INDIGENOUS PROTESTS FIZZLE IN ECUADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000849

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/09/28
TAGS: PGOV EC
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS PROTESTS FIZZLE IN ECUADOR

CLASSIFIED BY: Andrew Chritton, Charge d' Affaires, a.i., State,
EXEC; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Confederation of Indigenous People of
Ecuador (CONAIE) called for a strike and road closures beginning
September 27 in protest of the Government of Ecuador's proposed Law
on Water and other laws, old and new, dealing with natural
resources. The protests were supposed to begin at midnight, and
run "indefinitely." The teacher's union (UNE),already protesting
the Law on Higher Education, had promised to support the indigenous
groups. The GOE's ministers and police officials are out in force
stating that they will not permit road closures or the interruption
of public services, both of which are prohibited under the
constitution. Although some roads were closed temporarily, the
majority of the country remains unaffected by either group's
activities. There are no reports of violent confrontations between
the indigenous groups and the police. President Rafael Correa has
already declared CONAIE's attempted mobilization "a complete
failure," and the protests appear to be fizzling out. End
Summary.




2. (U) CONAIE, the largest umbrella organization representing
Ecuador's indigenous community, called for nation-wide protests and
road blockages to begin at midnight, September 27, to oppose the
GOE's proposal on the Law on Water, which is currently being
debated in the National Assembly. However, other organizations
that represent indigenous groups decided not to take part in the
strikes. CONAIE supporters were able to block some roads
temporarily on the night of September 27-28, but police have since
cleared the highways and traffic is running unimpeded in most of
the nation. The roads from the eastern provinces and commercial
centers in Guayaquil to the Sierra remained clear. The Panamerican
highway heading south from Quito was cleared by 9am. Some roads
from the southern province of Canar into the city of Cuenca were
temporarily blocked, so buses had to find alternate routes, but
traffic on those roads is now unimpeded. As of 3pm on September
28, the only road that remained closed intermittently was the
Panamerican Highway north of Quito, along the border between
Pichincha and Imbabura provinces, near the town of Cajas. One TV
report said that it was possible that as many as 10,000 protesters
were near Cajas, but the information remains unconfirmed.




3. (U) According to news reports and the Ecuadorian National
Police, the authorities have been able to move the small barricades
with little opposition. As the police move in, the demonstrators
move out. In a few places, the demonstrators have tried to
re-barricade roads after they have been re-opened, only to have the
police return to clear the streets. There are no reports of
violent confrontations between the authorities and the protestors
at this time. CONAIE is reportedly saying that its supporters come
from remote areas and have not yet been able to travel to the
protest sites, and that more protesters will be in place in the
coming days. Meanwhile, UNE, the teachers union, is reporting that
its members will join CONAIE's activities in the coming days.




4. (C) CONAIE claims that the proposed Water Law would allow for
the "privatization" of water, while the indigenous communities are
demanding assurances that water resources will belong only to the
community and the people. An American engineer who has long
worked in Ecuador on potable water projects in poor areas told us
the central government had no idea of the back-breaking toil that
goes into constructing potable water projects and the deep
commitment of local indigenous communities to managing them. He
faulted the government for failure to provide an opportunity for
dialogue on the issue.




5. (SBU) President Correa, his ministers, and the drafters of the
proposed Law flatly deny that there is any way water resources
would fall into private hands under the proposed legislation. In a
television interview on September 28, Minister of Government and
Police Gustavo Jalkh said the constitution clearly states that
water is a human right, and cannot fall into private hands. The
new Law, said Jalkh, would of course be in line with the
constitution. CONAIE, meanwhile, says the GOE won't enter into
dialogue (they demand to speak with Correa, not with
intermediaries) and is also unhappy with other proposed laws that
cover natural resources.


6. (U) Meanwhile, the GOE is consistent in all statements
regarding all protests: laws permit peaceful protests, but forbid
road closures or the interruption of public services. Jalkh told
TV stations this morning during a round of interviews that "they
have the right to protest, but cannot infringe on the rights of
others to go to school and get to work." Police are acting
accordingly and attempting to clear the roads as soon as they can
get to the barricades.



Comment

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7. (SBU) CONAIE is reportedly not as strong organizationally as it
was 10 years ago, when similar mobilizations paralyzed the country.
Lacking the support of other indigenous organizations, who are
calling for dialogue with the government, it does not seem to be
able to generate the enthusiasm among the base that would put tens
of thousands of supporters behind barricades on the highways. The
National Director of the Federation of Evangelical Indigenous
People of Ecuador (FEINE),for example, told Poloff on September
25 that his organization wanted to work with the National Assembly
and GOE to refine the law, and saw no reason to join CONAIE's
protest at this time. Some commentators are saying that this effort
is a true test of CONAIE's strength; a decided failure will show
that the organization is weak and unable to influence the GOE
politically, while a success against Correa's government could
rejuvenate the organization. At the moment, it appears that CONAIE
is not able to mobilize enough support to achieve its goals.
Meanwhile, the government is standing fast in pointing out what it
sees as CONAIE's failure to read the law, and the need to keep the
roads clear.
CHRITTON