The National Assembly granted 268 people the amnesty. It was almost four in the morning on March 10, 2022. And at dawn the questions began.
Pachakutik Legislators They embraced in the middle of the Nela Martínez Room. His colleagues from Conaie received forgiveness and the previous investigations against him were annulleddue to the protests of October 2019. The crimes ranged from terrorism to damage to the property of others.
The reactions were swift
“The National Assembly has forgotten Quito in flames”, said the Government adviser, Diego Ordoñez, at a press conference. The position of the Executive, according to Ordoñez, is to accept the decision despite questioning it as unfair. Carondelet’s spokesman sympathized with the people of Quito and with the forces of order.
Among those amnestied are people who were prosecuted for defend the rights of nature, human rights, for applying indigenous justice and those investigated for the damages committed in the October 2019 demonstrations against the elimination of the fuel subsidy.
Of this last group, there are visible heads such as Marlon Santi, Leonidas Iza, Jaime Vargas, Paola Pabón and Virgilio Hernández.
Four days before granting the amnesties, the Pachakutik Political Council. One of the resolutions was that the bloc should vote organic way to settle the internal problems of the party, which became the formation of the radical group calling itself the rebels”.
Another resolution was to hold to Guadalupe Llori in the attempt of the new parliamentary majority to evaluate her function, as President of the Legislature, with the option of dismissal.
Hours before the start of the Plenary Session on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, PK assembly members they made a public call to the other benches to approve the motion. His requests paid off. Seven hours later, with 99 votes in favor gave way to amnesties.
Political analyst Alfredo Espinosa believes that “they negotiated the head of Llori in the Assembly to exchange it for the impunity of the criminals”, and that approving something so decisive in the early morning hours “It is lethal for democracy.” Espinosa says that the National Assembly made a mistake by “confusing reconciliation with impunity”
At noon on March 10, 2022, the Ministry of Government issued an official statement on Twitter rejecting “the injustice and irresponsibility committed by the National Assembly, by granting amnesty to those who, through violent acts, usurped the tranquility of the Ecuadorian capital”
The Executive considers that the mobilization of October 2019 “had destabilizing political purposes”
Vivian Idrovo, a lawyer for the amnestied defenders, told LA HORA that “the government’s position does not surprise us and is related to the repression two days ago in the marches for the #8M”.
For her part, the CREO assemblywoman, Ana Belen Cordero, told this newspaper that the bloc’s position is that of reject those who voted in favor of impunity of acts of vandalism in the different cities of the country. Cordero assured that what happened in October 2019 it was not a peaceful marchwhich burned, on purpose, several files that were in the Comptroller and that the forces of order and journalists were outraged.
With this decision, accusations such as kidnapping, rebellion, instigation and illicit association.
Según el Banco Central del Ecuador, los daños y pérdidas a la infraestructura institucional causados en octubre 2019 ascienden a 39 millones de dólares
“Amnesties are not just for the innocent” said the assemblyman from Pachakutik Mario Ruiz when the request entered the Plenary.
“We express our total rejection of impunity and selective amnesia” It is the clear position of the Assemblywoman for CREO Ana Belén Cordero.
