Kevin Koenig of Amazon Watch writes from Ecuador (via Rainforest Action Network):
The country is about to burst at the seams. There have been provincial strikes and road blocks since i got here. Although they subsided over the weekend, they’re gaining strength again, and the repression has been brutal.
There is now a state of emergency called in five provinces, with more to come tomorrow. The two demands of CONAIE, the national indigenous group, which is finally starting to be joined by other social sectors and universities, are: NO to the signing of the TLC, spanish acronym for the Andean Trade Pact, and the nullification of OXY’s contract and essentially the expropriation of their operations.
Never in my wildest dreams would i ever have thought that OXY would become the focal point of an entire nation, and it now looks like it has become such a flashpoint for the GoE that any offers by OXY to re-negotiate its contract or offer Ecuador more money are moot. I don’t think this government will survive without kicking OXY out.
The grassroots radio stations are calling on the forajidos, the loose knit community neighborhood groups responsible for the ousting of Gutierrez last April, to auto-convocarse (self mobilize and autonomous actions) to the streets in protests neighborhood by neighborhood, because large marches are now prohibited by the state of emergency, and they’ve been getting crushed by the military and police.
Link (thanks, Brant) Here’s a related NYT story: Link to “Ecuador’s President Declares a State of Emergency,” by Juan Forero.
Image: “An indigenous Ecuadorean woman walks in her community of San Miguel del Prado, north of Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, March 22, 2006. Thousands of police and soldiers were deployed to clear blocked highways Wednesday after President Alfredo Palacio’s government declared a state of emergency in four provinces to curb protests against a proposed free-trade deal with Washington. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa R.)”. Full-size photo here, here’s another, and another.