[Marxism] Interesting view on Ecuador events

[Fred Fuentes <fred.fuentes@xxxxxxxxx>]

[it seems to me the two key part to understand Ecuador is
1)this is what happens when the "left" sells out or does not deliever
2) this is what happens when no alternative (or one strong enough) is
put forward by the left
In regards to the US, despite what the articles below sya it is hard
to imagine that they would want or would have encouraged a peoples
power regime change in the region. Imagine the ramifications in Peru,
Bolivia etc...... True it seems the Ecuadorian ruling class has
maneuvered, perhaps to its advantage but this is still not completely
over, but any president Palacio or other will have to have in the back
of their minds "three presidents overthrown could i be next......"]

Another view on Ecuador

ECUADOR:
A Controversial Solution to the Crisis - Yet Again 

Analysis by Kintto Lucas 

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=28409

QUITO, Apr 21 (IPS) - Middle and upper-middle class demonstrators not
organised in political parties or social movements played a central
role in the week-long protests that preceded the downfall of former
president Lucio Gutiérrez.

However, it was U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Kristie Kenney, the armed
forces, which withdrew their support from the government, and
Congress, which sacked Gutiérrez Wednesday, that were decisive in
coming up with a solution to the crisis.

The beginning of the end of the Gutiérrez administration, besieged by
massive protests, was Kenney's visit to the government palace to
discuss the crisis with Gutiérrez.

After the meeting, the Embassy's press officer, Glenn Warren, said "We
are very concerned by what is happening in Ecuador. We want all the
problems to be resolved well and for Ecuadorians to live in peace."

Observers in Ecuador saw the message as a strong hint that triggered
the following events.

Shortly after Warren made his statements, police chief Jorge Poveda
resigned, apologising for Tuesday's crackdown on the protests, which
led to the death of a photo-journalist caused by the effects of tear
gas, and saying "I can't see Ecuadorians fight other Ecuadorians."

Analysts say the police have provided support for the U.S.-financed
Plan Colombia counterinsurgency and anti-drug strategy in the civil
war-torn neighbouring country.

They point out that the police took part in joint operations with U.S.
and Colombian intelligence services, such as the capture of FARC
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) leader Simón Trinidad.

The armed forces, however, have historically resisted any involvement
in Colombia's civil war.

After Poveda resigned, Congress held a special session in the
International Centre for Higher Studies on Communication for Latin
America (CIESPAL), attended by 60 of the 100 lawmakers, who
unanimously voted in less than an hour to remove Gutiérrez for
abandoning his post, even though he was still in the presidential
palace and had not resigned.

Immediately thereafter, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,
Víctor Hugo Rosero, announced that the military had withdrawn their
support for the government to protect the peace, and Gutiérrez left
the government palace in a helicopter.

This is not the first time the Ecuadorian Congress has come up with a
controversial solution to a political crisis since the restoration of
democracy in 1978.

In February 1997, the legislature sacked then president Abdalá Bucaram
(1996-1997) for "mental incapacity".

After his removal, he was not succeeded by vice-president Rosalía
Arteaga, in keeping with the constitution, but by the president of
Congress, who had called the extraordinary session.

The military brass withdrew their confidence in the president after
massive protest demonstrations, but before Congress actually voted to
fire him.

After Bucaram was toppled, the intermediary between Congress and
vice-president Arteaga was the head of the armed forces, General Paco
Moncayo, who is now mayor of Quito.

In January 2000, when Jamil Mahuad (1998-2000) was ousted, Congress
once again acted in a legally questionable manner.

After an indigenous "uprising" that was supported by dissident junior
army officers (including Gutiérrez, a retired colonel), the armed
forces refused to recognise the president.

However, they did not recognise the rebels, either, who installed a
"triumvirate", which immediately collapsed as a result.

Vice-president Gustavo Noboa was named Mahuad's successor in the
headquarters of the joint chiefs of staff.

Hours later, Congress met in the port city of Guayaquil to declare
that Mahuad had abandoned his post and resigned, even though he had
not done so.

But on Wednesday, according to military and legislative sources who
spoke to IPS, the military commanders wanted Congress to dismiss the
president before making their own announcement.

The sources confirmed that the military brass did not approve of the
"U.S. meddling" through Ambassador Kenney, and demanded that Congress
be the first to reach a decision on Gutiérrez's removal.

But after vice-president Alfredo Palacio was sworn in as caretaker
president in Congress, he was surrounded by crowds of protesters
chanting "Out With Them All!", demanding the removal of the entire
government.

And although the new president called several times to ask the
military commanders, who were meeting at the time, to show up and
express their support for him, they did not do so. Nor did they give
an order for the troops to protect him from the demonstrators.

Instead, they issued a statement urging the protesters to go home
because their demands had been met, and sent an emissary to help the
president leave the building, in disguise. A few hours later, Palacio
told the press that he felt "very much alone" at the time.

In the end, it was the new president who had to go to the Defence
Ministry almost undercover, where he gave a press conference
surrounded by the military commanders, because he was unable to make
it to the government palace, which was still surrounded by enormous
crowds demanding that the "people's will" be respected.

Only on Thursday was Palacio able to reach the presidential palace, to
appoint the first members of his cabinet.

The protests that brought down Gutiérrez rejected the political elites
and called for the resignation of all representatives of the
executive, legislative and judicial branches, chanting "Lucio, Get
Out!" and "Out With Them All!"

The protests broke out spontaneously on Apr. 13, and thousands of
people took to the streets of the capital, mainly in middle-class
neighbourhoods. They continued until bringing about Gutiérrez's
downfall.

Unlike on previous occasions, Ecuador's well-organised indigenous
movement did not lead the protests, which mainly involved middle-class
residents of Quito who belong neither to political parties nor civil
society organisations.

Some sectors have already begun to discuss a new way of organising, in
"people's assemblies", which would keep a close eye on the government
and press for a referendum on whether or not to sign the free trade
agreement that Ecuador, Colombia and Peru are negotiating with the
United States, or to cancel the contract that loaned the Manta air
base to the U.S. armed forces.

In an interview with IPS just after being sworn in, Palacio left open
the possibility of a referendum.

"There has been a lot of talk here about the referendum," said the new
president.

But the people must be asked questions "that will change their
destiny, that serve some purpose for their future, such as: Do you
believe the presidentialist system is finished?"

"The people must be asked what it is they need. Anything else would
not be worth it," he argued.

Asked about whether Ecuador would continue to participate in the talks
for a free trade deal with the United States, which are currently in
their ninth round this week in the capital of Peru, Palacio said
without much conviction that the question could also be put to a
popular vote.

The popular pressure for compliance with the protesters' demands, and
the continued clamour for the legislators to resign could convince the
new leader to call a referendum, to gain the support that he
apparently lacks today. (END/2005)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ECUADOR:
New President to Serve Out Full Term, Despite Protesters' Wishes 

Kintto Lucas* 

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=28394

QUITO, Apr 20 (IPS) - Ecuador's new president, Alfredo Palacio, told
IPS that he would complete the term of Lucio Gutiérrez, who was
removed by Congress Wednesday, even though the protesters demanding
that Gutiérrez step down called for early elections in just four
months.

Palacio said he would build a "government of national unity," and
would stay in office until January 2007.

After four months of political crisis and a week of escalating social
unrest, the legislature held a quick vote Wednesday to sack Gutiérrez
for "dereliction of duty", arguing that he had failed to live up to
his responsibilities as president.

In keeping with the constitution, he was immediately replaced by
Palacio, his vice-president, a medical doctor by profession.

Nor does Palacio plan to call off the negotiations for a free trade
agreement with the United States, or cancel the contract through which
Ecuador has loaned the air base in the northern port city of Manta to
the U.S. military -- two other demands voiced by the protesters.

"We shouldn't be scared of the free trade agreement, but we should
negotiate as equals with the United States," said the new president,
who added that he would respect all contracts signed by Ecuador,
including the one involving the Manta air base.

Governments in the region reacted with caution. 

The administration of Néstor Kirchner in Argentina expressed its
"concern over the grave institutional crisis in our sister republic of
Ecuador", and "particularly lamented the loss of human lives" - a
reference to the death of a journalist in Tuesday's protests.

Chilean President Ricardo Lagos cancelled a planned trip to Ecuador,
and said from the Venezuelan capital, where he is visiting, that he
was confident that the people of Ecuador "will find it possible to
resolve their problems within a state of law and in line with their
constitution."

His Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, added that "all of the
governments of South America are in contact, in order to begin to
adopt common stances, as a South American union, in the face of
regrettable situations such as this one."

On Tuesday, the police cracked down harshly on a march by more than
30,000 demonstrators, and Chilean photo-journalist Julio García died
of respiratory arrest caused by the effects of tear gas. More than 50
people were injured.

On Wednesday, streets in several neighbourhoods in Quito were blocked
by protesters as busloads of paid counter-demonstrators were brought
in from nearby provinces to support the government and confront the
protesters.

Gutiérrez refused to resign, and was removed by Congress. A few
minutes later, he left the government palace by helicopter, after the
armed forces chief, Admiral Víctor Hugo Rosero, announced that the
armed forces had withdrawn their support from the president "to
safeguard the peace."

On Dec. 8, 2004, a majority in the legislature made up of parties
close to the government removed 27 of the 31 Supreme Court magistrates
and replaced them with allies, in a move considered unconstitutional
by the opposition parties.

For four months, lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a solution to
the crisis.

The situation took a turn for the worse on Apr. 1, when the chief
justice of the Supreme Court, Guillermo Castro, threw out the
corruption trials against former presidents Abdalá Bucaram (1996-1997)
and Gustavo Noboa (2000-2003), as well as former vice-president
Alberto Dahik (1992-1995), all of whom were living in exile.

Castro's decision allowed them to return to Ecuador, which further
fuelled the rage of the protesters.

In a special session on Apr. 17, Congress voted unanimously to fire
the new Supreme Court justices, who are not to be replaced until
lawmakers reach agreement on a new law that would create an
independent mechanism for the selection of magistrates.

However, the resolution did not overturn the annulment of the
corruption trials against Bucaram, Noboa and Dahik.

While the legislators of Bucaram's Ecuadorian Roldosista Party argue
that the cases will remain closed because the congressional resolution
did not specifically address the issue, opposition lawmakers say the
dismissal of the hand-picked Court invalidated all of its decisions.

Parliamentary Deputy Guillermo Landázuri, the leader of the Democratic
Left opposition party, argued that it would be up to the future
Supreme Court to decide on the prosecutions against the former
presidents and vice-president.

The protesters opposed any interference by the political parties in
their demonstrations and demanded the resignation of all executive,
legislative and judicial branch officials, chanting "Lucio, Get Out!"
and "Que se vayan todos" (They Should All Go).

The protests broke out last Wednesday in Quito, with thousands of
people taking to the streets to call for Gutiérrez's removal.

On Saturday, Gutiérrez invoked the national security law and decreed a
state of emergency, suspending civil rights, calling the army out into
the streets, and giving the government the power to take over other
branches of the state.

In the same decree, the president dismissed the Supreme Court. 

Gutiérrez justified his decisions saying he had to put an end to the
political crisis, using the special powers granted by the state of
emergency, but the opposition accused him of adopting a "dictatorial"
resolution to repress the demonstrations.

Luis Macas, the president of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous
Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), said his organisation would
continue to press for compliance with its demands, even though
Gutiérrez was ousted.

"We are demanding that the country suspend the negotiation of a free
trade agreement with the United States, close the Manta military base,
and oppose the country's involvement in Plan Colombia," the
U.S.-financed counterinsurgency and anti-drug strategy implemented in
war-torn neighbouring Colombia, said Macas.

Palacio had already distanced himself from Gutiérrez over a year ago,
and had been making public statements against the government every
time a political crisis broke out.

Gutiérrez, a retired army colonel, and Palacio won the presidential
elections in a runoff vote in November 2003.

*With additional reporting by Marcela Valente in Argentina, Gustavo
González in Chile and Humberto Márquez in Venezuela. (END/2005)

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