories from the exploitation of resources, in Sinangoe, Ecuador, on 10 September 2022. (Photo by RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images)
The indigenous leader urged the Assembly to process the mechanisms for a political trial against the president of Ecuador and announced that the movement will remain alert to any decision that the president may take to dissolve the Assembly or govern by decree.
“If any initiative of any kind happens, we will immediately declare the uprising and the national strike,” he warned.
President Guillermo Lasso, who met with his security cabinet this Friday, has not commented on his official accounts so far, however, through a press release, the Minister of Government, Henry Cucalón, indicated that the The National Government rejects the statements of certain leaders who “instead of tending to a debate of ideas, as is a deliberative dialogue, typical of democracy, have opted to abruptly withdraw from the dialogue tables.”
The statement also pointed out that the assertions that have been made regarding the agreements are imprecise and that the opposition can never be an alternative to reason.
