The Outcry of the Streets

The situation in Ecuador brings the power of social protest to the forefront. But democracies, ruled by legality, tend to lose more than authoritarian governments. Why?

Illustration: Erick Retana.

By Fabiola Chambi

Social vindication does not emerge suddenly, it remains appeased while waiting for answers but then flares up when those answers fail to come. That is what happened in Ecuador, once again, when on Monday, June 13th, the CONAIE (Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indigenas) sparked a series of protests in Quito and in other cities to demand a decrease in the fuel price, control of agricultural consumables and more money invested in education and health, among others. 

Situations such as this one, comprising distressed governments, political crises and prevalent scenarios of violence are not exceptional in Latin America, a place with an extensive track of tragic revolts. In 2019, one of the most convulsive years for the region, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, Honduras and Ecuador, aside from the specificity of their claims this showed how the democratic institutionality can crack. 

The right to protest, acknowledged by several constitutions, allows citizens to raise their voice, and in fact protests have become more frequent. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, the last decade (2011-2021) has seen an increase in the degree of civil unrest fundamentally as a result of the recession “driven by the global economic crisis of 2008 and of the impact of austerity policies imposed by governments”. But also, and to a greater extent, as a consequence of the pandemic. 

In his first anniversary as President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso faced a popular clamor that was overflowing with unsolved demands, as well as a deep government crisis that was threatened by broken alliances and by the shadow of Correismo, trying to topple him via the Assembly. Though the problem seems to be a lack of power altogether.

Indeed, Lasso received a fractured country with multiple problems pierced by the crisis of the pandemic, but also by continuous years of corruption and impunity. As explained by Ruth Hidalgo, Director of Corporacion Participacion Ciudadana de Ecuador: “He neglected the construction of a social agenda while recovering the monetary reserves, and that is taking a toll on him (…) The government has been disconnected from reality and, without a social agenda, it has overlooked the petitions of social organizations of the severely impacted indigenous sector. It has configured today’s perfect storm.”

According to the INEC (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos), multidimensional poverty, encompassing health, education, housing, income and employment indicators, affects 39.2% of the population, and in 2021 it increased in the rural areas compared to 2020. Meaning that reactivation and improvements in quality of life never made it to the most vulnerable populations.

Unquestionably, the requests of the CONAIE and other sectors are legitimate, albeit nuanced. According to Isabela Ponce, renowned journalist and Director of the GK outlet, which closely follows-up on the history of indigenous populations: “these are decades of abandonment”. But she also acknowledges that not all of the demands fall within the government’s power, since some factors are external. “Demands are nontechnical and lack feasibility studies, for instance, they are asking to decrease the fuel price but at the same time to put a halt to the oil and mining expansion, it is very complex. The social protest is legitimate, yes; some violent people are taking advantage of it, yes; police repression is disproportionate, yes.”

So, what happens when the liberty of others is transgressed in the streets? The conflict escalates to another level and political interests appear. Factors which clearly seek to undermine governability and the presidential figure. 

Vulnerable to the Protests

In Ecuador, the request to oust President Lasso gained strength in recent days, but it was blocked in the National Assembly when it failed to attain the required two thirds of the votes, amounting to 92 of its 137 members. This paralyzed the so-called “crossed death”, intended to anticipate a call for general elections, at least for now. The ghost of a removal was scared away, but instead of a victory, Lasso’s government was evidently left weakened. 

The fact that this social protest in Ecuador almost collapsed the government of a country under the rule of a democratically-elected president contrasts the outcome of similar situations but for authoritarian regimes. “Democracies are more vulnerable to protests than authoritarian governments, it is a sad reality,” says Guillermo Tell Aveledo, PhD in political sciences and professor of political studies at Universidad Metropolitana de Caracas.

“Democratic constitutional governments are inhibited by their values, by the delimitation of its branches, by political culture and by the particular disposition of the leader to exercise strong repression, but they pay a greater price for that repression. In the case of authoritarian governments, the price is less exactly because they are expected to be more violent in their repression,” he explains.

It happened in Chile in 2019, when the student wrath repressed by a military display  had President Sebastian Piñera walking on thin ice. He had no other choice than to hold off the price rise he had set for the subway in Santiago, amidst an unsustainable situation.

Colombia was another example in which the police force went face-to-face with people banging pots and pans in chaotic public demonstrations that almost cost President Ivan Duque his position; his government played deaf to vindication.

Although the situation has similar connotations in Bolivia, three years ago the streets gauged the popular power in an unprecedented political crisis that led to the resignation and exile of former President Evo Morales. The use of armed forces played a fundamental part and the oppressive actions of the outgoing and transitory governments have left a profound polarization as a side-effect.

Peru can’t be left aside when referring to instability. The country has not managed to consolidate its institutionality, and despite having a democratically-elected president, they are always in the tightrope. Internal political pressures are added to several sectors being fed up with and taking to the streets to express their discontent.

In all of these scenarios, damages are often incalculable because, in spite of many attempts, agreed understandings are never easy. 

However, the outlook is very different to the protests in Nicaragua, Venezuela and even Cuba, where authoritarian regimes have a single way of governing: through repression.

This presents a reality: it is not the same to protest against an authoritarian and illegitimate regime than against a democratically-elected government. In the former, people manifest their rebelliousness because they lack other means to express their will. In the latter, they do it to present realities that governments (arrogantly) fail to perceive. As the expert adds, “In Latin America, protests can be a victory of society with effects on political change and in transitions to democracy”.

Winning an election does not guarantee continuity in power. As clearly seen in Ecuador, the urgency for reforms, the fight against inequality, economic adjustments and all the campaign promises have a shorter term and are under closer social scrutiny. Disrespecting that reality may pave the way to social protests which, justifiably, can also violate the rights of the majorities that voted in the election process. 

Streets have memories, harbor stories, roar truths. But they also prove that, regardless of the efforts to reach consensus, there is a high price to be paid. Lives lost, alliances that are broken or halfway governments in detriment of the democratic system. 

Amidst the protests, the voices of indigenous Maria Elena de Zumbahua Cotopaxi were reiterated, she complained about inequality. “I don’t have enough. Our husbands work in construction, and the weekly pay is 100 dollars. What is it good for? For transportation fares, that’s it, we are hungry, we struggle. We came here empty handed to scream, our mouths are screaming”.

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