Indigenous people in Ecuador: rebellion against the IMF

Every day it gets a little bit worse. Every day, the violence and anger of the people in Ecuador are rising against the rigid austerity measures of the government. On Saturday, large parts of the capital Quito resembled a civil war scene: barricades were burning, shop windows were breaking up. Rioters ravaged the Court of Auditors' building and attacked Teleamazonas TV station and the daily El Comercio. The security forces responded with tear gas. As it has been for days, there was thick dark smoke over Quito on Saturday. And masked protesters called into the cameras: "Fuera Moreno", "Get off, Moreno".

In the face of escalation, the controversial President Lenin Moreno was torn by patience. After ten days of rioting, he imposed a curfew and gathered military in the government district of the capital. "We will restore order throughout Ecuador," he said in a televised speech. According to Ombudsman Freddy Carrión, the violence of the past few days has cost at least five lives to the weekend and more than 500 have been injured. More than a thousand protesters were arrested. And relaxation is not in sight despite willingness to talk on both sides.

First it was truck drivers and transporters, then the Indians mobilized, and now students, trade unionists and supporters of former President Rafael Correa are also on the streets. The powerful indigenous association CONAIE announced late Saturday night to continue protesting despite the curfew.

It's about more than just gasoline prices

Ostensibly it is about the increase in gasoline prices. But the causes of the controversy in the South American country lie deeper and have expanded into a veritable state crisis. It is no longer just about unpleasant austerity measures of the heavily indebted state, displeasing the population, but about the head of Moreno. The protesters blame the 66-year-old for having handed over his land to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), thus driving the population into financial and social hardship.

CONAIE also accuses the head of state of treason. He was once elected as a Left Liberal, but in his more than two years in power he has become a right-wing neo-liberal who has put his fate into the hands of the IMF. But in many Latin American countries, including Ecuador, the IMF has a catastrophic reputation and is blamed on legitimate arguments for poverty, unemployment and recession. Similar conflicts like this have already cost several Ecuadorian presidents the office.

So it is uncertain now whether Moreno survives the storm of indignation in office. After all, the CONAIE agreed to talk to Moreno. The negotiations would have to be televised, the indigenous federation demanded. But the chances of success are low. The CONAIE calls for the reestablishment of fuel subsidies, but that's what the president has called non-negotiable. He stubbornly refuses to untangle the package he wants to save $ 1.4 billion a year.

Bienvenido Velasco / EPA-EFE / REX

Burning Barricades: Unclear if Moreno survives the storm of indignation in office

The "paquetazo", a package of austerity measures imposed by Moreno to meet IMF credit requirements, sparked protests on 3 October.

• For the $ 4.2 billion in IMF aid, the government must cut back on government spending. Moreno cut officials salaries by 20 percent and took half of their leave. In addition, the public servants have to pay the salary one day a month to the state treasury.

The harsh measures have already spoiled the mood in the country, but that Moreno the four-decade-old subsidies on the gasoline prices conceded, let the mood completely.

• The liter of gas rose overnight by subsidy removal in the dollarized country from 1.85 to 2.30 US dollars. The diesel price exploded from $ 1.08 to $ 2.27. As a result, the costs for local and long-distance transport and above all for goods transport also increased. And so, in consequence, the food became more expensive. Farmers complain that they now have to pay so much money for driving to the market that selling the goods is no longer worthwhile.

CONAIE boss Jaime Vargas made it clear days ago that the indigenous people, who make up about 30 percent of the population, will not give in: "That will only stop when the IMF from Ecuador has disappeared." As long as the road blockades and the occupation of public buildings and various regional governments should go on.

Former president fires protests from Belgium

Moreno is increasingly baffled by this. Responsible for the situation he makes the Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro and his own predecessor Correa, who ruled Ecuador between 2007 and 2017. They wanted to overthrow him, claims Moreno, who once served Correa as vice-president, but immediately left office after leaving office. From Belgium, where he lives with his wife, Correa fires the protests over and over again with tweets.

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Moreno claims his predecessor brought the country into financial distress because it increased government spending and increased subsidies, allowing foreign debt to rise dramatically. These now amount to 36 percent of the gross domestic product. Four years ago, it was only 20 percent.

In the coming days, it will decide whether Moreno manages to defuse the protests. At the moment, there is little that speaks for it. In addition, the security forces are always harder against the demonstrators. Moreno knows that three of his predecessors have not survived such protests. Abdalá Bucaram (1997), Jamil Mahuad (2000) and Lucio Gutiérrez (2005) had to flee after protests or were deposed by parliament. Almost always there was a conflict over government austerity measures.