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There is a very strong movement amongst Los Indìgenas in Ecuador against the ratification of the free trade agreements (TLC) with the US. They are fighting for their lives, afraid that if barriers to international trade and investment are lifted, big multinational/US companies will buy off all agricultural land and rights and the traditional subsistence farming and small market life of the campesinos will be destroyed. A particulary strong group, CONAIE (The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities) has been openly challenging the presidency of Alfredo Palacio, demanding transparency and a national referendum on the TLC, and threatening a massive uprising if the agreements are ratified without their participation. Stakes is high. Over the last few weeks, CONAIE and other groups have staged strikes throughout the Sierra (mountain) provinces, shutting down all major roads, including the panamerican highway, for days at a time.
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Due to the strikes, I was stuck in Baños for over a week. No one could get in, no one could get out. When I did manage to get back to Quito, the streets were full of national police in riot gear. Tensions were running high. Hunger strikers were camped out in the center of the Old City. (I was staying on a third floor terrace in an old decrepit hostel overlooking much of this, for $2.50 per night- but that is another story) It seemed like things could get hot. The strikes were preventing me from getting out of the country by bus. I decided to bite the very expensive bullet and spend a couple weeks away from the madness- in the Galapagos islands. (Pinnacle Rock from Bartolomè Island pictured left, marine iguana above)
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