After the national strike that has increased tension in the country, this Thursday, June 30, a fundamental step was taken: the signing of an agreement between the government and the indigenous movement. The Church leads the mediation process.
vaticannews
After 18 days of protests throughout the country, finally this Thursday, June 30, the National Government and the Indigenous Movement signed a peace agreement, which officially ended the strike that began on June 13. According to agency reports, the government promised to repeal the current state of emergency and a dialogue table is established, which will last 90 days, to finalize the resolution of the issues that remain pending.
In the mediation process, the Catholic Church has played an active role: from the beginning of the tensions, it has shown its absolute willingness to dialogue. This attitude was explicitly reflected, among others, in pronouncements of the Episcopal Conference (CEE).
In the Church of the Trinity, in Quito, a Press conference which included the participation of authorities from the administration, representatives of the indigenous movement and ecclesiastical actors. For the Church, were present: Monsignor Luis Cabrera, president of the CEE; Monsignor David de la Torre, general secretary; Monsignor Alfredo Espinoza, Vice President.
Monsignor David de la Torre, general secretary of the CEE, gave the welcome and expressed that “the site loaded with history and spirituality should inspire us to consolidate that respectful, sincere and effective dialogue.” He also emphasized that, in the last 18 days, every Ecuadorian was waiting for the moment when both parties would sit down to dialogue and share the results of the dialogue process.
Addressing the participants at the table, he said: “I thank, in a particular way, and congratulate you for your complaints for the benefit of the common good, for your spirit of patriotism, for your sincere search for the common good, for the desire to build a better Ecuador. ”. Later, he invited a moment of silence and prayer.
One of the prelates pronounced the following prayer:
“Lord and Father of humanity, who created all human beings with the same dignity, instill in our hearts a fraternal spirit, inspire us with a dream of reunion, dialogue, justice and peace, encourage us to create healthier societies and a more dignified world, without hunger, without poverty, without violence. May our hearts open to all the peoples and nations of the earth, to recognize the good and beauty that you have sown in each one, to express bonds of unity, common projects, fraternity and shared hopes. Amen”.
“Only with dialogue can social peace be found”
Monsignor Luis Cabrera recalled the words of Pope Francis in the Angelus Sunday June 26, in which he made a call to abandon extreme positions. Cabrera said that “as a Church we accept the dedicated and concrete task” of participating in the peacemaking consensus. “We congratulate the interlocutors for the political will to dialogue,” he added.
“The main objective of mediation is to facilitate the conditions so that, in this case, the government and indigenous organizations reach consensus and commitments that benefit all Ecuadorians and, in a very special way, the impoverished and excluded sectors,” I consider.
CONAIE’s reaction
In the streets, the indigenous leaders waited expectantly for the closing of the press conference and mobilized to celebrate the agreement. “The unity of the peoples is present, the struggle continues and that is the determination of the collective conscience. We will return for millions,” the organization wrote in its twitter account.
In another tweet, they pointed out that “only solidarity and consequence defeated repression. By the people and for the people from the jungle, the sea, the moors long live unity”.
President Lasso’s reaction
The President of the Republic of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, in a video messageassured his joy at the end of the strike: “We have achieved the supreme value to which we all aspire: peace in our country. It is time to heal wounds, to overcome the division between Ecuadorians and to unite in a single objective: to rebuild Ecuador. We must make up for lost time, work hard, especially for the most vulnerable. Together we are going to undertake the task of transforming the peace that we have achieved today into progress, well-being and opportunities for all”.
Ecuador, indigenous strike ends: Church participates in dialogue – Vatican News