Supporters of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa rallied on April 7 in defence of his proposed tax reforms, the same day opposition-led protests were staged against them in the capital, Quito.
Thousands of government supporters gathered in Independence Plaza in front of the presidential palace to demonstrate their support for the government in light of provocations from the country's right-wing opposition.
Several demonstrators told TeleSUR English that they came out to rally to back the reforms, which will increase taxes on the rich. But they said they were also there because they see the government as the driving force of a radical transformation in the country.
“We are here not only to defend the president but also this political process, which emerged from the popular classes,” said Alejandro Aguilera, a supporter of the Communist Party of Ecuador, which backs the Correa government.
Meanwhile Cristina Cuello, who works for the state electricity company, said she and her colleagues came out “because we must continue with the efforts to redistribute wealth”.
Quito was also the scene of to right-wing protests that day. In contrast to previous opposition demonstrations, it was held far from the pro-government rally in an upscale part of the Ecuadorean capital.
Hundreds of people gathered around a giant Ecuadorean flag filling a block of Shyris Avenue, holding white balloons, black flags and chanting “Correa in jail”. Some also held banners calling on Correa to resign.
Opposition protesters told TeleSUR English that they opposed the government for failing to pursue a neoliberal agenda.
Manuel Meren, an administrative engineer protesting against the tax reform, said that “public services should not be funded by taxes but by generating more jobs”.
Meren demanded the government stop controlling the market. “We want free entrepreneurship,” he said.
Another protester, Joaquin Arrieta, said: “I think Correa should get more inspiration from [Argentine President Mauricio] Macri and fire many people in this country.”
Correa has alluded to the neoliberal policies of Macri, which in three months has increased Argentines living in poverty by one million, saying the Ecuadorean government would never place the burden of the economic crisis on the poor.
Ernesto Nieto, who works as the undersecretary at National Secretariat for Higher Education, told TeleSUR English that the right-wing protests showed that those demonstrating against the tax reform were working in the interests of the opposition.
“The opposition demonstration defends the interests of the oligarchy not those of the people,” said Nieto.
Unions, students, artisans, associations of farmers, Indigenous people and Afro-descendents helped organise the pro-reform rally under the slogan: “They shall not pass.”
Ecuador has suffered from the global drop in the price of oil, an important export for the small South American country. To help cushion the effects on the state budget, Correa has introduced taxes on inheritance, capital gains, alcohol and tobacco, among other things.
The opposition has rallied parts of the middle class, bolstered by previous reforms, against these taxes. Ecuadorians will also be charged a 5% tax on funds exceeding three minimum monthly wages when they leave the country.
During his speech to the pro-reform rally, Correa said there was “a new Plan Condor at work, where they try to take down progressive leaders in Latin America”. Plan Condor refers to the infamous US-backed plan executed by right-wing dictatorships in the 1970s that worked to eliminate left-wing activists across Latin America.
“All steps we take will be questioned by the opposition,” said Correa's advisor, Carlos Baca Mancheno. “We're in an elections year and it spurs more demonstrations.”
[Abridged from TeleSUR English.]
Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.