indigenous peoples
“El texto del proyecto de ley que se tramita bajo el expediente No. 16.047, ‘Tratado de Libre Comercio República Dominicana - Centroamérica - Estados Unidos’ (TLC), en virtud de contener disposiciones normativas que pueden afectar directamente a los pueblos indígenas, debe ser consultado a esas comunidades (...)”. Con este párrafo concluye un informe en el cual el Departamento de Servicios Técnicos de la Asamblea Legislativa se pronuncia sobre la obligatoriedad de consultar a las comunidades indígenas del país sobre el polémico tratado comercial.
Showing the door to Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) and scuttling US free trade negotiations have long been agenda priorities for Ecuadorian social movements and political sectors. But following government steps that have all but made these goals a reality, the atmosphere seems more anxious than celebratory.
Farmers and members of indigenous tribes clashed on Tuesday with police during protests against a free-trade agreement with the US and the re-election of President Alvaro Uribe, and protest leaders said an Indian farmer was killed.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is widely seen to be at the center of Latin America’s transformation by building a regional trade bloc through the creation of ALBA and Venezuela’s membership in Mercosur to oppose US dominance and its constant push for free trade agreements with Latin American governments. However, the true democratic debate has been silenced in this simplified two-sided fight between the projects of macho men.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has demanded the government Sunday to suspend the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks with the US and hold a referendum on that deal.
Ecuadorian Indigenous organizations are in the leadership of the most recent uprising in that country, which began on March 13. Tired of being lied to, exploited and excluded, they have taken on the courageous road of challenging the Free Trade Agreement that is secretly, behind closed doors, being negotiated with the United States by President Alfredo Palacios.
Given the rejection by Ecuadorian president Alfredo Palacio of the demands made by the popular sector, the indigenous movement is today to assume power itself and convene a popular consultation on the Free Trade Agreement.
The Ecuadorian government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, March 21 after countrywide protests and roadblocks led by indigenous peasants intensified.
Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing Indians as they blocked roadways around the capital with rocks and tree trunks Tuesday during protests against free-trade talks with Washington.
Police fired tear gas at dozens of Indian demonstrators trying to reach the government palace Monday to protest free-trade talks with Washington this week that are expected to draw thousands of opponents to the capital.
When Ecuador’s Indians start building roadblocks and organizing other protests, they usually spark fears that the country’s president will soon be toppled.
The leader of Ecuador’s main Indian movement on Thursday rejected President Alfredo Palacio’s call to end protests against free-trade talks with the United States.
The battle against the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States is continuing in Ecuador.
Ecuador’s president has urged Ecuadoreans to stand together after nationwide protests threatened to destabilise the country. The demonstrations have been sparked by ongoing talks with the United States over a possible free trade agreement
Ecuador’s interior minister resigned Wednesday as protests over a US free trade plan spread from the Andean highlands to the oil-producing southeast jungle, where police clashed with demonstrators.
Traditional knowledge has come up in a dozen or so FTA drafting processes over the last couple of years. In half of those cases, specific provisions on traditional knowledge were signed.
The Ecuadorian government’s aspirations to wrap up the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US by the end of March, are stirring up Thursday grassroots organizations against that deal.
The chairman of the bishops’ International Policy Committee Monday offered a Catholic perspective on a pending free trade agreement, suggesting that the United States and several Andean nations could simultaneously promote human dignity and fair and sustainable development.
Representatives of farmer organizations from Andean nations began a meeting in this capital on Monday to define actions and strategies to fight the free trade area with the United States (FTA).
Members of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE, in Spanish) are once more staging protests this Thursday to reject the signature of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with United States.
