Impressions from a Strike / Impresiones del paro [ENG/ESP]
Since Monday early morning, the strike is on. While the reasons are to discuss in another post, I think it might be interesting for people to know how it usually works.
The strikes turned violent very quickly. Tear gas was deployed right away (even from helicopters), Molotov cocktails flew, cars were burned, a police station destroyed. Who threw the first stone? Nobody knows. And even if, there's no telling if it was instigated or a random act of violence.
( The helicopter that was deploying tear gas was attacked with fireworks and hindered to land, as you can see in this video. )
Generally, the whole thing starts with roadblocks. Stones, dirt, tires, burning tires, and a huge amount of people in the middle of the most important traffic lane in Ecuador, the Panamerican Highway, short "Pana". But also other roads are blocked. Currently, there is no real way out of my town, Cotacachi, at least not with a car.
Today, a group of protestors came around "asking" all the businesses to close while suggestively scratching machetes on the ground. Not the best strategy to get people on board with their protest, in my opinion. No arguments but violence. It's really hard to focus on the cause while being threatened, it tarnishes the intentions. Here you can see them getting into the bank (okay, it's a really shitty bank, so not much sympathy for them, but they did the same with all the small businesses):
This time, the group was actually quite small. A friend of mine was with them, she's one of the leaders and was very worried. It hasn't come to the degree of violence as in 2019, but the escalation is way quicker. Also, the harsh reaction from the government (state of exception, sending in the military with force directly, not negotiating) has riled up even more people - the communities were more divided before, but the repressive violence from the government always makes them stand together:
The guy with the red face cover is carrying a 3l bottle of puro, basically moonshine. That, too, is something that undermines the protests. Just like in our Inti Raymi Festivities, the presence of alcohol makes it a lot more likely for violence to spark:
Some people try to get some protection. It won't help much against violence used by the military, but something is better than nothing, and it might help against the fear:
Protestors are often transported in wagon loads. That is mostly in the beginning of the strikes. If it lasts too long, the trucks run out of fuel, too, and people just walk the 5 km to the Highway or the other protesting stations:
Until now, it's only getting worse. Helicopters are passing above us frequently. One arrested women went missing, nobody knows her whereabouts. After the case of military kidnapping and murdering 4 adolescent boys a year ago, that sparks a lot of fear. We can only hope that Ecuador won't have a Mahsa Amini, and that Gina Cahuasquí is alive and unharmed.
So far, so worrisome. Feel free to ask any questions!
Desde la madrugada del lunes, el paro está en marcha. Aunque las razones merecen discutirse en otro momento, creo que puede ser interesante para la gente saber cómo funcionan estas cosas normalmente.Las protestas se tornaron violentas muy rápido. Se usó gas lacrimógeno de inmediato (incluso desde helicópteros), volaron cócteles molotov, se quemaron autos y una estación de policía fue destruida. ¿Quién lanzó la primera piedra? Nadie lo sabe. Y aunque se supiera, no hay forma de decir si fue algo instigado o un acto de violencia espontáneo.
(El helicóptero que lanzaba gas lacrimógeno fue atacado con fuegos artificiales y le impidieron aterrizar, como se ve en este video.)
Generalmente, todo comienza con bloqueos de carreteras. Piedras, tierra, llantas, llantas quemadas y una gran cantidad de personas en medio de la vía de tráfico más importante de Ecuador, la Carretera Panamericana, o simplemente "Pana". Pero también otras carreteras están bloqueadas. Actualmente, no hay forma real de salir de mi pueblo, Cotacachi, al menos no en auto.
Hoy, un grupo de manifestantes pasó por aquí "pidiéndoles" a todos los negocios que cerraran mientras raspaban machetes contra el suelo de manera sugerente. No es la mejor estrategia para ganarse el apoyo de la gente, en mi opinión. Sin argumentos, solo violencia. Es muy difícil enfocarse en la causa cuando te amenazan; esto empaña las intenciones. Aquí los puedes ver entrando al banco (vale, es un banco bastante malo, así que no hay mucha simpatía por ellos, pero hicieron lo mismo con todos los pequeños negocios):
Esta vez, el grupo era en realidad bastante pequeño. Una amiga mía estaba con ellos, es una de las líderes y estaba muy preocupada. No ha llegado al grado de violencia de 2019, pero la escalada es mucho más rápida. Además, la dura reacción del gobierno (estado de excepción, envío de militares con fuerza directa, sin negociar) ha indignado a más personas: antes las comunidades estaban más divididas, pero la violencia represiva de parte del estado siempre las une:
El tipo con la cara cubierta de rojo lleva una botella de 3 litros de puro, básicamente licor casero. Eso también es algo que debilita las protestas. Al igual que en nuestras festividades de Inti Raymi, la presencia de alcohol hace mucho más probable que estalle la violencia:
Algunas personas intentan protegerse. No ayuda mucho contra la violencia usada por los militares, pero algo es mejor que nada, y puede ayudar contra el miedo:
Los manifestantes suelen ser transportados en grandes cantidades en camiones. Eso ocurre principalmente al inicio de las protestas. Si duran demasiado, los camiones también se quedan sin combustible, y la gente simplemente camina los 5 km hasta la carretera o hacia otros puntos de protesta:
Hasta ahora, solo empeora. Los helicópteros pasan frecuentemente por encima de nosotros. Una mujer arrestada, Gina Cahuasquí, ha desaparecido; nadie sabe su paradero. Después del caso de secuestro y asesinato de 4 adolescentes por parte del ejército hace un año, eso genera mucho miedo. Solo podemos esperar que Ecuador no tenga una Mahsa Amini y que Gina Cahuasquí esté viva e ilesa.
Hasta aquí estamos. Si tienen preguntas, háganlas nomás.
Holy sheets! That sounds like a dodgy situation. I understand the removal of the diesel tariff was at the behest of the IMF as part of their stabilisation plan, so it's unlikely there'll be a rollback. I presume you're closed.
We're half-open, like everyone else. Those who know just open the door and close it again behind them.
And yes, removing the Diesel subsidy was absolutely necessary. It's the way that Noboa did it that is suspicious. A while ago, he did the same with gasoline, and he did it well - rising the price little by little. No protests, everybody understood it. This is more like a provocation on purpose, he wants this protest to happen, he wants to incite the violence to use it as an argument to give himself more power. I'm writing on a longer piece, including more of the political arguments. This little piece is just a somewhat neutral description.
why are those 4 children killed?
There are many theories out there. The official is that the military personal apprehended the minors (who were walking back from playing soccer) for an alleged robbery. They drove towards the military base 30km out of the city, but dropped the kids in the middle of the road, in an area that is controlled by the local drug mafia (Durán is the name of the area). The kids got scooped up by them, killed, dropped on the riverside and burned.
That's the one described here in Spanish:
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cr56l91lg0ro
Most people believe that it was the military all the way, making the kids disappear after wrongfully arresting them. It's a really sad story about abuse of power, and infuriating. 16 people got arrested, but as far as I know, there hasn't been a trial yet.