Ecuador's Correa faces indigenous revolt

[Zorro]

Source: AFP

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa is facing the worst spate of social unrest of his second term, with indigenous leaders planning protests beginning Sunday against water privatization.

Opposition forces have reacted angrily to what they claim are moves by the government to privatize the country's natural resources -- in particular oil extraction and large-scale mining projects in traditionally indigenous areas.

The marches called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), set to begin at midnight (0500 GMT).

They will be spread across seven of the country's 24 provinces and include road blocks, marches and demonstrations, according to indigenous leader Humberto Cholango.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090927/wl_afp/ecuadorpoliticsnativeprotest_20090927175811

[BolivarianHero]

1. WTF is going on?

Correa would be the last person I would expect to be pulling this bullshit.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zorro]

4. So enlighten the audience, DA

Point out where the article "contradicts itself", instead of making snotty assertions.

[Arctic Dave]

6. TG, how you doin girlfriend!

Well , the most obvious contradiction would be were the article says the he can't privitize the water because it goes against the constitution.
So, what your take on the mass graves found in Colombia?

[Zorro]

8. That's not a contradiction, DA

The article states that Correa asserts it's against the constitution, and that the indigenous people are disputing proposed legislation that they think would allow that.

Translate the article down below to get an Ecuadorean reporting perspective, if you want more details.

And...for the record...bookmark this...I do not approve of "death squads", whether FARC or AUC -- there is blood on the hands on all sides in Colombia.

[EFerrari]

10. I'd wait for more information. He is the last person to do anything like that

and it's not very hard to stir up trouble with disinformation. The indigenous group seems to be under the impression that the bill privatizes water and kicks them down the list of prioritized water delivery. No doubt these people have been burned many times so I don't doubt that they are wary but also vulnerable to manipulation.

Let's wait and find out more before we fall for this inflated headline.

/oops

[BolivarianHero]

14. That's just it...

I don't think they are in a position to grasp that the Bolivarian movement is different from the other "leftist" leaders Ecuador has had in ways that transcend questions of left and right...How else do you get Morales and Ortega, two different men with different ethical standards and values systems, on the same side?

[WriteDown]

16. Wait and find out?

Are you new to DU? :rofl:

[AlphaCentauri]

32. Confirmado: Presidente desmiente privatización del agua

El Presidente Rafael Correa, en su enlace ciudadano desde Cayambe desmintió que con el Proyecto de Ley de Aguas que será debatido en la Asamblea se pretenda privatizar el agua.
Correa leyó el Art. 318 - inciso cuarto - de la Constitución en el que aclaró que la privatización es una "mentira del tamaño de una catedral".

Según El Jefe de Estado los dirigentes indígenas de algunas organizaciones como la CONAIE mienten al decir que a través de la creación de la autoridad única del agua, ya no habrá junta de regantes, ni de usuarios, ni de nada, sin mebargo recordó que los mismo líderes indígenas apoyaron la Constitución.

Basado en la Constitución Correa recordó que "el Estado a través de la autoridad única del agua es la que va a cuidar las cuencas, el caudal, suministrar el agua, es decir, tanto para tal comunidad, tanto para agua potable, tanto para riego. Pero, ¿quién va ha administrar el sistema de riego?, la junta de regantes, la junta de usuarios, los Consejos Provinciales".

"Fíjense como mienten en la Constitución que ellos aprobaron y ayudaron a redactar. Ahora dicen, hay centralismo, autoridad única del agua, ya no vamos a tener junta de regantes, junta de usuarios, levantémonos", instigó el Primer Mandatario.

Finalmente dijo "no caigamos en la trampa y no nos perjudiquemos nostros mismos".

http://www.confirmado.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9312&Itemid=28

[nodehopper]

34. he is really not the last person to do something like that

He is not as progressive in terms of policies he has pursued and effected as he has been portrayed--he is certainly no neoliberal hawk, but he is no Evo Morales, either. I posted in more detail about his policies below.

[nodehopper]

33. despite being considered part of the Latin American left wave

Correa is not as progressive as his public image. For a while he chose oil to be the public medium through which he critiqued neoliberalism, which had some positive effects, like stalling on new drilling grounds and his support for the class action suit by Ecuadorian Indians against Texaco, but he has been moving a way from that, and even a couple of years ago he was already signing deals for open-pit mining, much to the discontent of his indigneous constituents. Who, incidentally, have been unhappy with him for a while now as he refused to ratify a constitutional change that would make indigenous languages also official languages of the country. It will be interesting to see what happens. the indigenous political movement in Ecuador is probably the strongest in South America. They have already deposed two presidents.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Well, it was only a matter of time before this happened. CONAIE was an uneasy member

of the coalition that elected Rafael Correa, and while his government has been more respectful of indigenous rights than any previous Ecuadoran government, ever, he also blockaded a proposal to include indigenous veto power over resource exploitation contracts in the Constitution. He agreed to "consultation rights." He has explained that the country's rich natural resources belong to all of the people, not just the indigenous, and they cannot NOT use their resources. Beyond that, I don't know specifics of the current dispute.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Translation from an article in Spanish of this situation.

This is a google translation, so it's a little clumsy, but you STILL get the idea. Clearly someone has hoped to mislead with the original post:

Correa dismisses talk with teachers and indigenous unemployed in Ecuador
September 26, 2009 - 13:58 --

Quito, 26 Sep (Notimex) .- Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has ruled out any possibility of dialogue with teachers on strike and with Indigenous people who are ready to move across the country, while maintaining their crackdown.

"First I go to my house rather than yield to the arrogance," the ruler in his Saturday radio program, referring to protests and demands for dialogue that have made leaders of the two social sectors.

The National Educators Union (UNE), which brings together public school teachers in the country, has carried out a strike two weeks ago for an indefinite period to protest the government's educational policy.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), meanwhile, is preparing to launch a national campaign on Sunday night to reject a government project for a new water law and mining law against the recently issued.

In both cases, their leaders have said they will maintain their crackdown until President Correa came to discuss their demands.

UNE opposed to administrative processes that are under a thousand teachers who rejected an evaluation program of public school teachers developed by the Ministry of Education, which could result in his dismissal.

After describing the strike as a failure educational, President Correa said: "I will not allow irresponsible want four or five further manipulate for political education."

Referring to indigenous mobilization, the Ecuadorian president explained that laws intended to issue his administration would not privatize the water-one of the concerns of CONAIE, because besides the existing Constitution forbids it.

In the case of mining, the head of state assured that there will be "adequate controls and technology" to protect the environment, whose future is also another concern of the indigenous organization.

President Correa considered that a "destabilization campaign" against his government by the political right, which "unfortunately it makes the game leaders and CONAIE UNE.

He said that this campaign is expressed in the views that certain people are making homes of Ecuadorians to create its unfounded fear that his government will take away their homes.

Original article:
http://sdpnoticias.com/sdp/contenido/2009/09/26/499834

(My emphasis)

[Zorro]

7. Are you implying AFP's report is inaccurate?

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, despite never having been to Ecuador, have no experience with strikes by the indigenous population, and know nothing about the government's current control of water rights -- let alone the proposed legislation.

So translate this from the Ecuadorean press:

http://www.eluniverso.com/2009/09/28/1/1355/conaie-inicia-un-paro-contra-ley-aguas-gobierno-amenaza.html?p=1354&m=1835

[troubledamerican]

9. Zorro always attacks the Latin Left & supports the Latin Right. How curious.

[EFerrari]

11. Right. As if the right wing corporatist cabal there isn't joined at the hip

to the one here. Very curious indeed.

[Zorro]

12. So the indigenous people are the "Latin Right"?

And the Correa government is the "Latin Left"? Or is it vice-versa?

Whose side are you on, TA?

[Bacchus39]

13. if they go against Chavez or his allies they are n/t

s

[UTUSN]

18. Here is my translation of the supposedly PRO-Correa article. It's nothing of the sort.

All it is is a straightforward account of the facts of the story: that CORREA rejected any negotiations based on the conditions the teachers' and Indigenous' unions demanded, that the two unions are concerned about protesting teachers being subjected to performance evaluations that can potentially result in their being fired, that the Indigenous are concerned about the impending water laws and the impact on the environment of the mining laws, that CORREA says he will go home (cf., Achilles staying in his tent) before giving in to their demands, that he thinks union activists are visiting citizens in their homes and scaring them with falsehoods about the government taking away their homes.

Given that there is NOTHING in this article that contradicts the O.P., I'm not taking the trouble to translate the O.P.'s LATER article, below. It's TWO freaking pages long!1

*******************************************************

ARTICLE (supposedly PRO-Correa) #1:

Correa rejects dialog with teachers and natives in strike in Ecuador

The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, rejected today any kind of possibility of dialog with teachers on strike and with indigenous who are readying to mobilize themselves throughout the country, while they retain their options to use force.

"First I would go to my house before ceding power," said the chief executive in his Saturday radio program, alluding to the protests and conditions for dialog that the leaders of both social sectors have demanded.

The National Union of Teachers, the country's union for public school teachers, has had an indefinite strike in effect for the past two weeks in rejecting the government's education policies.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, for its part, is readying to start a national mobilization tomorrow/Sunday overnight, rejecting a government project for a new law regarding water and against the mining law recently drawn up.

In both cases, the leaders have said that they will retain their options to use force until President Correa agrees to discuss their demands.

The teachers' union opposes administrative procedures affecting about a thousand teachers, who rejected a performance evaluation program of these public school teachers, implemented by the Secretary of Education, which could result in their terminations.

After characterizing the teachers' strike as a failure, President Correa said, "I will not permit four or five iresponsible people to keep on manipulating Education with political (ploys?)."

In referring to the indigenous' mobilization, the Ecuadorian chief executive explained that the laws his administration wants to implement, besides, does not privatize water-- one of the concerns of the natives' union--because the constitution currently in use probit this.

In the case of the mining industry, the head of state assured that there will be "adequate controls and state of the art technology" to safeguard the environment, whose future also is another of the concerns of the organization of the indigenous.

President Correa said he thinks there is a "campaign of destabilization" against his administration on the part of rightwing politicians, of which, "lamentably, the leaders of (the two unions) have become pawns."

That campaign shows itself as such precisely through visits to the homes of Ecuadorians by certain persons to create unfounded fear that his administration is going to take away their homes.

***************************

[UTUSN]

19. Kick for visibility ******* ****** ******* ****** ******* ********** *** n/t

[EFerrari]

20. Judi didn't claim it was pro Rafa. It's just less hysterical. n/t

[UTUSN]

21. No, she claimed that "somebody" was trying to mislead with the O.P. I wonder who the slur was aimed

at?!1

Why are there ALWAYS personal slurs against those who criticize Huguito-Rafito-Fideo-et/al.?!1

[EFerrari]

22. Zorro always posts the most hysterical headlines he can find.

That's what he does here. That's not a slur, it's just an accurate description.

[UTUSN]

23. The nuts'n'bolts of the story are that 2 unions that supposedly should be

constituencies of the Dear Leader are bucking against him. That's not hysterical, but it IS pretty strong stuff.

[EFerrari]

24. The indigenous people are advocating for their water rights as they should.

The teachers unions have a slightly different issue that sounds more like a legislative one than an executive one.

And your posts are always laden with gratuitous invective so it's a little ironic for you to accuse others of that.

[UTUSN]

25. Ooooo, *I'm* the one with "gratuitous invective"!1 & when I first saw your DU-name I was glad!1

You can send me the red baret anytime and anyway, AND I will WEAR it to the cantina!1

But now let's get back to my hurt feelings.

My "grauitous invective" is ALWAYS aimed at 1) Huguito, 2) FideoCASTRO, 3) CORREA, 4) not that much at Evo.


Notice this, my love, NEVER at YOU and not at Judi and not at Mika. And pretty much never at OTHER DUers.

YOU know that your Huguito Brigades ALWAYS attack other DUers.



Look, let's cut to the chase and quit the B.S., O.K.?!1 I'll tell you where I'm coming from. I would LIKE for you and your pals to tell me where YOU are coming from, but ultimately, it DON'T MATTER.

I'm a "mainstream" - "moderate" - "Big Umbrella" Democratic voter. I relate to FELLOW Dems from one spectrum to the other: I'm a mess of contradictions:: I was a semi-hippy who volunteered into Vietnam (for economic reasons). I'm a civil liberarian, a BIG social justice type.

I've told Judi and Mika that I love them. But I do NOT luerve Fidel-fideo and Rafito. Really, deep down, I suspect that they are phonies. I reserve my thoughts about Evo.

O.K., how about YOU and Judi and Mika telling me WHERE YOU are coming from?!1 Do you love SOCIAL JUSTICE MORE than me?! I really don't think so.

[UTUSN]

26. Btw, MY invective is NEVER "gratuitous." It is always specific, pointed, pertinent, and relevant.

[EFerrari]

28. Make up your mind!111111111

:)

[UTUSN]

30. Come on over and MAKE me!1 (Bring the red beret!1) n/t

[Zorro]

29. I follow the rules

I post the headline that accompanies the article. Take it up with Skinner if you don't like it.

A more accurate description of your "complaint" would be that they are headlines of articles you would prefer to be suppressed.

[EFerrari]

31. You're right. There isn't enough badly written disinformation in the media.

Shame on me.

[UTUSN]

15. K&R for BWAH-HAH!1 To undo the Huguito Brigade's UnReKKKing to NO avail, of course!1

But what is almost as funny are the two references to CORREA's being "THE LAST MAN TO (to be thought of to) DO THIS!1"

The dude's ENTIRE VIBES are those of a sadistic bully. His sneering. His ridiculing of others. His physical brutality. Funny, I have NO trouble at all picturing him with a billy club, smashing the faces of his enemies---the more indigenous or teachers the better.

I'll be working on translating those two articles, 'cause the translation of the supposedly supportive (of CORREA) one was WAY near inchoate. But more to the point, it did not provide ANY information that contradicted the O.P.'s link.

Back LATER with the translations!1

[ShortnFiery]

17. Is it me or are we about to see THIS worldwide?

[Selatius]

27. If Israel goes ahead and bombs Iran, you bet your ass that a storm is a-comin. nt