The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), Leonidas Iza, confirmed that this Wednesday there will be a sit-in in Quito in addition to the actions in the community of Palo Quemado, province of Cotopaxi, where the Government seeks to implement a mining project.

For at least two weeks, residents of the area have denounced the presence of soldiers and police, while the Ministry of Water, Environment and Ecological Transition intends to hold an environmental consultation.

Iza repudiated the threats concerning the actions against mining made by the head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, Jaime Vela, who stated in a video that the public force will not tolerate “any act that is intended to force society to act against its will under force or intimidation”, referring to the mobilizations against mining in Palo Quemado.

The officer recalled that Ecuador is under a state of emergency, which limits the right to freedom of assembly, among other guarantees, which is why he questioned the existence of an organized group that protests in the area and is allegedly “equipped with highly dangerous weapons.”

In response, the president of CONAIE expressed his indignation at the actions that the national government has decided to implement and rejected how the Executive insists on positioning the narrative that they are terrorists, when in reality in Palo Quemado parish the population is fighting against the imposition of a mining project.

The intention to impose this narrative of stigmatizing indigenous people, peasants, activists and social movements comes from the governments of Lenín Moreno (2017-2021) and Guillermo Lasso (2021-2023). It seeks to pave the way to plunder natural resources, Iza stressed, accusing the State of committing acts of violence, and force, and intimidating the population that opposes mining due to its consequences for nature, water, and inhabitants.

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