Ecuador Crisis - Or Was It Just A Strike Gone Wrong?

Ecuador Crisis - Or Was It Just A Strike Gone Wrong?

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Thursday 30th of September, 2010 will be remembered as the day when some members of the Ecuador police forces went on strike against President Correa in Quito. The strike spread to other cities. The strike then deteriorated to a physical skirmish.

The situation looked nasty for a while, but within a short time the problem was resolved by the military who came out in support of the President. The leaders of many other nations, including the United States, also came out in support of President Correa.

So what was it all for? Apparently the Police forces are saying that there has been a cut in their benefits and they decided this was only the way to address it? Ironically their salaries have been nearly doubled since Correa has been in power. So it seems that there are other forecast plays in the background.

President Correa stood his ground and it all ended with the President early this morning back in the Palace, the Police of Chief resigning, 2 dead and many injured.

Now this all sounds a bit dramatic, but I think it needs to be kept in perspective. We have all directly or indirectly witnessed far worse events.

For example, one that I was relatively close to was the Bali bombings in 2002. Over 200 people were killed, including 88 Australians. That ran shivers down my back because Bali was our family's favored annual vacation destination.

In 1996, a killing spree in Tasmania resulted in the death of 35 people and another 21 wounded.

I am quite sure that most of you can think of even worse examples.

Ecuador has a history of political uprisings and changes of Presidents, but life seems to go on as normal for most people. In this case, President Correa was simply standing his ground in an effort to cut the costs of running his Government.

Here is a recount of my day. Thursday morning I noticed that my radio station was not playing any music and there seemed to be much chatter and excited voices. But I really did not take too much notice.

When my driver arrived to take me to my Attorneys appointment he also had his radio on listening intently. I asked him what was going on. He explained the situation and thought it did not look to good. His view was he wanted Correa out. I asked if there was is placement waiting to take his place. He said no but they would elect someone else. I then asked how the people would know the next person would be any better.

From what I have seen, I don't believe Correa has been corrupt. He is just curbing excessive bureaucracy and trying to stamp out corruption in the public service, including in the police force. In this instance he did not run away - he stood his ground. He went as far as saying if they wanted him out, they would have to kill him. Thankfully it did not come to that.

At my Attorney's office it was all abuzz. My Attorney kept excusing himself to take many phone calls. One was to say that there were road blocks and the Universities had been closed. Why I asked about the University? He replied so that they students would not demonstrate. We both agreed that it was probably a bit late for that.

Another call came from a Congressman friend who advised "The revolution is on". I saw the message on his cell phone as he showed me. He also said that parents were calling the girls in his office to say don't go out on the streets. The last was to say that all airports were closed.

To me, I thought "Wow this is exciting". At no time did I feel frightened. So I left the office and walked into the centre of town because I wanted to pick up some health products from my usual store before returning home.

The day was sunny and warm as I walked up Calle Larga and turned down Luis Cordero. I passed the start of a demonstration. Green and blue banners were being handed out and you could see a frenzy start to happen. Funny how you stick out and no one bothered to hand me one of the banners. Now I wish I would have taken one just to see who they were talking about.

At the next corner I thought I best call my husband and let him know what was going on just in case I did not make it home in time. I walked into the health food store and mentioned to the customers that there seems to be a big problem with El Presidente and the people outside on the streets. The lady next to me spoke to me so fast and in a very excited way that I have no idea what she said. Ok; time to get home I thought.

I now had to get a cab and go home. I thought if I walked to Parque la Calderon I would easily get a cab in Simon Bolivar heading towards where I live. This was a bad idea. I passed through another demonstration and this time I know they were democrats as it said so on their flags. Again I pulled out my cell phone and snapped some photos.

As I continued across the square and down Simon Bolivar I noticed that nothing was open but for a few restaurants and it was not even 1p.m. At that time you would expect the different places to be closed.

Do you think I could get a cab? Everyone was trying to get home and all cabs were occupied. I have been told that there are about 3,500 taxis in Cuenca, so you can see that this event was significant. I was not about to turn down any other streets or walk to the river to get a cab. I figured I was best to walk straight toward home.

So I did. I walked home and by the time I could get a cab I didn't want to anymore. The day was warm and I did get a little sun burnt but I also got to see the people reacting in and around me. I walked up to see if the SuperMaxi was open, but found that was also closed.

Just before I got home I met another couple of expats who were obviously on their merry way to go shopping. We stopped and chatted and I mentioned what was going on. They admitted that they had no idea about the commotion.

The afternoon was like a Sunday in Cuenca - hardly any traffic or people around. We were told that it would be best to stay indoors. I called a couple of friends, locals and expats to see how everyone was and if there was any more news.

John kept me informed with the happenings from the internet. The crisis was being updated by the minute. The TV and radio stations had by now been taken over by the Government and it could possibly at that point been a little bit of propaganda. One of our Ecuadorian friends said the crisis was all over(from the TV reports), but John kept reading more minute by minute news from the internet - which suggested that it was not over at all.

Now it is Friday morning and I believe it is all over. The same joggers are jogging and I see the same people going frothier morning walks. There seems to be more traffic on the road but I have not heard the school bus this morning.

We have now lived a new part of Ecuador's political history. It will be interesting to see what unfolds today. One day of the Police revolt against the President will probably take many many days to get over. The President has vowed that he is going to cleanse the police force.

The airports re-opened late last night and the many people stranded in cities are starting to clear. I dare say there will be some delays for a while. Tours including my own have been cancelled for fear of traveling or not being able to get to Cuenca.

There were even road blocks set up around the country yesterday as Ecuador as we know it came to a complete stand still. But what will this event do for the economy of Ecuador? Was this an attempted coup, as the President has suggested, or was it simply a strike/protest gone wrong? We will find out in due course. Will foreigners still feel safe coming here? Of course we live here and where we are we don't feel threatened at all. But I am sure for those who are not here you may be thinking twice. I know of several cancellations through other sources already.

Hopefully you will still consider traveling to this beautiful country and come and see Cuenca.

About the Author:
Join Dixie and her husband as they share their experience on living in Ecuador. http://www.retire-in-ecuador.com



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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