2015 Ecuadorian protests

2015 Ecuadorian protests
Clockwise from top: Guillermo Lasso leading protesters in Quito on 24 June. Protests on Shirys Avenue in Quito on 25 June. Protesters and pro-government demonstrators separated by police in Quito on 10 June.
Date	8 June 2015 – 16 September 2015
Location	Ecuador
Parties
Correa opponents Creating Opportunities Frente Unitario de los Trabajadores Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador Government of Ecuador Alianza País
Lead figures
Creating Opportunities Guillermo Lasso Social Christian Party Jaime Nebot Frente Unitario de los Trabajadores Pablo Serrano Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador Jorge Herrera Government of Ecuador Rafael Correa
Number
Hundreds of thousands 400,000 protesters (25 June)[1]

The 2015 Ecuadorian protests were a series of protests against the government of President Rafael Correa. Protests began in the first week of June, triggered by legislation increasing inheritance and capital gains taxes.^[2] By August, an alliance of rural farmworkers, Indigenous federations such as CONAIE, student groups, and labor unions had organised protests involving hundreds of thousands of people with a wide range of grievances, including the controversial tax laws; constitutional amendments removing presidential term limits; expanding oil and mining projects; water, education, and labour policies; a proposed free trade agreement with the European Union; and increasing repression of freedom of speech.^[3][1][4] On August 15, the government declared a state of exception that allowed the military to crackdown on protests.

Protestors blocked roads and declared a general strike in August. Violence and human rights violations were reported in clashes between militarised police and protestors.^[4][5][6]

Protestors stated that Correa wanted to follow "the same path as Venezuela's government," creating a "criminal war of classes," while President Correa stated that the protests were aimed at destabilizing the government, and the proposed measures were for combatting inequality.^[7]

Background

Throughout his presidency, Correa has been a controversial figure. Correa describes himself as an advocate of "socialism of the 21st century", though he has also been described as "a left-wing populist".^[8] Political science scholars George Philip and Francisco Panizza also claimed that like his allies Morales and Chávez, Correa should be categorized as a populist,^[9] because he appealed "directly to the people against their countries' political and economic order, divided the social field into antagonistic camps and promised redistribution and recognition in a newly founded political order."^[10]

The Washington Post characterized Correa's ideological approach as having contradictions however, and compared him to other pink tide presidents such as Bolivia's Evo Morales and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.^[11] Though Correa, an economist, did not attack Ecuador's private sector like Chávez and Ecuador's socioeconomic environment flourished with decreased poverty, he did follow Chávez's example of filling the Supreme Court of Ecuador with his allies and attempted to silence critics.^[11] Such actions have resulted in Correa being accused of authoritarianism, nepotism, attacking dissidents and curtailing freedom of speech.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Though Correa had brought stability to the poor who supported him, he combatted with other social groups such as the media, the Catholic Church, bankers and indigenous groups, saying that those who protested against him were part of "a wealthy oligarchy", a similar approach to what his ally Nicolás Maduro did to those who opposed him.^[16][17]

Economic policies

Following years of heavy revenues from high oil prices that Correa experienced during his eight years as president, Ecuador experienced a 50% reduction in oil revenues.^[7] The government then cut its 2015 fiscal budget by 4% and initiated controversial economic measures that affected most Ecuadorians; both the middle class and the poor.^[7] In March 2015 when constitutional changes were proposed to allow the re-election of the president and government officials indefinitely while other labor and land ownership rules were submitted, protests numbered in thousands occurred in Quito that were organized by indigenous communities, unions and students.^[18] In June 2015, when the government proposed bills to tax inheritances up to 77.5% and a 75% tax on real estate capital gains to counter loss in oil revenue, protests in Ecuador became widespread, with protesters demanding Correa out and compared actions by the government to that of the Venezuelan government.^[1][2][7] According to economists, the proposed policies would damage Ecuador's economy and population since 95% of businesses are family owned.^[7]

Timeline of events

Protests began on 8 June 2015 and continued after President Correa temporarily withdrew the proposed tax bills on 15 June,^[19][20] The protests expanded in July through September to include a broader range of issues including constitutional amendments removing presidential term limits; expanding oil and mining projects; water, education, and labour policies; a proposed free trade agreement with the European Union; and increasing repression of freedom of speech.^[3][4]

June

Near the headquarters of Correa's party, Alianza País, about 1,000 people gathered on June 8, including opposition, pro-government demonstrators, and 100 police on standby.^[21] On June 10, thousands of protesters wearing black in "mourning" demonstrated in the capital city of Quito for the second time in a week.^[2][22] Government supporters confronted the protesters leading their own chants under an Alianza País banner.^[2] In other parts of the city, opposition and pro-government groups clashed.^[2]

Workers, trade unionists and members of FUT protesting against Correa's policies on 24 June.

On June 24, Guillermo Lasso led a march to the National Assembly of Ecuador to demand the permanent withdrawal of the proposed tax bills.^[23] Workers and trade unionists, mainly from the Frente Unitario de los Trabajadores (FUT), demonstrated in Quito denouncing Correa's policies, calling them "anti-popular" and were planning a national strike.^[24] Mesías Tatamuez, leader of FUT stated that the protests weren't related to taxes and weren't intended to destabilize of the Ecuadorian government as President Correa had stated.^[24] The workers' protests involved the sweeping of streets to represent the "cleansing" of corruption from Ecuador and the burning of an Alianza País flag.^[24]

Guillermo Lasso leading a march in Guayaquil on 25 June.

On June 25 in Guayaquil, Mayor Jaime Nebot led a demonstration of about 400,000 people, or about 20% of the city's population.^[1] The demonstrators gathered in light blue and white colors of Guayaquil's flag, and Nebot stated that he was not protesting against Correa but the "totalitarian system" he said Correa wanted to impose.^[1] Public buildings near the march were decorated by the Ecuadorian government, including a banner denouncing the accumulation of wealth.^[1]

In Quito, demonstrators congregated on Shyris Avenue and Mayor Mauricio Rodas denounced the new taxes.^[1]

July

In Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and other cities, thousands protested against Correa on July 2, days before Pope Francis' visit to the country.^[16] The Ecuadorian government held a countering rally at the president's palace.^[16]

Hundreds also protested on July 9 outside of the Alianza País headquarters denouncing the proposed taxes and alleged autocratic and corrupt actions.^[17] The protesters waited for Pope Francis to complete his visit to Ecuador before protesting again.^[17]

August

In early August, workers, union leaders and Indigenous leaders blocked roads to Quito and other cities in opposition to the taxes and the proposed constitutional amendment allowing unlimited terms for re-election. They also called for a general strike.^[25] Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Quito,^[5] and thousands of Indigenous people marched hundreds of miles to Quito in protests of oil and mining projects. CONAIE and other social movements joining the march called on the government to end police brutality against protestors and release detainees.^[26]

On August 15, the government declared a state of exception allowing the military to crackdown on protests. The measure was officially a response to increasing activity of the Cotopaxi volcano, but it applied to the entire country.^[6][4] CONAIE and other groups criticised the measure for its broad application outside the area of the volcano.

Additional marches protesting the constitutional amendments and resource extraction projects took place in September.^[6]

Public opinion

According to Cedatos-Gallup International polls from six major cities in Ecuador between 10 and 11 June, 70% of Ecuadorians disapproved of the real estate tax and 72% disapproved of the inheritance tax.^[7] Cedatos also observed President Correa's popularity drop from around 60% in recent years to 42% in 2015.^[17]

Polls also showed that a clear majority of people favored a popular referendum on the constitutional amendment permitting indefinite re-elections.^[6]

Internet outages

While protesters were demonstrating in Quito and Guayaquil, some internet users were unable to connect to a network with explanations ranging from network over-saturation to the use of signal jammers by the Ecuadorian government. The use of peer-to-peer applications increased during the protests due to the network problems with Opposition Senator Andres Paez recommending the use of the FireChat app. The media also reported Denial-of-service attacks and the creation of fake media accounts to falsify reports.^[20] It has also been reported that the Ecuadorian government uses "troll centers" to attack their opposition.^[20][27]

See also

• 2012 Ecuadorian protests
• 2019 Ecuadorian protests
• 2020 Ecuadorian protests
• 2022 Ecuadorian protests
• 2014–15 Venezuelan protests
• 2015 protests in Brazil
• List of protests in the 21st century

References

1. Morla, Rebeca (26 June 2015). "Correa Feels the Wrath of Massive Protests in Ecuador". PanAm Post. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
2. Marty, Belén (11 June 2015). "Ecuadorians Protest Ballooning Price of Socialist Revolution". PanAm Post. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
3. Glickhouse, Rachel (25 August 2015). "Explainer: What's Behind Ecuador's 2015 Protests?". Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
4. "Protests by 1,000s of Ecuadorians meet with brutal repression". the Guardian. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
5. "Ecuador: Crackdown on Protesters". Human Rights Watch. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
6. "After crackdown, protesters to march again against Ecuador's 'extractivism'". Mongabay Environmental News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
7. Alvaro, Mercedes (25 June 2015). "Protesters in Ecuador Demonstrate Against Correa's Policies". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
8. "If you can't beat 'em, referendum". The Economist. 15 November 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018.
9. Philip & Panizza 2011, p. 68.
10. Philip & Panizza 2011, p. 73.
11. Miroff, Nick (15 March 2014). "Ecuador's popular, powerful president Rafael Correa is a study in contradictions". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014.
12. "¿Tiene Ecuador un presidente autoritario?" [Does Ecuador have an authoritarian president?]. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
13. "Gobierno acentúa su intolerancia y autoritarismo". Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
14. Medel, Monica (21 March 2011). "Ecuador's president sues journalists for book alleging nepotism". Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017.
15. McFarren, Peter. "Es el presidente Correa culpable de nepotismo?" [Is President Correa guilty of nepotism?] (in Spanish). Human Rights Ecuador. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
16. Solano, Gonzalo (2 July 2015). "3 Days Before Pope Visit, Ecuador Protests Aim at President". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
17. Gupta, Girish (9 July 2015). Tait, Paul (ed.). "Papal truce over, Ecuador protesters return to streets". Yahoo! News. Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
18. "Thousands march in Ecuador to protest plan to allow indefinite re-election for president". Fox News. Associated Press. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
19. "Opponents of Ecuador's president stage huge march in biggest city to protest economic policies". Fox News. Associated Press. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
20. Velazco, Alfredo (28 June 2015). "The Internet, a Staging Post for Protests in Ecuador, is Under Threat". Translated by Glenn Bower. Global Voices Online. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
21. Bravo, Diego (8 June 2015). "'Fuera Correa fuera' vs. 'Ahí están, esos son los cachorros de León', se gritan dos bandos en la av. De los Shyris". El Comercio. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
22. "Anti-Government Protesters Confront President Correa Supporters". Yahoo! News. Storyful. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
23. "Día 13: protestas en Quito, Guayaquil y Cuenca" [Day 13: Protests in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca]. La República (in Spanish). 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
24. "Sindicatos marchan para preparar "paro nacional" en Ecuador" [Unions march to prepare "national strike" in Ecuador]. Diario de Yucatán (in Spanish). 24 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
25. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "General strike hits Ecuador in Correa protest | DW | 14.08.2015". DW.COM. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
26. "Indigenous March to Quito | Amazon Watch". 15 August 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
27. Morla, Rebeca (25 March 2015). "Correa's Social-Media Troll Center Exposed in Quito". PanAm Post. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2015.

Sources

• Philip, George; Panizza, Francisco (2011). The Triumph of Politics: The Return of the Left in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 978-0-7456-4749-4.