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Weekend Edition July 3-5, 2015<br>
<b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/03/ecuador-fights-for-survival-against-its-elites/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/03/ecuador-fights-for-survival-against-its-elites/</a></small></small></b><br>
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<div class="subheadlinestyle">"US and Local Elites United Against
Ecuador"</div>
<h1 class="article-title">Ecuador Fights for Survival – Against
its Elites</h1>
<div class="mainauthorstyle">by ANDRE VLTCHEK</div>
<div class="main-text">
<p>To overlook tremendous progress that Ecuador registered under
the current administration, would take great determination and
discipline.</p>
<p>New airports, highways, hospitals and culture centers are
everywhere, and they are impressive. Cities are counting with
wide sidewalks, and public parks are equipped with all sorts
of playgrounds for children, some extremely innovative.</p>
<p>There are public libraries in some of the parks, armed with
free Wi-Fi zones. Buses and trolleybuses are running on
dedicated lanes and are heavily subsidized (25 cents per
ride), while Quito is planning to build its first line of
metro.</p>
<p>Government puts great emphasis on health, education and
culture.</p>
<p>You want to check your pulse before a powerwalk in the park,
or are you a single mother who wants to talk to a
nutritionist? Help is always there, available. Not only at the
hospitals, but in small, modern health centers. And help is
always free!</p>
<p>While, when I used to live in this part of the world some two
decades ago, most theatres were out of reach for indigenous
people, now cultural institutions, including the National
Theatre, are celebrating great culture of the original owners
of this land. 85% of all cultural events in Ecuador are free
of charge and even those that are charging some entry fee are
heavily subsidized.</p>
<p>But above all, it is confidence and optimism on the faces of
common people that is impressive. While in 1990’s it was all
doom and gloom, young and old people coming from once deprived
neighborhoods of the cities, as well as countryside, are now
smiling assertively. Once again, this is their country, and
their home!</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>It is great news for majority of Ecuadorian citizens – but
terrible nightmare for the ‘elites’.</p>
<p>They no longer feel unique, no longer is this country their
huge, private playground and a milking cow. The ‘elites’ still
have money and their villas, as well as servants, luxury cars
and regular trips to those lands they are faithfully serving –
North America and Europe.</p>
<p>But their status is diminishing. No longer they feel admired,
no longer they are feared. Increasingly they are forced to
play by rules and to respect local laws. That would be
unimaginable just ten years ago. For some, this is the end of
the world!</p>
<p>The rich, the ‘elites’, are sour losers. In fact, they have
no idea how to accept defeat. Never before in the history of
this country they actually had to. To them this is new
reality, this nation ruled by the government, which is working
on behalf of the people. The ‘elites’ feel let down, cheated,
even humiliated. They have no idea how to respect democracy
(rule of the people). They only know how to make decisions,
and to give orders, and to loot.</p>
<p>This could lead to inevitable conflict, and Ecuador is not an
exception. To greater or smaller extend, the same is happening
in Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and even in
Chile. Immediately after people vote a socialist government
in, immediately after the government begins working for the
majority, the elites start reacting. Their goal is clear and
predictable: to discredit the administration and to reverse
the course.</p>
<p>Attacks can be performed through ‘nonviolent’ means,
including protests, disinformation campaign through mass
media, even hunger strikes. Or they can be conducted by
extremely aggressive means: economic sabotage, creation of
shortages; things that extreme right wing used so successfully
against the socialist government of Salvador Allende in Chile,
before the 1973 military coup.</p>
<p>If everything else fails, ‘elites’ unite their forces with
the military and with the West, commit treason, and attempt to
overthrow legitimate left-wing government, through direct
actions.</p>
<p>This happened on several occasions in Venezuela, and now,
such violent scenario could not be excluded in Ecuador and
elsewhere.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Lately, in Ecuador, right-wing ‘elites’ are continuously
protesting against the administration, accusing it of
corruption and other ills.</p>
<p>The latest chapter was related to proposed progressive
inheritance tax law, which would order those who own houses
priced over 1 million dollars, to pay 70 percent to the state.
Poor people would pay nothing, if their houses cost lesser
than 35.000 dollars. Those whose dwellings are priced under
US$100.000 would still pay very little.</p>
<p>Rich Ecuadoreans see this as unacceptable. They began
stalking government offices. They protested all over the
capital. They launched tremendous propaganda campaign against
the government. And they threatened to disrupt the visit of
the Pope Francis, to Ecuador. Fearing huge scandal, the
government postponed passing of the law. That calmed down
passions for a day or two, but in no time the protesters
returned to the streets of Quito.</p>
<p>“We will not rest until this government collapses!” A man
taking his family to one of protest sites told me. Entire
family dressed in black, crosses hanging on their chests.</p>
<p>And then again, before leaving Ecuador, I was approached by a
well to do family, as I was walking towards my hotel:</p>
<p>“Please, our daughter is writing an essay in English… It is
her homework, for her English language class… Private school,
you know… She was asked to approach a foreigner, and encourage
him or her to describe everything negative that is happening
in this country.”</p>
<p>How did they know I was a foreigner? Oh yes, I was holding a
novel written in English.</p>
<p>I patted their cute private-school daughter on the head.</p>
<p>“I will teach you a nice song”, I said, in Spanish.</p>
<p>Then I clenched my right fist and began singing
“International”, loudly and clearly, in Russian.</p>
<p>In horror, they fled. One passer-by applauded.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Corruption is one of the main rallying cries of the ‘elites’.
They claim that the government is mismanaging the country.</p>
<p>They can get away with such statements only because they are
controlling mass media – most of the television networks and
newspapers. Otherwise, entire country would die from laugher.</p>
<p>When right wing was in charge, it grabbed everything. Like in
Paraguay where 2% of the population is still controlling well
over 75% of land. Like in Chile, where, after Pinochet was
forced to step down, his country was suffering from the
greatest income disparity in South America. Like in Venezuela,
where, before Hugo Chavez became the President, ‘elites’
grabbed billions, using oil deposits as collateral for insane
loans that were happily supplied by the West and its
institutions. Corruption and theft had been synonymous with
the upper class rule, everywhere in Latin America.</p>
<p>It should not be forgotten that John Perkins, author of
“Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”, was actually working
mainly in Ecuador and Indonesia, when he was administering
sex, alcohol and cash as tools to persuade local elites to
take more and more unnecessary loans, because indebted nation
is easy to control from Washington or London.</p>
<p>Entire nations, including Ecuador, were robbed, plundered,
forced into perpetual underdevelopment. By whom?! By those
damned elites who are now talking about corruption in the
government ranks!</p>
<p>Instead of being grateful that they are not facing treason
trials, ‘elites’ in places like Ecuador are now, once again,
on the offensive, selling their souls and their country to the
Empire!</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>In an indigenous city of Riobamba, I speak to Pablo Narvaez,
director of culture, and to his wife Carina.</p>
<p>Pablo and Carina created impressive regional youth orchestra,
not unlike those in Venezuela. But here, they did it first
with almost no help, by training poor boys and girls from the
villages, turning them into impressive professional musicians.</p>
<p>Local house of culture, under their management, is inspiring,
as a building but mainly because of what it is offering: high
quality art, most of it political: pigs devouring dollar
bills, while poor indigenous children are watching in
desperation and spite. In another room, great satirical
painting demonstrates that indigenous people from Amazonia are
not pure, anymore, squeezing their VAIO computers and mobile
phones.</p>
<p>After discussing local art, we all walk to the market, where
countless cheeky women serve local delicacy – suckling pigs.</p>
<p>“Hey!” they scream at me and at my friend Walter Bustos, who
used to be part of the government, and who is still deeply
involved in the ‘process’. “Hey, eat my pig and then marry
me!”</p>
<p>These are not shy, depressed indigenous women, anymore. These
are confident good-hearted matrons living in the country that
gave them back their dignity, and sense of humor.</p>
<p>Pablo, originally concert pianist and professor, is not
always holding the same political line as the President of
Ecuador, but they agree on many issues:</p>
<p>“Ideologically, I come from the left. But I do not belong to
any political party. We are all human beings, and so I
intuitively believe in equality. I share many believes with
the government, when it comes to social inclusivity and
education, as well as the infrastructure. The process is long,
we all have to be patient…”</p>
<p>We talk about the progress that had been already made: great
improvement in health, water supply, electricity, education
and culture.</p>
<p>Riobamba has only over 200.000 people. Before Pablo and his
wife came on board, the city had 50 live events annually.</p>
<p>“Now we arrange over 750 events per year”, says Pablo. “We
utilize all infrastructure that we have here: theatres,
museums, even churches…. Markets, too, as well as public
squares.”</p>
<p>Culture and arts always form important part of the Latin
American revolutions. On this continent, it is not only about
ideology, ideas and hard work; it is also about heart and
dreams.</p>
<p>“And what about the taxes?” I ask, before we part. I know
that Carina used to work in this field. I told her, that on
the way to Riobamba, we stopped in a village, where people
complained even about symbolic one dollar per month taxation.</p>
<p>Carina smiles: “Taxes always existed. I used to help
collecting them. But now they are formalizing the tax system.
Here, until now, there is no ‘culture’ of paying taxes,
formally…”</p>
<p>And this is what the right wing is using for its own
political gains. Their propaganda shouts: “Let us win and you
will pay nothing!” They dare to say this to the poor whom they
were robbing for centuries!</p>
<p>Before we leave, youth orchestra is blasting old traditional
Quechua tune, to celebrate out visit. It is all touching and
we all feel optimistic.</p>
<p>Pablo gives me several books of poetry published in Riobamba,
his own and those of other poets. All of them are published in
two languages: in Spanish and in local language – Quechua.</p>
<p>We drive back to Quito, part of our long journey on a
perfect, new 6-lane highway.</p>
<p>Countryside is stunning. On the left, spectacular volcano
Cotopaxi, one of the highest in the world, is hiding its
snow-capped peak in the clouds. Ecuador, President Correa
often says, is like a paradise on earth. It has tall
mountains, stunning coastline, jungle of Amazonian basin, and
Galapagos Islands, overflowing with pristine fauna and flora.</p>
<p>It also has natural great resources. If there is no sabotage
from ‘elites’, if there is no intervention from the West, this
country could continue flourishing under progressive,
people-oriented, socialist government.</p>
<p>But there is sabotage, there is subversion, and there are
interventions.</p>
<p>And all this could collapse, if not defended!</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Back in Quito, I speak to Sonya Maria Bustos and her husband
Norberto Fuertes, both journalists, now working for the
magnificent Ecuadorian Cultural Center.</p>
<p>They offer to connect me to some top government officials,
including Oscar Bonillo, the secretary general of Allianza.</p>
<p>I refuse. Next time, yes, but during this visit I want to
travel and see with my own eyes; I want to hear directly what
people of Ecuador have to say.</p>
<p>Sonya is sad:</p>
<p>“Because of ‘elites’, country is now unstable, despite the
fact that so many things changed for better! No more hospitals
full of poor children! Do you remember – before, sick people
were everywhere! New hospitals are growing all over the
country. But some very rich people are trying to get into the
government – to infiltrate it…. In order to stop the
progress.”</p>
<p>She pauses. We are both lost in thoughts. Then she continues:</p>
<p>“Now rich people get out of their Hummers in order to
protest. 8 years of great progress, but they are still
protesting. They have no shame… People like Guillermo Lasso,
who has definitely some sort of contract with the United
States…”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>My friend Tamara Pearson, an Australian journalist who spent
many years living in and covering Venezuela, is now working
for TeleSUR in Quito. Like myself, she is impressed by
developments in Ecuador, under Correa:</p>
<p>“If you ask people in Ecuador: in Quito, in the big and small
towns around it, how they feel about the current government,
almost all of them are positive – in stark contrast to the
people in Honduras and Guatemala, for example. Often the first
thing they’ll mention is the roads: a lot of infrastructure
has been improved, and roads mean a lot to so many
communities, many of them indigenous, that were cut off and
isolated with only harsh dirt roads, often broken up by
landslides from the constant rain, to connect them to larger
towns and to food and gas supplies. Though there is much still
to do, poverty has decreased, corruption has notably
decreased, and people feel that things are decent, dignified,
and stable and want that to continue. Most remember the greedy
presidents of the past who lied and stole, and unlike Correa,
did not speak Quechua, and don’t want to return to those days.
Like Chavez, Correa has his weekly show (though on Saturdays
here – in Venezuela it was on Sunday mornings). The show goes
for hours, and Correa discusses issues and provides
information on what the government is doing. A summary is
given in Quechua at the end. Though there is much less of a
push towards political participation here than in Venezuela –
I’d say almost none – its clear that this is a government that
puts people first, the poor majority first, and Correa at
least prioritizes informing people of what the government is
doing, – something the Australian government for example,
doesn’t even bother to do.”</p>
<p>But many others, including Walter Bustos, worry about the
future. Walter worries that President Correa does not have the
military covering his back. He also worries that dollarization
of Ecuadorean economy could prove to be a weak point for
political resistance against the West. He worries that many
young people are turning into technocrats, and that, at the
end, as long as they keep their good jobs, they wouldn’t care
for whom they are working, for Correa or for someone else.</p>
<p>His friend Paola Pabon, Assembly member representing
Pichincha, worries as well. She supports President Correa, and
she sees him as a great regional leader, but she also admits
that Ecuadorian revolution is fragile, and that there is lack
of unity between the government and the military.</p>
<p>Both agree that the US is behind the recent protests.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>At the end of my work in Ecuador, I fly to Cuenca, to that
beautiful colonial city, and from there I hire a car and drive
to the hard of Cañari land, to Ingapirca, where massive Inca
castle still dominates gentle landscape, and where old Inca
and pre-Inca road systems are still connecting villages and
towns.</p>
<p>Miguel, a local comrade, is travelling with me. He also
translates when we enter deep villages that are lost at the
bottom of valleys, or are hugging steep green hills.</p>
<p>“Spaniards robbed everyone here,” I am told. “They took
everything. They destroyed castles and settlements. Then
capitalism took the rest.”</p>
<p>“People were forced into Christianity”, I say. “They were
ruined by Christianity. Do they really still believe in it?”</p>
<p>I am told that Christianity is just a ritual, for the
majority here. People do not attach much importance to it,
anymore. Their lives go on, and their original culture is once
again prevailing.</p>
<p>Near Ingapirca I am witnessing people celebrating The Inti
Raymi, “Festival of the Sun”, dating back to Inca Empire.</p>
<p>I am told about determined government drinking water projects
and schemes, and about improvements in both health and
education. Most of the people here, as well as around
Riobamba, are benefiting from those revolutionary changes.</p>
<p>But many are not able to formulate their support for Correa.
They take recent developments for granted.</p>
<p>And Correa and his men and women are not very good at
propaganda, or with mobilizing the people, definitely not as
good as President Chavez used to be in Venezuela.</p>
<p>Here, the revolution is gentle and shy, as is the accent of
Cañari people near Cuenca.</p>
<p>And there lies the danger.</p>
<p>Ecuadorean ‘elites’ are not gentle at all. Their arrogance,
greed and selfishness are ready to smash all achievements of
the revolution. Their message is clear: to hell with
Ecuadorian people, especially those who are poor, as long as
we can keep our villas, Hummers and our kids in those private
schools!</p>
<p>Just recently, President Correa warned that the plan of
destabilizing the government is being put in action.</p>
<p>Leaders of the “opposition” will wait until arrival of Pope
Francis, or perhaps they will wait bit longer, until his
departure from Ecuador. Then they will hit. And they will hit
hard. The mayor of Quito leads the anti-government forces in
the capital.</p>
<p>The government should not follow the path of President
Allende. It has to counter-attack, before it is too late!
Treason is serious crime in all societies. And treason is
exactly what Ecuadorean elites are now committing!</p>
<br>
<p><strong><em>Andre Vltchek</em></strong><em> is a philosopher,
novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He covered
wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. His latest books
are: “</em><a
href="http://www.amazon.com/Exposing-Lies-Empire-Andre-Vltchek/dp/6027005866"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);"><em>Exposing
Lies Of The Empire</em></a><em>” and </em><em>“</em><a
href="http://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Against-Western-Imperialism-Vltchek/dp/6027005823"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);"><em>Fighting
Against Western Imperialism</em></a><em>”</em>.<em>Discussion
with Noam Chomsky:</em> <a
href="http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745333878"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.plutobooks.com']);"><em>On
Western Terrorism</em></a><em>. </em><a
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0977459071/counterpunchmaga"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);"><em>Point
of No Return</em></a><em> is his critically acclaimed
political novel. </em><a
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1409298035/counterpunchmaga"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);"><em>Oceania</em></a><em> –
a book on Western imperialism in the South Pacific. His
provocative book about Indonesia: “</em><a
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0745331998/counterpunchmaga"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);"><em>Indonesia
– The Archipelago of Fear</em></a><em>”. Andre is making
films for teleSUR and Press TV. After living for many years
in Latin America and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and
works in East Asia and the Middle East. He can be reached
through his </em><a href="http://andrevltchek.weebly.com/"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://andrevltchek.weebly.com']);"><em>website</em></a><em>
or his </em><a href="https://twitter.com/AndreVltchek"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://twitter.com']);"><em>Twitter</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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