More Pressure For Lasso: The Indigenous Movement Of Ecuador And Social Groups Demanded His Departure – S Chronicles

Leonidas Iza, leader of CONAIE (Portal/Cristina Vega)

This Friday, the indigenous movement of Ecuador and a group of organizations and social groups called for the “immediate departure” of President Guillermo Lasso, against whom the opposition opened an impeachment procedure in the National Assembly (Parliament).

At the end of this gathering of indigenous and social organizations, held at the Ecuadorian House of Culture in Quito, the President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) ratified his Impeachment Support against lassos.

The impeachment process was launched on Thursday by a group of members of the opposition assembly, mainly from the Correísmo and the right-wing Christian Social Party (PSC), but some parliamentarians from the Democratic Left (ID) and the indigenous movement also joined the initiative. Pachakutikpolitical arm of the Conaie.

The prosecution holds the President responsible for the alleged crimes concussion and embezzlement (embezzlement) in an alleged corruption scheme in public companies involving his brother-in-law, businessman Danilo Carrera, and allegedly to protect another implicated in this scheme from an anti-drug investigation.

The government described the impeachment request as: a attack on democracy and a new attempt at destabilization by the opposition.

The indictment document must first be reviewed by the Constitutional Court and, if found to be well-founded, leave the Assembly with an opposition majority to continue the proceedings.

In this sense, the Conaie and the other social organizations demanded that the Constitutional Court give the green light to the impeachment and that the Assembly proceed with it removal of the head of state.

For this, Iza announced sit-ins both in front of the seat of the highest guarantee court in Ecuador and in front of the parliament building.

The declaration of the organizations participating in this gathering ratified the ten demands that motivated them June 2022 protests, where almost the whole country was paralyzed for 18 days, in which 7 people died, including 6 protesters and a soldier, according to human rights organizations.

File picture of the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso (Portal / Mayela López)

Although it later conducted a process of dialogue with the government, which resulted in 218 agreements, the indigenous movement believes that several of them have not been fulfilled and has included new demands after this Friday’s gathering.

Among them the defense of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) against any privatization initiative and the Protection of public health and free access to medicines.

They also supported the defense of indigenous peoples’ and nationalities’ territories against the “extractive industry advance” and opposed the privatization of strategic sectors.

On the other hand, they expressed their support for the proposal to hold a national consultation on the issue oil production in Yasuni, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, whose promoters have been waiting for permits to carry out for ten years.

Iza also called out “against the migration phenomenon that is going through the country leaving entire communities abandoned, a product of the economic and social crisis of the neoliberal model introduced by the government of Guillermo Lasso”.

He also called for a political trial against the education authorities for children who do not have access to public education.

Finally, Iza and the rest of the delegates of the Ecuadorian social organizations spoke out against the project to raise the retirement age in France and expressed their solidarity “with the Palestinian people who suffer from a constant invasion of the Israeli Empire” and “with the Peruvian people, with its struggles in its territories.”

According to Iza, delegations from 81 social organizations, including indigenous and student associations, and other civil groups attended the gathering.

(With information from EFE)

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