Ecuador

The announcement by the government of Lenín Moreno of a US$2.2bn package of economic counter-reforms on 1 October has led to mass demonstrations and strikes. The government, which fears losing control of the situation, has responded with brutal police repression and yesterday, 3 October, declared a state of emergency for 60 days.

On 12 June, the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid certified the request from the US to extradite Julian Assange for allegations of hacking and sharing classified American government documents. We wholeheartedly oppose his extradition and defend Assange’s freedom of speech.

The arrest of Julian Assange is a vicious assault on basic democratic rights. Through WikiLeaks, Assange has exposed the hair-raising crimes of US imperialism and its allies, including the UK. While war criminals like Bush and Blair walk free, Assange now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in a US prison. A defence of Assange is a defence of the right to freedom of expression and the right to information, against imperialist aggression.

The President of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, is threatening to expel whistleblower and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been for the last nine years, “within hours or days”. Moreno has accused Assange of leaking photos of the president and his family, along with intercepted private calls and correspondences. Moreno claimed on national radio that there were even “photos of my bedroom”, but has provided no evidence to substantiate his claims. This threat of expulsion is an assault on freedom of expression and should be

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Elections in Ecuador on February 19 were seen as a test both for Rafael Correa’s “Citizen’s Revolution” and for the general trend of the right wing winning elections and coming to power in several Latin American countries. Here are some initial comments from José Pereira from Lucha de Clases Bolivia. At the time of writing it was not clear whether a second round would be triggered, which is now the case.

Dramatic events unfolded in Ecuador yesterday, when a sizeable group of the country's police forces tried to overthrow the left-wing government of Rafael Correa. The official reason for the rebellion of the police forces was a law passed by Congress on Wednesday that would end the practice of giving members of Ecuador's military and police medals and bonuses with each promotion.

There is plenty of evidence that the workers and peasants in Ecuador have shifted radically to the left. Opinion polls, surveys and the real movements on the ground indicate that more and more people are turning against capitalism. This has produced the new Correa government. But again, we see temporising and vacillation. The masses want action, not talk.

On Sunday, April 15, the masses of Ecuador delivered a blow against the oligarchy and imperialism by voting massively in favour of calling a Constituent Assembly. In the face of opposition of all the parties over 81% voted Yes. The situation in Ecuador is going in the same direction as that in Venezuela.

With a resounding victory over his rival, Rafael Correa was elected president of the Republic of Ecuador in the elections on November 26, 2006. The Ecuadorian people have obtained an important victory over the groups which hold economic and political power. However this is just a first step. The masses must be ready against any attempts of the counter-revolution.

Governmental crises, general strikes, mass movements and revolutions have characterized the situation over the last six or seven years in Ecuador. Now national attention has been focused on the presidential elections where former Finance Minister Rafael Correa has emerged as self-proclaimed standard-bearer for the downtrodden masses.

The magnificent revolutionary movement in Ecuador has risen once again forcing the government to declare a state of emergency in four main provinces. What we are witnessing is the early beginnings of a movement that could develop towards a new insurrection.

Almost one year has passed since Lucio Gutierrez was ousted from power, overthrown by the rising of big sectors of the Ecuadorian population. His replacement, the former vice-president Alfredo Palacio, has not managed to solve any of the fundamental problems that led to the April 2005 rising. Great contradictions are accumulating and will sooner or later explode in new revolutionary events.

Once again the masses in Ecuador have risen up. As we predicted, the President, Lucio Gutierrez, has been overthrown by mass opposition. Before him Bucaram and Noboa were chased out of power by revolutionary uprisings of the masses. The pressure of the masses is unstoppable and reflects the revolutionary developments unfolding across the whole of Latin America.

The brutal repression of the teachers' protest in Ecudaor in December highlights the fact that the period of waiting on the part of the Ecuadorian masses is over. The movement of 2000 brought Lucio Gutierrez to power, but he has merely continued with IMF policies. Now Ecuador is poised for a new movement on a higher level, comparable to that of Bolivia.

The final results of the Ecuadorian elections have meant the victory of the left-supported candidate Lucio Gutierrez. As was the case with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Gutierrez has come to power pushed by the most oppressed and exploited sections of society in Ecuador. The new government will, from the very beginning, be subjected to the pressure of the masses and of imperialism and the Ecuadorian ruling class. It is completely impossible to conciliate these two sets of opposite interests and this will necessarily lead to a new heightening of the class struggle.

Once again Ecuador started the year with mass demonstrations and strikes. For ten days the whole of the country was paralysed by peasant road blocks, demonstrations and occupations of government buildings. A year after the revolutionary events of January 2000 very little has changed for the masses of workers and poor peasants who fought for a fundamental change in their living conditions.

Once again Ecuador started the year with mass demonstrations and strikes. For ten days the whole of the country was paralysed by peasant road blocks, demonstrations and occupations of government buildings. A year after the revolutionary events of January 2000 very little has changed for the masses of workers and poor peasants who fought for a fundamental change in their living conditions.

Since the revolution in January, in which the masses took power for a few hours and were betrayed, Ecuador seems to have returned to normal. The new president Noboa gave the go-ahead to a package of laws which mean the "dollarisation" of the economy, the deregulation of the labour market and massive privatisations. But inevitably, these measures are preparing the way for a new social explosion.