Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2002
update on Ecuador

Hi all,
a short update on the situation in Ecuador: 
Wednesday and Thursday there have been strikes (which
usually means blockades here) in different parts of
the country. In Quito itself the participation in the
actions have been quite low — there was a piquetero
with less than 30 people in front of the electricity
corporation the government want to privatise (which
was quit good) and a march with torches with about
2000 people on the 20. and yesterday a smaller
cacerolazo. Both actions were heavily attacked by the
police, which shoot teargas in the crowd and
teargassed even small groups running away (the teargas
they have here is A LOT stronger than the one we know
from Europe, Genova etc.). But in other parts of the
country it has been much stronger: Sucumbios is
completely closed since Monday, nobody can entry; the
same in Napo, next to Sucumbios (both regions are
quite big, and especially in Sucumbios they have a lot
of military which after the beginning of the war in
Colombia is in alert, because it's next to Putomayo).
The strike in Sucumbios was anounced as “Paro
indefinido” (undefined strike), but the most probable
is that it will stop this weekend, but it might start
again next week. Also Cuenca (in the south, were the
student had been shot) and other cities and regions
are closed. The reaction by the government was that
something like a division is starting: while the
commission on modernisation wants to carry on with the
plans to privatise the electricity corporation, even
the president starts to talk about ideas of other
forms of modernisation, if the people are opposing the
plans (how nice that our rulers are always listening
to the people...) which is nothing more than a
strategy to privatise it bit by bit and many people
think that it's more because of internal problems and
a struggle in between the economic groups interested
to buy the corporations. But anyway, for the first
time they are moving and people are saying that it
could be possible to stop them if we intensify the
struggle.
Also on Thursday there was a Forum in the University
Salesiana (were a part of the campamento will take
place) under the title “How to create the
Antiglobalisation Movement in the South” with about
120 people — really a lot of interest. There was a
very good speach from one of the organisers (I can't
and I don't want to repeat it here, but I try to get
the manuscript). It's interesting that now also “we”,
the movements in the North, are considered by groups
and movements in the South like a reference point and
a positive example (although it's always funny to see
how the idealisation and projection works the other
way round...)
But the worst is of course the start of the war in
Colombia. Still we don't know how it will affect the
campamento, but today we have a meeting and Monday we
will talk on this. But it's sure that a camp against
the military base Manta, from were the helicopters are
starting to attack the ex-demilitarised zone is much
more difficult, but also more important; and in
Sucumbios are arriving the refugees trying to escape
from the war. The proposal right now is to make a
common declaration against the war in the name of the
campamento and the groups preparing in Zaragoza,
Barcelona and Washington; which would also show the
links between these four actions. What do you think
about this?
Let me know,

Ecuador | AGP