President of Ecuador insists on invitation to dialogue with indigenous people

The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, reiterated this Saturday his invitation to talk to the indigenous leader who is leading protests against the government over the rise in fuel prices, amid differences between the two.

“The well-being of all Ecuadorians will always be our priority,” Lasso wrote on Twitter, attaching an invitation addressed to the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), Leonidas Iza, for “a working meeting and dialogue on Wednesday 10 November”.

The appointment is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT) at the Palacio de Carondelet, seat of the national government, in the historic center of Quito.

The invitation comes after the president, a former right-wing banker in power since May, called Iza a “coup” and an “anarchist” in an interview with the BBC, during a tour of Europe that included his participation in COP26 in Glasgow.

The president of Conaie led two consecutive days of protests against Lasso’s economic policy in October, especially to reject the 90% increase in fuel rates since 2020.

In his letter, Lasso proposed to the indigenous leader “to analyze and debate issues of mutual interest” raised by the powerful Conaie – which participated in riots that overthrew three presidents between 1997 and 2005 – and the government on October 4, when they met for first time.

Iza said Wednesday from the Andean town of Saraguro (south) that there is a “predisposition to dialogue” on the part of the indigenous people. However, the president of Conaie demands that the president stop the “attacks” on the indigenous movement and answer for the indications in the Pandora Papers.

“Mr. Guillermo Lasso stop attacking the indigenous movement and the social sectors; better respond to Ecuador about the Pandora Papers report and the serious events that involve you with tax havens. Show the ability to face the economic crisis and listen to proposals, ”Iza wrote on Twitter.

On Friday, a commission of the Ecuadorian Congress considered that Lasso breached the law to be a candidate in the 2021 elections and suggested starting a process for his dismissal, after he appeared in the journalistic investigation called Pandora Papers.

According to that report, the president controlled 14 offshore companies, the majority based in Panama, and closed them after a 2017 law prohibits presidential candidates from having companies in tax havens.

The Executive considered that the Commission of Constitutional Guarantees, in charge of the investigation, “has disrespected due process and that its action lacks legal validity,” so it rejected its conclusions.

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