Conaie’s national strike is off to a slow start as local organizations make plans for individual protests

Despite fears of highway blockages and mass protests, the latest call for a nationwide strike by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) has created minimal disruption. Conaie strikes in 2015, 2019 and 2022 began with a bang, with hundreds of roadblocks and thousands of protesters in the streets within hours.

Conaie national strikes in 2019 and 2022 often turned violent.

Unlike previous strikes, Conaie President Jaime Varga said local indigenous and campesino organizations will plan and carry out their own protests. “We are putting the uprising in the hands of the people since they understand the situation in their local communities,” Vargas said. “This strike will not be directed by a central authority as was the case in the past.”

In its strike call on Thursday, Conaie listed nine demands against the government in an official statement although Vagas said the elimination of the diesel fuel subsidy was the “trigger.”

Two days after the strike declaration, it is unclear what local organizers are planning or if their actions will rise to the level of previous strikes which shut down the economy of much of the country. During the 2019 and 2022 strikes, Cuenca was isolated for days by roadblocks, disrupting the flow of LP gas and other essential goods to the city.

Following the strike declaration, President Daniel Noboa announced that closures of major highways and violent protests would not be allowed. “We respect the right of protest but the illegal disruptions of the past, including roadblocks and vandalism, will not be tolerated,” he said. Noboa criticized the lack of response to the 2019 and 2022 strikes by former presidents Lenin Moreno and Guillermo Lasso, saying, “That will not happen under my watch.”

On Friday, national police reported a number of temporary roadblocks in Cotopaxi and Chimborazo Provinces but said they did not create major disruptions.

In Cuenca, school bus and van owners staged a peaceful protest Friday of the increase of diesel prices with a caravan through the historic district. Owners met briefly with officials at the Azuay governor’s office on Parque Calderon and agreed to meet next week to discuss the compensation package the government is offering to drivers.

The Union of Professional Drivers of Azuay, which represents municipal and long-distance bus companies, said it has reached a “temporary agreement” with the government, but says more talks are scheduled to resolve pending issues. Despite the agreement, the union declared itself in support of the Conaie strike.