The natives of Ecuador are once again on the streets. And on the roads of the country, partially blocked since Monday, June 13. On Wednesday June 15, the head of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE), Leonidas Iza, who had been arrested the day before, was released. But CONAIE announced the continuation of the protest movement. “The detention of Mr. Iza united and intensified a mobilization that had started in a disorganized manner”, notes political scientist Sofia Cordero, of the Institute for Advanced National Studies.
The natives are protesting, among other things, against the high cost of living and the increase in the price of gasoline. Isolated incidents and scuffles with police marked the first three days of protests. Half a dozen police cars were burned and, in the west and south of the country, small oil wells were paralyzed by the protesters.
Collectives of students and workers joined the natives. On Wednesday, in Quito, trucks loaded with demonstrators entered via Pedro Vicente Maldonado Avenue. The southern exit from the capital was blocked by vehicles. The public transport service has been partially interrupted. The Ecuadorian football federation has announced the suspension of matches scheduled for this weekend.
An arrest that united the demonstrators
The October 2019 uprising is on everyone’s mind. It paralyzed the country for more than ten days and resulted in the death of 11 people – Leonidas Iza on this occasion imposed himself as a charismatic leader, more intransigent than others against the power in place. Eighteen months later, this agricultural engineer, originally from the province of Cotopaxi, was elected head of the indigenous organization. In the 1990s, CONAIE, at the height of its power, played a decisive role in the demonstrations that would overthrow three presidents. Repression and divisions then weakened CONAIE for several years.
“Mr. Iza is more ideological than his predecessors and his leadership is much more vertical, explains M.me Cordero. He is far from unanimous within CONAIE, but his arrest has united the indigenous community. » According to the government, Leonidas Iza was caught red-handed as he “Obstructed Pan-American Highway E35, where he directed and encouraged actions to escalate violence.”
In a video posted on Twitter after Mr. Iza’s arrest, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso said that “the intellectual and material authors of the offenses committed will have to answer for their acts before justice and the Ecuadorian people”. The detention of the indigenous leader was all the more surprising since, on Monday, the government minister, Francisco Jimenez, had downplayed the importance of the mobilization, considered “less important than expected”. Mr. Iza denounced having been the victim of a “political kidnapping”.
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