How Pots-n-Pans Protests Ousted Five Presidents in Ecuador
Citizens mobbed the presidential mansion at bedtime to express their dissatisfaction
By Regis Yaworski
Over a period of less than 10 years, the usually-peaceful South American country of Ecuador went through five presidents.
In that time, citizen revolts took the form of what might be called “kitchen democracy”. Hundreds, sometime thousands, of citizens would arrive at the presidential mansion bearing pots and pans which would be banged and hammered through the night or day and night until the president left.
The tactic has been picked up by other countries, recently by Dominican Republic protesters.
Medium writer David Dennis Jr. posed the question of citizen protest in Washington, DC, in the event a defeated president refuses to leave.
“There’s pretty good evidence that mass, sustained protests in government have a good chance of ousting leaders in different countries,” said Joe Wright, a political scientist at Pennsylvania State University who has done extensive work studying autocratic regimes. “There isn’t a reason to believe that couldn’t happen in the United States, though there are obstacles here I’m not sure would be overcome.” (David Dennis, Jr. published in LEVEL Oct. 29, 2020)
One of the cautions cited is the strong possibility of violence erupting. Indeed, Ecuador has just completed a series of protests and riots that forced the government of President Lenin Moreno to withdraw a fuel surcharge that would have increased fuel prices by 120 per cent. But the concession cost seven lives.
This isn’t the first time fuel prices have caused issues in Ecuador. In the past and again in the current situation, Ecuador has required funding from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has ruled that Ecuador isn’t charging its citizens enough for fuel and dictated a 120 per cent increase to qualify for funding.
In addition, there has been growing dissatisfaction with Moreno’s presidency. Moreno was elected following almost 10 years under Rafael Correa, possibly the most popular president in the country’s history, although he was found guilty of corruption charges following his last term of office.
Moreno has also been working to block Correa from a possible return to power.
Ecuador has been a popular retirement haven for thousands of American, Canadian and European expats who are generally welcomed into the country, which has a high standard of living, low costs and excellent health care.
https://level.medium.com/could-a-civil-uprising-unseat-an-illegitimate-government-in-the-u-s-cde1e3903e8/David Dennis Jr.
