Ecuador: Mobilization, Protests to resume on Wed. Sept. 16, 2015

news.mongabay.com/Sandra Cuff reported…The streets of Ecuador will fill with colorful flags and footsteps again on Wednesday as indigenous organizations and other groups renew protests over government policies.

The planned marches come on the heels of nation-wide protests that wracked the country in August, drawing many thousands of participants. These resulted in arrests, clashes with military and police forces, and a crackdown on protesters. The government also imposed a nation-wide “state of exception.”

Protests are being organized by an alliance of indigenous federations, campesinos (rural small-scale farmers and farmworkers), unions, and other groups that oppose proposed constitutional reforms and government policies on a range of issues, from water governance to intercultural bilingual education….As people prepare to hit the streets again on September 16, the expansion of extractive-industry activities around the country remains a key point of contention for indigenous, campesino, and environmental groups. Among their demands are the shelving of mining concessions and the 2013 mining law that facilitates foreign investment, and a halt to the expansion of oil exploitation in the Amazon region. Read Article

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