Ecuador: Dialogue Resumes Between Indigenous Movement and Gov.

The dialogue between the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Government resumes this Wednesday, focusing on targeting subsidies. 

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This is the first of 10 roundtables and was inaugurated on July 13. The technical teams of the indigenous organizations and the Government only met twice. July 15 was the last one, and since then, the parties have taken a separate work week.

Recognizing there are achievements concerning the initial state of debts and asphyxiating crisis that unleashed the social protests, together with other neoliberal measures, CONAIE said that it is not enough since the big banks only accept to restructure or refinance credit operations. 

"We will continue working so that the private banks fulfill their part to get thousands of Ecuadorian families out of the credit crisis," CONAIE said.

In Ecuador, 7 out of 10 households cannot cover the cost of the basic basket; today, the price control table began, seeking to agree on a mechanism that protects Ecuadorian families from the market's speculative phenomena and the market's power. 

The follow-up of the agreements reached at the roundtable will be the responsibility of an observation team made up of delegates from CONAIE, the Council of Indigenous Evangelical Peoples and Organizations of Ecuador (FEINE), and the National Confederation of Peasant, Indigenous and Black Organizations (FENOCIN), representing the indigenous movement.

A term of 90 days is established for the dialogue to address the ten issues presented by the indigenous movements, to which the Executive has agreed. However, the Minister of Transportation and Public Works, Dario Herrera, said that for targeting subsidies, the "...necessary time" will be taken.

Ecuador experienced a three-week strike in June, during which the indigenous movement brought the country to a standstill amid intense state repression.