WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
ISSUE #529, MARCH 19, 2000
<wnu@igc.org>
NEW PROTESTS PICK UP STEAM IN ECUADOR
Dozens of people took part in a "march of empty pots against
hunger and dollarization" on Mar. 15 in Quito, called by
Ecuadoran unions grouped in the Patriotic Front (FP).
Participants marched banging on pots and pans, and set up a soup
kitchen
for hungry people in the capital's main plaza to draw attention
to the
effects of the government's neoliberal economic policies. FP president
Luis
Villacis warned that the march was only the beginning of a series
of
protests against such policies, especially the plan to replace
Ecuador's
currency with the US dollar. Villacis said that a "grassroots
uprising"
will begin on Mar. 21, followed by neighborhood protests against
service
rate hikes on Mar. 23, demonstrations by teachers on Mar. 30,
and a
national general strike and other protests on as-yet undetermined
dates in
April. [Hoy (NY) 3/16/00 from EFE; El Telegrafo (Guayaquil) 3/16/00;
La
Hora (Quito) 3/16/00]
The Mar. 21 uprising is being organized by the Confederation of
Indigenous
Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Coordinating Committee
of Social
Movements (CMS). [ET 3/16/00] CONAIE indicated on Mar. 16 that
it is about
to break off its fragile dialogue with the government. Salvador
Quishpe,
president of Ecuarunari, one of the main member groups in CONAIE,
said that
one million signatures have already been collected on a petition
that would
force a referendum on the dollarization. [CNN en Espanol 3/16/00
with info
from Reuters]
The petition--sponsored by the National Parliament of Ecuadoran
People,
which includes CONAIE, CMS and other sectors--also deals with
questions
concerning an amnesty for military personnel who supported an
indigenous
uprising in January [see Update #521]; new elections for Congress
and the
replacement of Supreme Court judges; the unfreezing of bank accounts;
nonpayment of the foreign debt; a ban on privatizations in key
sectors; and
a ban
on foreign military bases, among other issues. [Copy of petition]
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Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15
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