Indigenous protests in Ecuador
On Sunday, Ecuador's largest indigenous organization, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), mobilized its bases to protest new water, mining and oil laws. The new water law would give the state control over the country's water supply, including those resources found on indigenous territory. CONAIE argues that "the policy amounts to privatization of the country's water supply" and threatens the indigenous population's collective rights to their territories and resources, as required by the Ecuadorian Constitution and international laws such as International Labor Organization Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As a result, hundreds of indigenous protesters blocked the Pan American highway in several provinces throughout the country on Monday, but the protests were called off after Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa promised to hold a dialogue, "without conditions," to hear their objections to the new laws. President Correa classified the indigenous uprising as a "complete failure," and urged an end to the protests on Monday, adding that he hopes "the indigenous peoples realize that they are being used by the right who want to create a scene like that in Honduras, where President Manuel Zelaya was ousted." News outlets <a data-cke-saved-href="reported on Tuesday that President Correa had "successfully gotten around his first political run-in with the indigenous groups" after CONAIE called off the protests. In the past, the indigenous population in Ecuador was one of the strongest and most well-organized groups in the Andean region (CONAIE played an important role in the fall of three presidents, Abdalá Bucaraum (1997), Jamil Mahuad (2000) and Lucio Gutierrez (2005)). However, tensions within the organization that started during the presidency of Lucio Gutierrez have weakened CONAIE's power, and large factions of CONAIE objected to Monday's protest. The tension within the organization continued on Tuesday, as leaders of indigenous groups from the Amazon announced they disagreed with CONAIE's decision and they would continue the protests. This split within CONAIE impeded the beginning of a dialogue with the government, as Minister of Internal Security Miguel Carvajal said the internal discrepancies must be resolved and the protests must end before a meeting with the government could take place. The three-day protest erupted into violence on Wednesday, with at least one indigenous protester killed and over 40 police and protesters injured near the town of Macas, in the Southern Ecuadorian Amazon. The Ecuadorian government claims the indigenous peoples fired at police with shotguns, while the protesters claim the police fired upon them. CONAIE and other indigenous organizations have called for further mobilization of the bases to "radicalize the protest," saying that they "cannot stay here with our arms crossed." While President Correa has continued to call for dialogue, saying in a televised address, "we wait for them with open arms. But please, we never want to see this again, killing among Ecuadorians." Conflicts such as this one, between the government and indigenous peoples, are common in the Andean region, as each party fights for control of the valuable natural resources found on indigenous territories. While a solution will not be found overnight, honest dialogue between the two groups is an important first step.