"It was an unprecedented public negotiation in history …

Soledad Stoessel is Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the National University of La Plata and FLACSO-Ecuador. He followed closely the days of unemployment and mobilization that lasted eleven days and left, following the repression exerted by the state, a death toll of eight, 1152 people arrested and 1340 wounded. according to the figures of the office of the mediator. In dialogue with Page / 12, analyzes the consequences of the repeal of Decree 883, the role of the media and armed forces throughout the conflict, Lenin Moreno's break with correismo and its immediate future.

–Is the repeal of Decree 883 a victory for the Ecuadorian people?

-I believe in the first place that the repeal of the decree is the result of an unpublished public negotiation on the history of Ecuador, although it is acting from a partial victory of the popular campaign. The decree was the hard core of the pack. Additional proposals such as the elimination of income tax and labor reform that the government is trying to send to Congress persist. This is a very regressive reform in terms of labor rights, which reduces wages, cuts vacations, allows the dismissal of public sector employees and allows the privatization of social security. That is to say, the rest of the claims are subject to the repeal of this decree, with which much remains to be done.

-What scenario is now open to Lenín Moreno's government?

-Moreno has fostered a deep stigmatization of natives, unions, students, in short popular sectors. He was responsible for creating a gap between the popular camp and his own government. This whole crisis process is a turning point for a government already weakened by various adjustment measures following the agreement with the IMF in March, by decree. The Ecuadorian Constitution itself prohibits an agreement with the IMF without the citizens knowing the details of the agreement.

As I said, it is a very weakened government that has lost its ability. The Assembly has ceased its work and will now resume its work. The government is very exposed and will have little room for maneuver to implement public policies. The other fact to consider is that there is still two years before the next election. A moment of great uncertainty opens. And we must keep in mind that Moreno's only political agenda is to persecute correismo. In fact, the first thing Moreno does after repealing the decree is to start looking for references to Correa (Paola Pabón, prefect of Pichincha, was arrested Monday by the police without a warrant and after an illegal search).

-Moreno accuses Rafael Correa of ​​being behind his dismissal. When was the relationship between the two broken?

There are different assumptions about it. Lenín Moreno won the second round in 2017 with a fairly small margin. He was obviously interested in the speech of this right that he had not won. As soon as he assumes, he rode on this speech, in search of governability. That is why it generates a pact with the same bankers that caused the great crisis of 2009. It begins to approach the elites and adopts the economic landscape of the establishment. Its three great allies become from this moment the concentrated economic power, the armed forces and the media.

In this sense, what was the role of the press during the 11 days of the demonstration?

-Moreno is the most shielded president by the media since the democratic return. At this point, it has become even clearer. They did not present any of the demonstrations, they lined up on the governmental framework around the correísta plot, in the idea that everything was mafia or vandalism. Fortunately, there were a large number of alternative media and virtual platforms that broadcast everything online and live.

He also mentioned another of the government's great allies, the armed forces, who played a fundamental role during those 11 days of conflict.

-We have witnessed a brutal repression by the forces of order. The size of the assault has never been seen in Ecuador. It is directly related to violations of human rights. Government Minister María Paula Romo, who led the crackdown, and Defense Minister Raúl Oswaldo Jarrín, who has a long military career, are the main culprits. In fact, one of the main demands of the indigenous movements was the request for the revocation of these two ministers, a request that has obviously never been satisfied.

Interview: Guido Vassallo.