ECUADOR: INDIGENOUS CABINET MEMBERS WALK TIGHTROPE BETWEEN ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNITIES.
[The following article, by Luis Angel Saavedra, is reprinted with the permission of Noticias Aliadas in Lima, Peru. It first appeared in the Feb. 12 issue of Latinamerica Press.]
Inclusion in President Lucio Gutierrez's Cabinet marked a milestone for Ecuador's indigenous movement, but the government's first economic measures have brought criticism from indigenous organizations and other grassroots groups.
The measures, including a 39% increase in fuel prices and a subsequent 25% hike in bus fares, were reminiscent of adjustments imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which have been strongly criticized by indigenous and grassroots leaders (see NotiSur, 2003-01-17).
While pressure from the indigenous Cabinet members forced Gutierrez to backpedal on some of the announced measures, such as an increase in the price of bottled cooking gas from US$1.60 to US$5.60, they had to accept the rest.
"We have said that if the price of gas rises, those who are poorest will be most affected, and we will have to take sides," said Miguel Lluco, who heads the Movimiento Pluricultural Pachakutik (MPP). Pachakutik, which aligned with Gutierrez's Partido Sociedad Patriotica in the Oct. 20 election (see NotiSur, 2002-12-06), is the political arm of the Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indigenas de Ecuador (CONAIE).
Pachakutik Deputy Ricardo Ulcuango defended the government's position, although he said he did not agree with all the measures.
"We are an alliance. Sometimes we'll agree and sometimes we'll disagree. Besides the measures that affect the poor, others have been taken that affect the rich," said Ulcuango, referring to a new tax on luxury cars, a 20% cut in government salaries exceeding US$1,000 a month, and the requirement that banks obtain liquidity insurance to avoid situations like the financial crisis of 1999 (see NotiSur, 1999-04-30).
Indigenous groups, however, threatened massive protests. "If they follow those policies, there will be an uprising from the grassroots," said former CONAIE president Antonio Vargas. Last year, Vargas rejected CONAIE's decision to support Gutierrez in the elections and ran as the presidential candidate of indigenous groups not aligned with CONAIE (see NotiSur, 2002-07-26), including the Federacion Ecuatoriana de Indigenas Evangelicos (FEINE).
Meanwhile, CONAIE continued to use its influence in the government in an effort to avoid further economic measures that could affect low-income Ecuadorans. Fifty-six...
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