INDIGENOUS FEDERATIONS FOCUSING ON ECONOMY

UNCLAS QUITO 001420 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EC SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS FEDERATIONS FOCUSING ON ECONOMY ¶1. Summary: In the second month following the ouster of ex-President Gutierrez, indigenous groups are biding their time on the political front and focusing on economic concerns. FEINE, representing Ecuador's evangelical indigenous, is waiting for the new government to stabilize and for earlier backlash over its alleged support of Gutierrez to subside. Leaders of CONAIE, Ecuador's largest indigenous organization, have been in contact with Minister of Economy Correa, but have not yet met with Palacio himself. They support Correa's social spending agenda and are wary of the Andean Free Trade Agreement (FTA),but appear willing to dialogue. End Summary. FEINE Avoiding Political Confrontation -------------- ¶2. In a June 14 meeting FEINE President Marco Murillo told PolOffs that until Palacio's government stabilizes, he is planning to avoid the political arena as much as possible. Murillo explained that because of FEINE's perceived support of Gutierrez, he is in a no-win situation. If he meets with members of Palacio's government he will be labeled an opportunist, but if he comes out against them he will be seen as resentful. As a compromise, he is doing neither. Since Gutierrez's ouster, CONAIE has taken back control of DINEIB, the bilingual education division of the Ministry of Education, but Murillo is not planning to fight CONAIE on that front. He is disillusioned with the way bilingual education has become completely politicized, saying that was not the original intention. At this juncture, there have been no efforts at dialogue between FEINE and CONAIE, but Murillo says that if necessary, he is willing to step down as FEINE president to allow for a more open discourse between the organizations, should CONAIE ask for dialogue. CONAIE Wary of USG Economic Policies -------------- ¶3. CONAIE VP Santiago de la Cruz, in a June 15 meeting with PolOffs, seemed convinced that Gutierrez would not return, despite much speculative media buzz on the issue. CONAIE seems content enough with the Palacio administration, especially new Minister of Economy Correa. They have met with him, and are in favor of his social spending agenda. De la Cruz wondered aloud why the USG is not in accord with Correa's policies, and said there was a general perception that the USG views indigenous movements as a serious threat. He is also afraid of the FTA being imposed on the people of Ecuador, without their opinions being taken into account. Despite this view, De la Cruz was open to hearing the USG position on the current political situation in Ecuador, and wanted more information on potential benefits of the FTA to Ecuador's indigenous. Comment -------------- ¶4. These meetings with leaders of CONAIE and FEINE reveal a divided indigenous movement caught in the same morass of chronic political instability as the rest of the nation. The indigenous organizations' current focus on economic issues, as opposed to political ones, has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, they are open and interested in dialoguing with the USG and learning more about the benefits of the FTA. The flip side of that is that both FEINE and CONAIE are skeptical of free trade, and CONAIE may try to use its new-found political space under the Palacio government, and possibly its contact with Econ Minister Correa, to fight the FTA. FEINE suggested, however, that the USG could win potentially useful indigenous goodwill through more development projects. Overall, we are pleased by both organizations' openness to dialogue and interest in USG views, and will continue to work with these contacts in the future. We will also provide information to them to counter common Ecuadorian misperceptions about free trade and what is sound economic policy. Kenney