Indigenous-led uprising challenges FTA, U.S. domination

Ecuadorian Indigenous organizations are in the leadership of the most recent uprising in that country, which began on March 13. Tired of being lied to, exploited and excluded, they have taken on the courageous road of challenging the Free Trade Agreement that is secretly, behind closed doors, being negotiated with the United States by President Alfredo Palacios.

The treaty with the U.S., already signed by Colombia and Peru, is scheduled to be finalized on March 23 in Washington, D.C.—but not with the acquiescence of the Ecuadorian masses.

Their demands also include the termination of the government’s contract with U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum, rejection of Ecuador’s participation in Plan Colombia, the ousting of U.S. troops from Manta military base and the convening of a Constitutional Assembly.
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The police have used brutal force to prevent demonstrators from reaching the government palace and the cathedral in the capital, Quito. On March 20, in response to the government’s failure to respond to their demands while escalating repression, CONAIE renewed the actions and started a general Indigenous uprising, calling for broadening it into a national peasant and popular uprising. Their slogan is “shuk shunkulla” (one heart), “shuk makilla” (one fist), “shuk shimilla” (one voice).