Star Metro - Top Indigenous leader arrested in Ecuador amid protests

The arrest of Leonidas Iza, leader of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), sparked outrage, with authorities deploying police in riot gear and soldiers to stand guard outside the public prosecutor's office where he was in custody awaiting a hearing.

Demonstrators gathered outside the building, holding signs reading "Freedom for Iza!" and "We are not violent people, we are people in resistance."

Iza, a leader of the Kichwa-Panzaleo community, had been arrested in Pastocalle, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Quito, on suspicion of unspecified "offenses," the police tweeted early Tuesday.

Pastocalle has been a flash point of protests called by Conaie against rising fuel prices and living costs, which saw demonstrators block roads across the country on Monday, some of which remained obstructed the next day.

Conaie confirmed the arrest of the 39-year-old Iza, condemning his detention as "arbitrary and illegal" and calling for a "radicalization" of the demonstrations in response.

"We call our organizational structure to a great Indigenous and popular uprising," Conaie tweeted in the hours after Iza's arrest. "Long live the social struggle!"

The Inredh human rights group, which confirmed Iza was being held at the public prosecutor's office, warned that his detention "will provoke major indignation and a wave of violence."

In 2019, Conaie-led protests resulted in 11 deaths and forced then-president Lenin Moreno to abandon plans to eliminate fuel subsidies. The group is also credited with helping topple three presidents between 1997 and 2005.

Oil producer Ecuador has been hit by rising inflation, unemployment and poverty, strains exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

President Guillermo Lasso warned late Sunday that the government would not allow roads or Ecuador's oil installations to be taken over by protesters.

But Iza insisted the demonstrations would continue for as long as was necessary.

Starting in the early hours of Monday, protesters set tires alight and built barricades of sand, rocks and tree branches across roads in at least 11 of Ecuador's 24 provinces, authorities said, with access to the capital Quito partly cut off.

Authorities estimate that 6,000 people took part in Monday's protests, although Iza had accused them of "minimizing" the demonstrations.

- Fruitless talks -

Lasso denounced "acts of vandalism" during the protests, including "the burning of patrol cars, invasions of farms, the breaking of windscreens on private and school vehicles, an attack on an oil pumping facility, the cutting off of community water supplies, the closure and serious damage to state roads."

However, several security ministers denied there was an attack on the oil pumping facility in Ecuador's Amazon region.

Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said five people have been detained, including Iza.

Conaie has taken part in several rounds of fruitless talks with Lasso's government.

Fuel prices have risen sharply since 2020, almost doubling for diesel from $1 to $1.90 per gallon (about 3.78 liters) and rising from $1.75 to $2.55 for gasoline.

Lasso froze prices at this level last October after a round of protests led by Conaie that saw dozens arrested and several people, including police, injured in clashes.

But the freeze failed to assuage simmering anger in a country that exports crude oil but imports much of the fuel it consumes.

Conaie wants the fuel price lowered to $1.50 per gallon for diesel and $2.10 for gasoline.

The protesters are also demanding the government address price controls on agricultural products that hurt farmers and mining concessions granted in Indigenous territories.

They have also called on the government to create more jobs and to renegotiate farmers' debts with banks.

Indigenous peoples make up over a million of Ecuador's 17.7 million inhabitants.

L.Girard--SMC