Leftist Protestors in Ecuador Force Evacuation of National Legislature (Translation & Photos)

Diario Hoy ( Quito ) ^ | January 30, 2007 | staff ( translated by self )

[StJacques]

VIOLENCE IN PROTESTS SUPPORTING A CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

Deputies evacuate the Congress amid insults and gas

The police pushed back hundreds of protestors from the zone bordering the National Congress Tuesday January 30th, after confrontations occurred between the police and protesters who demanded the restoration of a Constituent Assembly.

A contingent of police with anti-disturbance armored vehicles and material pushed back the protestors who surrounded the building and broke up violent groups.

The Congress had begun its session to debate the documentation remitted by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on the calling of the popular consultation for the Constituent Assembly, which the government sent to that body last January 15th.

The police evacuated the legislators by a back door to avoid incidents.

Views of the Protest from Above
An EFE Photo-Journalist Injured at Left, Legislators Evacuated at Right
Police Clash with Protestors at Left, Throw Tear Gas at Right

[StJacques]

Well, Rafael Correa, Ecuador's newly-elected Chavista President is following the template of his idols and predecessors Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales and is turning to street violence as a means of intimidating the Ecuadoran Congress into calling a Constituent Assembly into session. Chavez did so and successfully rewrote the Venezuelan Constitution to suit himself and Evo Morales has been trying -- though with less than full success -- to do the same in Bolivia.

It may be interesting to discover if Ecuadorans are watching what is happening in Venezuela and find their spine as a result now that the mask of Chavismo is off and the truth is out in the open for everyone to see. Those legislators do not look like a happy bunch to me.

[StJacques]

A Latin American Left Watch ping for you all.

Anyone wishing to be included on the ping list may either ping me from this thread or contact me via Freepmail.

[BenLurkin]

Typical.

They'd do it here if they had half a chance.

They're never happy until someone gets killed.

[Dallas59]

A constituent assembly is a body elected with the purpose of drafting, and in some cases, adopting a constitution.

[Kitten Festival]

Thanks for putting together this valuable report and all the excellent pictures. The thuggery of Correa knows no bounds. He needs the boot. Or the meathook, whichever can be accomplished first.

[norton]

I'm confused here:
the protesters are supporting the elected president & trying to force an elected assembly to reconsider their constitution so that it more closely resembles Venezuela's one man/all the votes rule by decree?

Or not?

[livius]

The unfortunate thing is that with the example given by Chavez - who did all of these things and got away with them - his clones, such as Correa, will probably be able to move even faster.

[StJacques]

Yes Dallas59, that's exactly what Rafael Correa wants. To rewrite Ecuador's Constitution to give him broader powers so he can push his leftie "reform" program through with a minimum of effort. Chavez did it in Venezuela and Morales is trying, and perhaps failing, to do it in Bolivia.

[StJacques]

norton -- it does sound odd to our ears but yes; the President of Ecuador is indeed calling out protestors to threaten the Congress of the country with violence if they do not call the Constituent Assembly he is asking for.

The following translated excerpt is from a Colombian newspaper report on the incident. Note the intimidating stance of Correa's Vice President as he speaks of the legislature being at fault rather than the protestors:

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. . . The Vice President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, assured everyone last Monday that dialogue with Congressmen and members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) had "exhausted itself" on the call to convene a Constituent Assembly.

"Dialogue has exhausted itself. The gentlemen Deputies and the gentlemen of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal only have to glue their ears to the ground and to listen to what the people want. The people want a new set of rules, what they have does not persuade them. Please let us change that set of rules," Moreno indicated.

The Vice President indicated to the deputies that "the Constituent Assembly right is only delegated to the Congress, not given as a gift, not given away in permanent form. When the people wish to they can rescue it for themselves, they can reclaim it for themselves, and they can exercise that. . . ."
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You see, it's not the protestor's fault for using violence, it's the Congress's fault for not giving Correa and his Chavista allies what they want. That's intimidation.

[SquirrelKing]

This is what the bed-wetting Left in our country fantasizes about being able to do at their patheic "Patriotic Terrorist" rallies.

Losers..

[tanuki]

Enough with the prelim drama, have the bloody coup already!

[Malesherbes]

Thanks for the post. I've been following events in Bolivia and am less informed about Ecuador. I know Bolivia uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency. Is Correa going to try to change this?

[Army Air Corps]

Gads, parts of South America are beginning to resemble the Weimar Republic during its decline into fascist rule.

How long before the Chavistas battle against one another for the mantle of leadership of their movement? The pattern of dictators within a movement is that, eventually, they battle among themsleves for primacy in and control over that movement.

[StJacques]

Correa did state during the campaign that he intended to move Ecuador's currency away from the U.S. dollar, but then he supposedly changed his mind. I know he wants to support Chavez's idea for a South American currency, but near the end of the campaign he changed his stance on "dollarization."

http://www.publiuspundit.com/?cat=81

And if you are following events in Bolivia I would like to ping you when I post on that country. I'm especially interested in following the dos tercios issue in the Constituent Assembly and whether the Cruceños and Media Luna are going to succeed in achieving autonomy.

You can see some of our Bolivian discussions below:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=stjtranslation

[StJacques]

". . . How long before the Chavistas battle against one another for the mantle of leadership of their movement? . . ."

I think Chavez's divine ordination is taken for granted among that crew:

[Army Air Corps]

Yikes, there is an image that I did not need.

On a serious note, I am curious just long the other Chavistas will be Hugo's little puppies.

[StJacques]

The other Chavistas will not get to succeed to any degree comparable to what Hugo has achieved because everyone else is watching Chavez and gasping in horror. In Bolivia, Evo Morales has been forced to, at least publicly state, that he accepts the "2/3 vote" requirement for passing individual clauses of the new Constitution the country's Constituent Assembly is now writing. The issue of autonomy for the four "departments" (i.e. "states") of the eastern part of Bolivia has also grown in its importance. And here we see Rafael Correa in Ecuador facing a legislature telling him that they will ponder his proposed constitutional "reforms" and that there is no need to call a Constituent Assembly.

And I don't even need to look at Daniel Ortega who is completely hamstrung from doing anything sweeping given the legislature he faces.

[piasa]

Well, Rafael Correa, Ecuador's newly-elected Chavista President is following the template of his idols and predecessors Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales and is turning to street violence as a means of intimidating the Ecuadoran Congress into calling a Constituent Assembly into session. Chavez did so and successfully rewrote the Venezuelan Constitution to suit himself and Evo Morales has been trying -- though with less than full success -- to do the same in Bolivia....

Now we can add Honduras to that

[Cindy]

Disturbing — to say the very least.