The Riots in Ecuador

[TBoneTX 45,568]

(This may belong here or in the P&R Forum, si man.)

In Ecuador, there were terrible riots on Sept. 30. According to Mrs. T-B., who watched the Spanish-language live news and talked to her family there, President Correa tried to even out the discrepancies in benefits that all public employees receive -- some were getting large year-end bonuses and other perks while others weren't, etc. He nearly doubled the salaries of the police (called "chapas," which most closely translates to "speed-bumps") from something like $250 to $500/month but took away some of their other benefits, and the chapas went on strike and rioted -- joined by people who dislike Correa (many). The rioters closed down the 3 major cities (Quito, Guayaquil, & Cuenca) and their airports. Correa got in the middle of the trouble to try to settle things down, and he got tear-gassed and was taken to a hospital. At the first sign of the unrest, Ecuador's many delinquents immediately began robbing banks and stores, and most businesses closed because they didn't want the same to happen to them. The Army is temporarily in charge of keeping order. Mrs. T-B. says that already, by tonight, things have settled down considerably.

We got out of there just in time (on this past Monday). Mrs. T-B.'s hometown of approx. 15,000 people remained quiet, what with only 2 chapas for the whole place, si man.

Some VJ members who have upcoming interviews (one tomorrow on Friday, I hear) are worried about the travel situation, uff man.

[Indy90 21]

Correa was basically held captive in the police hospital (I have been there several times to visit a friend of mine who is in the Ecuadorian police...I wonder what happened to him in all of this) until Ecuadorian special forces rescued him. I was watching a live stream when all of this happened and saw the shooting, including one guy get shot right before my eyes. Chilling.

Correa then was taken away and gave a very emotional speech to his supporters. For the next couple of years I think that Ecuador's opposition will be totally discredited now, even if they did not have much to do with this event. Whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen. I have personally met Correa and found him to be very reasonable in person, although in public he says some very controversial things. He is a very intelligent man who has a PhD from the University of Illinois, but sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. Some say that his frequent anti-US statements stem from the fact that his father committed suicide in or shortly after being released from a US prison after being caught smuggling drugs.

I really hope that this does not impact interviews in Guayaquil. It appears that Quito's airport is now open. However, the real problem is that the national police run customs. Guayaquil's airport never closed, but international flights had to be diverted or canceled partially because the rebellious national police also run immigration. With no national police in place, nobody could pass through customs, from my understanding. I have no idea when this will be fixed (hopefully soon, we have some people flying in tomorrow).

Edited October 1, 2010 by Indy90

[TBoneTX 45,568]

Good update. Mrs. T.-B. has a foto of herself with Correa when he visited her small hometown while first campaigning for President. He does officially appear to be a hothead, and his leftist views are strange, considering his U.S. education and exposure to our economic system. Your explanation may settle this head-scratcher, si man.

That's a very good observation in regard to Customs ingress. Ecuador is a country that stamps visitors both in & out. I just consulted Mrs. T-B., who says that according to the news that she heard, the Army will take over every function that has been handled by the national chapas -- security, Customs, everything. Accordingly, things may be slower, especially at first, but there's a determination to get things done and back to as normal a state as possible.

Sidebar: A pet peeve of mine has always been why the U.S. media spell the word "Ecuadorian" as "Ecuadorean." "Chilean" I can understand, because the country's name ends in E, but no one ever spells "Colombean" or "Peruvean" or "Brazilean," no man. (During the Falklands War, the British always used to refer to natives of Argentina as "the Argentyne," aarrgh man.) Internally, natives are Ecuatorianos/Ecuatorianas, si man.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Is it any coincidence that these riots went down when the T man was there?

Hmmm, but I have confidence he handled the situation with style by just saying, "Si man!" to all the rioters he encountered.

Sounds like an exciting trip, and I won't hesitate to go there soon and meet the fine people and eat the great food there!

The whole world is in turmoil, so just try to enjoy at all times!

[Indy90 21]

That's a very good observation in regard to Customs ingress. Ecuador is a country that stamps visitors both in & out. I just consulted Mrs. T-B., who says that according to the news that she heard, the Army will take over every function that has been handled by the national chapas -- security, Customs, everything. Accordingly, things may be slower, especially at first, but there's a determination to get things done and back to as normal a state as possible.

That is good to hear about the army handling immigration and customs. I am a little confused about the role that the military played in all of this. At first, it seemed like they were just as active in the rebellion as the police, but elements of the military also rescued Correa. The bad elements must make up a much smaller portion of the military (perhaps just linked to the airforce, which blockaded the airport?). Personally, I doubt that things can get much slower in immigration. I seem to always get the ones that only know how to type with one finger on their computers and always stamp the wrong type of visa on my passport, which would cause me major problems when leaving (think being banished from the country for months plus a major fine). Seriously, it has happened multiple times-I once had a one year student visa (given at a Ecuadorian consulate in the US) but the immigration officer stamped a 3 month tourist visa on my passport and entered it into their computer system. Thankfully I checked my passport before leaving immigration and caught the error.

[TBoneTX 45,568]

Is it any coincidence that these riots went down when the T man was there?

They rioted after we'd left, sigh man.

Hmmm, but I have confidence he handled the situation with style by just saying, "Si man!" to all the rioters he encountered.

You're very much on the mark, si man -- read the entire opus, just posted in this forum, about the trip!

I doubt that things can get much slower in immigration. I seem to always get the ones that only know how to type with one finger on their computers

The chapas were probably on autopilot, sigh man. Mine take forever to process me & always put the "out" stamp on the farthest page from the "in" stamp that they can find, si man.