Correa Under Attack: Ecuador's Political Crisis

Ecuador's political climate reached a boiling point yesterday. President Rafeal Correa was punched, tear gassed and put on a stretcher, after he sought to have a personal dialogue with striking policemen in a barracks in Quito. The police force was responding to an attempt by the government to hold off on paying bonuses and increases in salaries. What followed took on the character of coup, but really was a coordinated national general strike by a large section of the police force, primarily in the capital and in the coastal city of Guayaquil. The military seemed to be by the side of the president at all times, an indeed rescued him at a hospital where he was being held hostage by striking policemen. Across major cities and towns of Ecuador thousands poured out in the streets against the attack on Correa and democracy. Workers marched to the presidential palace and key government buildings to make sure it remained out of the hands of malicious forces. The government and Correa's Partido Alianza Paz (AP) responded swiftly by encouraging people to come out in the streets peacefully and by shutting down the airwaves. The latter, a key tool the oligarchy of Ecuador has used to spread misinformation and to slander the president.

The backdrop of the current crisis, stems from the right-wings paranoia of Correa's leftward shift and his broad public support which caused his reelection last year. Correa has recently joined the Bolivarian Alliance For The People of Our America (ALBA) and his presidency was key in ratifying a new constitution. The world economic recession has also forced the hand of Correa, which has led to austerity measures being implemented.

The attack on Correa, however, will have the effect of increasing his stature as a leader for change and will continue to marginalize the Ecuadorian ruling class and the already much hated police force. International support for Correa also came pouring in, with calls to defend the institutions of democracy.
The events that occurred yesterday and the actions that the masses took will serve as a key rehearsal for a future coup that is always lingering in Latin America. In Ecuador alone there has been three presidents overthrown in the last 15 years, however, these were rebellions from below. The threat today in Ecuador is a coup fabricated by the U.S. and possibly the Colombian military and the rich of Ecuador.
Although many in the mainstream media called the attack on Correa an attempted coup, it did not look like the police force had an actual plan for the conquest of political power and /or a plan to rule the country.
Yesterday's attack on Correa demonstrates the necessity for working class revolutionary politics and organization. Ecuador will be in a state of emergency for a week, but the threat of U.S. imperialism, which is trying hard to regain control of it's "backyard", and the threat of the bourgeoisie of Ecuador and Colombia still remains.