🔄 Click here to see the latest updates
12 posts
12 hours ago
Guillermo Lasso explains why he cannot increase the fuel subsidy
By Ana Maria Cañizares, Marlon Sorto
Demonstrations against the violence in Quito, on June 25.
Credit: MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images
The president of Ecuador, in an interview with CNN en Español, spoke about the price of fuel and the subsidy in the country:
“It cannot be that today he simply has to attend to the whim of an anarchist who wants the subsidy to be not 3,000 but 4,000, where at the end of the day, he [Leonidas Iza] is a defender of the rich, not of the poor, because the subsidies should be for the poor, not for the rich, and the one who consumes fuel is because he has a car or because he has a production unit and therefore he is not poor, he is a person who can get ahead based on his work, despite that, given that this has an indirect impact on fuel prices, I decided to freeze them in October, but I cannot increase the subsidy, which to put in relative terms is equivalent to just over 10 percent of the state budget" .
13 hours ago
Lasso on the indigenous vote: "obviously I have to intensify that contact with them"
By Ana Maria Cañizares, Marlon Sorto
Mr. Iza was with Correa's candidate, but the indigenous bases were with me and supported my candidacy and I have been in contact with them, but obviously I have to intensify that contact with them to consolidate this relationship that we have had and be able to respond to projects that They are fundamental: drinking water, irrigation water, health care, in rural areas, schools in rural areas,” said Guillermo Lasso in an exclusive interview with CNN en Español.
The president delved into what he considers the need for a vision of rural development:
“In the first year of the Government we have reopened 100 rural schools out of a total of 5,000 that Correa closed, we are reopening them in compliance with our campaign offer, but we also have to work on connectivity in the countryside, we also have to work on health, as I have said, in education and security also in the countryside, and with this approach, which I recognize, and not now, I recognized it a long time ago, the need for a vision of rural and peasant development in Ecuador, without leave the city."
Regarding the "great challenge" of agricultural development, Lasso said:
"A large number of the Ecuadorian population that lives in rural and peasant areas also require attention, and that they have not been attended to and I have to admit with absolute seriousness that this is so, and that the protest in that sense, peaceful of course, that demands attention to the rural and peasant sector is legitimate, and my government faces a very big challenge: support the agricultural development of Ecuador, support the development of a large number of Ecuadorians who have been excluded during the last 40 years and that challenge let's accomplish".
13 hours ago
The Conaie and social organizations say that they have not reached any dialogue
By Luis Quintana
In a video published on social networks, the president of Conaie, Leonidas Iza, and other leaders of social organizations said that they did accept the approach of the National Assembly and its president, Virgilio Saquicela, but that it is not a formal dialogue or that it involves to some kind of agreement.
This is the message released on Saturday night:
#ATTENTION
CONAIE and social organizations make a statement on the 13th day of #ParoNacional2022Ec.https://t.co/qxHkVKEmCs#ParoNacionalEc#ecuador#quito
– CONAIE (@CONAIE_Ecuador) June 26, 2022
13 hours ago
"Here is an anarchist who only has a personal, political agenda," says Guillermo Lasso about Leonidas Iza
By Ana Maria Cañizares, Marlon Sorto
In an exclusive interview with CNN en Español, the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, referred to Leonidas Iza, president of Conaie, one of the leaders of the protest against his government.
"Deceiving nearly 35,000 indigenous people who are mobilized to the city of Quito, it opens the door for the infiltrators to carry out acts of terrorism such as trying to burn down the Prosecutor's Office, it opens the door for many violent people, with other types of interests , with the interest of generating terror, use it to attack many innocent citizens, like Mr. Iza deceiving 35,000 indigenous people, saying that he fights for them, when he fights only for his political interest, of course, he obviously generates terror”, he said.
"I tell Ecuadorians and the world, let's open our eyes, because here there is no social fighter, here there is an anarchist who only has a personal, political agenda, and who wants to overthrow a legally constituted government, abusing the indigenous sector" Lasso said.
13 hours ago
The National Assembly of Ecuador continues the plenary session
The National Assembly of Ecuador continues in session 782 to resolve a request for the removal of the president.
The legislative plenary session began at 6:00 pm local time.
and is approaching four hours of debate.
16 hours ago
The president of Ecuador confirms to CNN that he has repealed the State of Exception
By Ana Maria Cañizares, Marlon Sorto
Lasso lifts the State of Exception in Ecuador 0:45
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, said this Saturday in an exclusive interview with CNN en Español that he repealed the State of Exception that was in force in six provinces of the country where protests against his administration were registered.
"Today has been a normal day, as it was yesterday Friday with all the return to their communities of the indigenous sector that responded to our request and today in the afternoon I have repealed the state of exception, so that everyone who is concerned has the peace of mind of that this is a democratic government, that once we have regained peace, it repeals the State of Exception," said the president.
"If these attempts at anarchy and violence return tomorrow, then we will once again decree the State of Exception, but we have not done so for no other purpose than to maintain the peace and tranquility of Ecuadorians," he added.
17 hours ago
What is Conaie and what are its 10 claims in Ecuador?
By German Padinger
Leonidas Iza, president of Conaie.
Credit: RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images
Founded in 1986, Conaie is an indigenous organization made up of "indigenous nationalities, peoples, communities, centers and associations of Ecuador" and is the "result of continuous struggle," according to its website.
In total, 53 organizations, 18 peoples and 15 indigenous nationalities of Ecuador are part of Conaie, which is divided into three regional units: the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confeniae), the Confederation of Peoples of the Kichwa Nationality of the Ecuador (Ecuarunari) and the Confederation of Nationalities and Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Coast (Conaice).
The Conaie was created in a congress of the National Council for the Coordination of Indigenous Nationalities (Conacnie), organized in 1980, and among its main objectives are:
Consolidate the indigenous peoples and nationalities of the country
Fight for the defense of lands, indigenous territories and natural resources
Strengthen intercultural bilingual education
Fight against colonialism and neocolonialism
Achieve equality and justice for indigenous peoples and nationalities
who are their leaders
The current president of Conaie is Leonidas Iza, an environmental engineer and indigenous leader of the Kichwa nationality who had already been the face of the 2019 protests. Iza was arrested and prosecuted last week for alleged crimes in his role in the current mobilizations. — accusations he has denied — and then released.
The vice president of Conaie is Zenaida Yasacama, of the Amazonian Kichwa nationality.
KEEP LOOKING HERE.
17 hours ago
Representatives of the Government and indigenous organizations hold their first meeting in search of dialogue, reports the National Assembly
By Marlon Sorto
Credit: RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images
Representatives of the Government and indigenous organizations held a first meeting in search of dialogue this Saturday in Quito, the National Assembly of Ecuador reported in a statement.
According to the statement, "this first approach was attended by the presidents of CONAIE, FEINE and other organizations representing the indigenous movement. The Executive was attended by the Minister of Government, Francisco JimĂ©nez; the Foreign Minister, Juan Carlos HolguĂn and the Secretary of the Public Administration. The presidents of the National Electoral Council and the Transparency Function also participated."
It was added that: "at the meeting it was proposed to form a technical table with delegates from the indigenous movement and the Government to start the dialogue process and analyze each of the proposals, to which the president of CONAIE indicated that in order to make a decision You must first consult with the grassroots of the organizations."
The statement also explained that "the government delegates showed their agreement with the integration of the dialogue table, while the presidents of the other functions of the State would act as guarantors."
18 hours ago
This is what the center of Quito looks like on day 13 of the protests
By Ana Maria Canizares
This is the atmosphere in the center of the Ecuadorian capital this Saturday afternoon.
https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/WhatsApp-Video-2022-06-25-at-3.56.24-PM.mp4
18 hours ago
National Assembly of Ecuador will meet to resolve a request for the removal of the president
By Ana MarĂa Cañizares, Luis Quintana, Kiarinna Parisi
Virgilio Saquicela, president of the National Assembly of Ecuador, summoned the assembly members this Saturday, June 25, at 6:00 pm (local time) to "know and decide on the removal of the constitutional president of the Republic," according to what he told meet the general secretariat on Friday afternoon.
This occurs “based on the request of at least a third of the members of the National Assembly”, a request formally made on June 24.
For a possible dismissal, the Assembly would need a total of 91 votes, which means a qualified majority.
This Tuesday in an interview with CNN, Sequicela dismissed the possibility of reaching the request for the removal of the first national president.
"The conditions do not exist and we from the legislature, at least I as president, would not do it," assured the president of the Assembly.
18 hours ago
Who is Leonidas Iza, the indigenous leader leading the protests?
By German Padinger
Leonidas Iza photographed in the province of Cotopaxi on June 24, 2022. Credit: RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images
Leonidas Iza is the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie).
He was born in 1982 in the San Ignacio community, in Cotopaxi, and is the son of the historic indigenous leader JosĂ© MarĂa Iza Viracocha, who participated in the protests in the early 1990s, according to the Efe news agency.
Those mobilizations, also known as the Inti Raymi Uprising, took place during the government of President Rodrigo Borja and included the taking of the Santo Domingo church in Quito.
They were also the first great demonstrations of Conaie, founded in 1986.
Iza studied environmental engineering at the Technical University of Cotopaxi, and before becoming leader of Conaie she was president of the Indigenous and Peasant Movement of Cotopaxi (MICC).
His ideas are linked to mariateguism, derived from the work of the Peruvian thinker José Carlos Mariátegui and who links Marxism with indigenism.
According to the Conaie website, Iza is a member of the Kichwa nationality and is part of the Panzaleo people.
The Kichwa, named for the language also known as Quechua, are based in the highlands of Ecuador, and the Panzaleo people make their home in the province of Cotopaxi, one of the centers of the current protests.
KEEP READING HERE.
19 hours ago
Guillermo Lasso: The real intention of Mr. Iza is the overthrow of the Government
By Ana Maria Cañizares, Luis Quintana
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, addressed the country on Friday afternoon with a message aimed at "recovering peace for Ecuador."
The president spoke about Leonidas Iza, president of Conaie, and said that "Mr. Iza's real intention is to overthrow the government," and that he "has no control over the demonstrations, or the criminality that his irresponsible actions have generated." .
Lasso assured that "it is proven that the true intention of the violent is to generate a coup" and called on the international community to "warn" the alleged attempt to "destabilize democracy" in the country.
