A large group of former heads of state from Latin America and Spain, gathered in the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA), signed a letter this Saturday in which they assure that the demonstrations in Ecuador, coordinated by a group of indigenous associations and other social sectors, is an attempt to “destabilize constitutional institutions and the rule of law”, but they recalled “the right to discrepancy, criticism and protest” as inherent elements of the democratic system. “Even more, in the case of the social sectors that have been marginalized from the benefits of progress, as in the case of the Latin American indigenous people.”
In Ecuador, however, the former IDEA presidents and heads of state indicated, “Unfortunately, the widespread use of violence has at times undermined the democratic order and has led to legitimate and democratically constituted governments being arbitrarily replaced.”
among the signatories to the letter there is the former Uruguayan president, Luis Lacalle Herrera; the Spaniard José María Aznar; the Costa Rican Óscar Árias; the Argentine Mauricio Macri and the Colombian Álvaro Uribe, among dozens of others from the entire Ibero-American region.
Lasso walks the ledge
The Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lasso, is now in the eye of the storm because of the way he has approached the demonstrations, since the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) has affirmed on several occasions that there is little interest in dialogue from the government, although the speech has been another.
Since Friday, the Ecuadorian Congress has been debating the possible impeachment of President Lasso, after 13 days of protests that have left dozens injured and even dead. If the process is approved, there is a possibility that he will be removed from office.
Meanwhile, CONAIE and its adherents continue “standing up for the fight” and they assure that they will not leave Quito “without a response” to their requests, according to statements by the vice president of the Confederation of Peoples of the Kichwa Nationality of Ecuador (Ecuarunari), Nayra Chalán, one of the spokespersons for the indigenous movement.
