He highlighted that the indigenous movement never had an ideological alliance or coincidences with President Rafael Correa.

Cholango also warned that the national government is aiming to sign Free Trade Agreements with the US and the European Union with another name. “We are paying attention. We will never take a step back”, he said.

In an interview with Teleamazonas from Ecuador, the recently elected Chair of CONAIE said that this popular consultation is “illegitimate” and a “risk for democracy in the country”, since it “gives too much power to the President”.

The consultation proposed by Correa’s administration aims to modify the Constitution in terms of safety of the citizens and reform the Court system, and asks the population questions about general issues such as corruption, communication media and work.

“We’ll vote ten times NO”, said Cholango on behalf of the Ecuadorian indigenous movement “because this consultation won’t change anything.”

On April 23rd, CONAIE withdrew the “staff of command” they had given Correa in 2007 and 2009 as a sign of support to his administration. The indigenous movement considers that the Ecuadorian president betrayed that support, and they reject the criminalization of their protests, making reference to the legal actions brought by Correa’s administration against them.

“The staff of command is a symbol of power for all Andean indigenous peoples, but it is also a symbol of authority and obedience of the peoples who have chosen a leader”, said Cholango and added that Correa has “criminalized indigenous peoples and mocks them”. He also accused the Ecuadorian President of “racist attitudes”. These are the reasons why the peoples decided on Saturday to withdraw the staff on command, he said.

Cholango stated “we’ve never had an alliance with President Correa or with Movimiento Pais”, the political party of Correa. He said that there have been specific coincidences between the demands of the indigenous movement and the proposals of the president, for instance in terms of the establishment of a Constituent Assembly, the rejection to the US base Manta, in Manabi province, and the FTA with the US.

“But in terms of the programs, there is nothing. Where is the agrarian revolution?”, regretted Cholango. In addition, he said that Correa’s administration aims to sign an FTA with the US and the European Union under another name, and said that CONAIE will be alert.

Photo: http://www.aler.org