The indigenous protests in Ecuador end after an agreement with the Government

First modification: 07/01/2022 – 12:37

With Alice Campaignolle, our correspondent in Quito.

Outside the building of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, there were hundreds and hundreds of demonstrators gathered waiting for the result of the dialogue. An agreement was finally signed, but not so easily.

Leonidas Iza, the leader of CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), was seen to be very hesitant to put his signature on the document. But in the end, he accepted the set of proposals, among which a drop in the price of gasoline less than the required 40 cents.

“crumbs”

For some, it is a victory, like for Dany: “It has been an immense struggle, within the history of the longest strike that the indigenous movement has had, but always with results. However, we understand the economic situation in the country, you can’t take it anymore, the economy is already in recession,” he says.

For others, on the contrary, the disappointment is immense. Dolores has the feeling that she has obtained very little, for example, nothing at the moment about the non-privatization of state companies: “It’s a pain, it’s days! We are the peoples, we have to demand from the government, not the crumbs that he wants to give us! ”, She regrets.

Now is the time for all protesters, indigenous, workers or students, to return to normal life after 18 days of strikes and marches.

“It’s a win”

For Leonidas Iza, CONAIE leader interviewed by RFI, “it is a victory that has allowed us to sustain these 18 days, and that these can become concrete facts.”

Iza believes that much has been achieved in this negotiation, such as canceling overdue debts of up to 3,000 dollars for peasant families. On the other hand, “in terms of low prices for peasant products, here it has been possible to guarantee compensation mechanisms, credits of up to 5,000 dollars at 1% for up to 30 years. In addition to this, the price of urea for farmers has been lowered by 50%, ”he underlines.

They also requested the repeal of decree 95, on the oil issue, and of 151, on the mining issue: “Decree 95 has been repealed, and decree 151 has been reformed, in this case extending that mining cannot take place in water protection zones, in protected areas, in indigenous peoples’ territories, and in intangible zones”, emphasizes the indigenous leader. “Regarding respect for the collective rights of indigenous peoples, the bilingual intercultural education budget has been doubled,” he details.

According to him, the biggest concession that CONAIE had to make was on the issue of fuel, given that “our aspiration was 40 cents [de baja]and we’ve really had to give up 25 cents.”

“Suddenly if we don’t have concrete results already at the time of applying these decrees, we will surely return to the streets, but at this moment the movement is suspended,” concludes Leonidas Iza, affirming that these achievements will appease the social anger that has shaken Ecuador since almost three weeks ago.