Fw: "Ecuador seems ready to meet Indians' demands"

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg@tin.it>]

Ecuador seems ready to meet Indians' demands

ECUADO: Ecuadoreans woke up yesterday morning to hear two pieces of
apparently contradictory news. While a day of general strikes around
the country in protest at government economic policy was beginning,
administration representatives expressed optimism that indigenous
leaders were on the verge of signing an agreement with President
Gustavo Noboa that would bring an end to weeks of social unrest in
this small Andean nation.

Late on Tuesday the government revealed that it was prepared to take
a step that only a week previously had seemed unthinkable: to heed
demands from indigenous leaders and reverse fiscal measures
implemented in December.

Some 10 hours of negotiations in the presidency between government
and indigenous representatives left both parties haggling over
details of the measures, such as exactly how much the administration
would reduce the price of cooking gas and for how long it would
freeze the price of fuel, but with hope that a deal was close to
being signed.

The relatively swift resolution to a social problem that looked
likely to drag on indefinitely seems to have been partially brought
about by the outrage provoked by an armed confrontation between
indigenous protesters and a group of soldiers in the Amazon city of
Tena on Monday, which left at least two Indians dead and several
others wounded.

Details of the incident have been vague and sporadic, due to the
remoteness of Tena, which lies some 100 miles south-east of Ecuador's
capital Quito, but to the thousands of Indians and mestizos who have
joined the protests around the country, it was the latest in a
catalogue of brutal acts by the government.

Mr Noboa's sudden decision to appease the Indians is surprising, not
only because of his tough talk only a few days ago, but because by
granting concessions to the protesters, he appears to be compromising
his own economic plan.

The government had previously defended the fiscal measures as an
integral part of both its medium-term strategy for the country's
dollarised economy and its credit agreement with the IMF.

The continuation of Ecuador's $300 million deal with that institution
depends to a great extent on the Noboa administration's ability to
implement reforms such as those that have been facing such angry
opposition.

An IMF representative involved in negotiations with the Ecuadorean
government summed up the importance of the reforms for the credit
deal. "If the government does step back from the fiscal measures,
it's going to jeopardie the programme," he said.

Mr Noboa was brought into power in January 2000, following an
indigenous uprising supported by a faction of rebel army officers.
Most observers believe his personal position is unlikely to be
threatened by these protests, as the armed forces are behind him.
However, the crisis has undoubtedly weakened his position.

Mr Luis Villacis, a leader of the country's largest labour
organisation, the Patriotic Front, which has been one of the main
participants in recent protests, conceded that the government is
unlikely to fall right now, but said social discontent was still
growing.

In Dublin, the Latin America Solidarity Centre urged the public to
send messages to the President and Vice-President of Ecuador
encouraging the resumption of dialogue with the indigenous people
instead of taking a "heavy-handed approach" to their social demands.
LASC said President Gustavo Novoa could be reached at
despresi@presidencia.ecgov.net and Vice-President Pedro Pinto at
vpre@uio.telconet.net

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