Ecuador: Activists Occupy IMF While Indigenous Protestors Blockade Country

Contacts:

Ivonne Yanez, 011-593-2-568091 (in IMF offices)

Esperanza Martinez, 011-593-2-529287

QUITO, Ecuador -- As part of a protest movement that has brought Ecuador to a virtual standstill, a growing number of activists from environmental and human rights organizations have occupied the offices of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in Quito to protest the IMF's role in Ecuador's current
social crisis.

"We want to expose the real culprits," says Ivonne Yanez, one of the women
occupying the IMF offices. "The IMF-imposed policies, carried out by the
Ecuadorian government in exchange for more loans, have resulted in more
than 50% of Ecuador's national budget going to pay off the foreign debt,
have burdened the country with the highest rate of inflation in Latin
America, the highest levels of corruption, the most advanced rates of
deforestation and environmental degradation, and the worst example of
maldistribution of wealth on the continent."

The IMF sit-in is occuring at the same time that the country's indigenous
population, who make up more than 40% of the Ecuadorian people, have
blockaded the nation's major highways. The blockades, which are entering
their fourth day, are in protest against the government's economic
policies, which have impoverished millions of Ecuadorians. The blockades
have prevented the delivery of food and supplies to large portions of the
country, resulting in shortages and skyrocketing prices.

The government's response to the protests have been harsh. In Quito alone,
there have been 24 wounded from confrontations between the police and
protesters. There are currently between 5,000 and 8,000 indigenous
activists camped out at the catholic Salesian Politecnic University, which
is hosting them, and more people are arriving from the countryside daily.
The police have prevented the indigenous activists from marching through
the City of Quito, bombarding them with tear gas every time they try to
march from the University.

On Tuesday, January 30, the government arrested the leader of the
indigenous movement, Antonio Vargas, on charges of subversion and
attempting to overthrow the government.

The protesters occupying the IMF offices in Quito are in support of the
indigenous movement.

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