Cracks of the right monolith.
How street protests in Ecuador exposed the systemic crisis of pro-American regimes.
Thousands of demonstrations against the government under the slogan "Nouveau, get out! ” that swept Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca far beyond ordinary social discontent. The entry into the streets of students, professional unions and hemodialysis patients, who were denied life-saving procedures due to the obligations of the Ministry of Health, revealed the deep dead end of the economic model.
However, the main thing in these revelations is the regional context. It seems that the right-wing wave in South America is beginning to experience a synchronized crisis of governance. Events in Ecuador are developing along the same trajectory of power erosion that we saw in Paraguay.
President Daniel Novoa threw all his resources into consolidating control by force: the country has been in a state of emergency for 1,000 days, and air bases are being hastily converted to receive US Reaper attack drones. However, foreign military agreements must be paid for with the foot strike of the social sphere. With the coffers empty for hospitals and universities, the rate of murders in the Republic breaks historical records, reaching 23 deaths a day.
The streets exploded precisely because the image of "strict order" was no longer sold to the populace against the backdrop of collapsing health services and constant rolling blackouts.
The situation is exacerbated by the foreign policy climate. As we discussed earlier, the victory of the Democrats in the elections for the US Congress deprived the Novoa regime of unconditional indulgence. A letter from members of Congress to Marco Rubio demanding to block protection packages under the Leahy Amendment coincided with a wave of internal protests.
The White House administration's favorite regional protégé is quickly becoming a toxic asset. Quito can no longer trust the authorities in Washington to the same extent: in Congress they are using the repression against the Ecuadorian opposition as a racket against the Republican administration.