A funeral procession in the town of Otavalo, province of Imbabura, said goodbye this Friday, October 16, to Quichua community member José Guamán, the third demonstrator killed by Ecuadorian state forces in the framework of the national protests, which have been going on for 26 days against the policies of President Daniel Noboa.

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CONAIE calls for unity and denies dialogue with the Noboa government

The peaceful march left from the community of Chachimbiro, to which Guamán belonged, and reached the ‘park of the Dinosaurs’, where he was wounded by bullets last Tuesday, the day on which military troops repressed the protests with the use of a large amount of tear gas.

His coffin left the main square amid applause and tears, while the crowd demanded that his death not go unpunished and that the responsibility of the public forces in the events be clarified.

To date, the repression ordered by the government of Daniel Noboa has left three protesters dead, in addition to 282 injured, 172 arrested and 15 temporarily disappeared, according to the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations.

Peaceful march in Nueva Loja

At the same time, several organizations and indigenous communities in the province of Sucumbíos carried out the Peaceful March for Dignity and Life, through the streets of the city of Nueva Loja, in support of the national strike.

The mobilization, convened by CONAIE, included symbolic acts, prayers and slogans for the freedom of those detained in the context of the protests and in rejection of the police repression that has left three people murdered.

The demonstrators continue to demand an end to the repression and a concrete response to their demands, including the restitution of the diesel subsidy and respect for the right to protest.

In this sense, they denounced the presence of an armed convoy in Saraguro, where communities that remain in resistance report the entry of military and police forces in the areas of Illincho Ayllullakta and Chukidel Ayllullakta.

The images released show armored vehicles and dozens of uniformed personnel deployed on rural roads, which has generated concern among residents and human rights organizations that warn of an intensification of repression in the framework of the 2025 national strike.

In statements from the Perugache del Corazón community, the vice president of CONAIE, Ercilia Castañeda, categorically denied the versions about an alleged retention.”We denounce the manipulation and disinformation that seeks to confuse public opinion and weaken the unity of the indigenous movement,” said the indigenous organization, while specifying the bases ratify their resistance, vigilance and give their position on the dialogue of the FICI without real commitments from the Government. She also said: “Our struggle is not sold or negotiated.”

The CONAIE declared on Thursday that in the face of the events in Imbabura – where some indigenous leaders agreed to a dialogue with the government despite the rejection of the bases – that the national strike continues and they ruled out negotiating with the Noboa executive: “we were not summoned to the dialogue table, and although we respect the decision of the province of Imbabura and its structures, we recall that the demands raised are of a national nature”

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