Ecuador Civil Unrest Grows Amid Public Protests

Ecuador Civil Unrest Grows Amid Public Protests

by Sofia Jarrin-Thomas

The daily drama lived in Ecuador is absent from the news media as civil disobedience erupted this week in this country’s main cities against President General Lucio Gutierrez.

Ecuador is living moments of some its greatest historical political tension as opposing political factions unite to regain power in Congress and the Supreme Court.

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Gen. Gutierrez’s presidency has been riddled with internal controversy since he was elected in 2002. Two years before Gen. Gutierrez had befriended the indigenous movement and provided military support in a coup against President Jamil Mahuad, ousted in 2000 after an economic fallout that forced banks to close down and left many without savings.

After elected president, Gen Gutierrez friendship with the indigenous movement lasted only about six months, when the official indigenous political party, Pachakutik, broke its alliance with the administration accusing it of planning to implement neoliberal policies. Since then Gen. Gutierrez has tried to repeatedly undermine the movement by closing down offices, such as Ecuarunari, and splitting up the movement by appointing members close to the presidency, such as Antonio Vargas, to “opposition indigenous groups”. CONFENIAE, the Confederation of the Nationalities Indigenous to the Amazon in Ecuador, successfully boycotted this attempt and elected a member close to their ideals instead.

In the Amazon, indigenous groups have been battling their own war against oil companies, such as Texaco and Arco, for polluting the environment and ancestral lands. On November 4, 2003, the president of the Amazon Defense Front and environmental activist, Angel Shingre, was shot dead in the city of Coca, Orellana province.

http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/34915/index.php

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Few Ecuadorians are satisfied with the reappearance of a former president, according to a poll by Informe Confidencial. 80 per cent of respondents in Quito—and 65 per cent of respondents in Guayaquil—disapprove of Abdalá Bucaram’s return to the country.

Bucaram—who called himself "the madman" and often sang during campaign rallies—was elected president in 1996. Six months after taking office, Bucaram was declared "mentally incapable" and deposed by the National Congress. He left Ecuador and took up residence in Panama. <snip>

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=6694

ECUADOR'S TENSION

Ecuador is also expected to be on investors' radar screens following last week's protests against the government's decision to acquit former President Abdala Bucaram and allow his return after eight years of exile in Panama.

President Lucio Gutierrez's relations with Congress have deteriorated since December when he temporarily mustered a majority, which then fired the entire Supreme Court.

The opposition, which accused Gutierrez of seeking dictatorial powers, organized street protests.

"Should Gutierrez fail to defuse tensions quickly, he could be forced out of power in the coming weeks," Stratfor, an international risk consulting group, said in a report.

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Oil is Ecuador's main export. The country produces about 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

Although analysts expect this week to be quiet as U.S. Treasuries consolidate, emerging market bond prices are likely to react to any big moves in Treasuries and other asset classes.


http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=8135197