Ecuador: The March for Life Arrives in Quito · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

On March 22, 2012, the March for life  made its entrance in Quito. Since its departure on Monday [es] for Lacatunga, some 75 kilometers from the capital city, the March, which at that time already had some 1,000 participants thanks to several indigenous delegations joining, continued [es] its route towards Saquisilí [es], the planned assembly point where they would devise their strategy for getting to Quito.
On Tuesday it headed from Saquisilí to Machachi [es], which is situated in the same province as the Ecuadorian capital, Pichincha. From there it proceeded on to Uyumbicho then spent the night [es] from Wednesday to Thursday in a Coliseum located in Guamaní [es], in the southern part of Quito.
In the meantime delegations from other parts of the country were also preparing to arrive in Quito, such as various militant groups and activists from Esmeraldas [es] who left on Sunday from their region, as well as indigenous delegations from Imbabura y Otavalo [es] that did the same on Tuesday.
March for Life
The Mayor of Quito declared [es]that the March could occupy Parque El Arbolito from 2pm on March 22. Consequently, it was arranged [es] for about 3200 police officers to maintain order in the city. Although one of the government ministers said [es] that the protests would not meet with any obstacles upon entering Quito, the movement against the march has been very active, as well as the verbal attacks [es] made by the president. Public agencies from cities near to Quito such as Santo Domingo [es], received instructions to move government supporters to the capital with the aim of filling all the public spaces in the city.
And so, with requests  [es] for the protesters on both sides and the force of the law to ensure there would not be any clashes, and with a pre-departure ritual in honor of Pachamama, the marchers left around 9 a.m from Guamaní, in the south of Quito for the center of the city – more precisely to Parque del Arbolito.
From early on the media were covering [es]  various [es] marches that were taking place simultaneously in the city. (See here a detailed account  [es] of the march on March 22). Then  they realized [es] the March for Life had arrived [es] in the Parque el Arbolito surrounded by a large deployment of police.
The Ecuadorian Twittersphere was also taking note of the march and criticizing the government. Many tweets can be found under the following keywords: #marchas22m [es], #marchasec [es], #marchas_ec [es], #marchasindigenas [es], #22m [es] and many more; while the government sector was using the following keywords: #porlademocracia [es] and #nopasaran [es], although one cannot say for certain that each group is using the above keywords exclusively.
The indigenous activist Mónica Chuji (@Monicachuji) [es] reported:
No importó la lluvia, igual caminamos mojaditos desde Uyumbicho hasta Guamaní. Almorzamos pan con atun y agua pero llegamos dignos a Quito.
Nelson Piedra (@nopiedra) [es], wrote:
#Ecuador [es] Los Mesías de las redes sociales de este país con tweets “políticamente correctos”. El silencio también es violencia.
@plurinacionales [es] posted the following images of the arrival of the march:
#22m [es] #conaie [es] Imágenes de la llegada de la Marcha a Quito http://dlvr.it/1Lh1gM [es] #marchavida [es]
Meanwhile the Twitter account for the Ecuadorian Presidency (Presidencia_Ec) [es] informed:
Presidente #Correa [es] advierte que grupos opositores quieren generar violencia en marchas previstas para hoy #Quito [es]
Quito journalist Susana Morán (@susanamorg) [es] reported:
@marchavida [es] pasó el puente de Guajaló, en el sur de Quito. Ha sido un recorrido tranquilo #marchas22m [es]
@ceppdi [es], which is a twitter page that posts news and stories on Public Policy and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, re-tweeted a photo from user Marco Tituaña:
ECUADOR. RT @elmarko34: [es] “Correa, minero, el agua es lo primero” corea la @marchavida [es] q llega dsd el norte http://yfrog.com/kewjutkj [es]
The account of the Center of Economic and Social Rights (@CDESecuador) [es] updated on the arrival of the march in the Ecuadorean capital throughout the day:
Nos informan q gente d Esmeraldas, d los manglares, compañeros afrodescendientes se suman a la marcha! Exigimos agua y vida!
@DerechosMinados [es], a group against mining in Ecuador, responded to criticism and shared various imagines of the arrival, such as this tweet:
No somos 4 no somos 10, Correa economista, aprende a contar bien #marchavida [es] http://yfrog.com/objyhgtpj [es]
We are not 4, we aren't 10, Correa economist, learn to count properly #marchavida [es] http://yfrog.com/objyhgtpj [es]
Also with a photo, and referring to the words of the government, journalist Fernando Astudillo (@ferastudillo) [es] reported:
Correa en P Sto Domingo dice q marcha indígena es un fracaso y q no reunieron ni 4mil Vía @Sugeyhajjar [es] http://yfrog.com/nu5hgumj [es]
Jaime Plaza (@jplazaecu) [es] and Nelson Piedra (@nopiedra) [es] cited these reports on the number of persons who arrived in Quito:
A eso d las 14:30 la marcha indígena q salió desde Zamora Ch. llegó a El Arbolito. Son miles. #marchas22m [es] http://pic.twitter.com/Zni1hgRZ [es]
#Ecuador [es] “los cuatro pelagatos”, que salieron de El Pangui, Llegaron a #Quito [es] multiplicados como peces, como el maíz.
@DerechosMinados [es] broadcast another photo with this message:
#marchavida [es] llego a quito – SIN PLATA DL ESTADO, PURO PUEBLO ORGANIZADO!!! http://yfrog.com/mmdcncvj [es]
The newspaper La Hora (@lahoraecuador) [es] also posted photos of the march:
#Marchas22M [es] Foto panorámica de la #marchaindígena [es] http://yfrog.com/g0aamjxj [es]
Meanwhile Indymedia Ecuador (@indymediaecuado) [es] declared:
Esperamos objetividad de los medios tanto publicos como privados #marchavida [es] sobre pasa lo previsto http://pic.twitter.com/mrATtx0K [es]
And David Rosero (@davidroserow) [es] declared:
El gran derrotado del día de hoy es el autoritarismo, la sobradez, el insulto, el atropello y sobre todo el miedo! #MarchadelosPueblos [es]
The following photos are from user Vlady Cruz (@vladycruz) [es], who kindly allowed [es] them to be used here:
#marchavida begins its path towards the center of Quito
#marchavida near to Guajalo
La #marchavida arrives at Villa Flora
#marchavida arrives at arbolito
Rain greets #marchavida
There are also some videos on YouTube:
In the evening the police blocked the March from entering the area of the National Assembly, but participants awaited a response [es] in Parque el Arbolito, in the heavy rain [es], in order to enter. Indymedia Ecuador (@indymediaecuado) [es] reported:
Pese a los ofrecimientos de @fcorderoc [es] [Asambleísta] la policía no permite el paso a la #marchavida [es] a la asamblea nacional. http://twitpic.com/8zwtlh [es]
This caused a few clashes, as the Amazonian ecological organization's account La Hormiga Ecuador reported (@sinchihormiga) [es]:
Pequenos incidentes se registran en el parque de el arbolito entre indigenas y policias! http://twitpic.com/8zwzdh [es]
Nevertheless when it seemed like everything was coming to a head, the Twitter account of the Ecuadorean police force (@PoliciaEcuador) [es] tweeted:
Elementos policiales organiza la comitiva que pasará a la #AsambleaNacional [es] http://pic.twitter.com/dE4deDsO [es]
Things deteriorated. Galo Perez (@galoperezc) [es] and Vlady Cruz (@vladycruz) [es] shared the following tweets with photos:
Llega segunda tanqueta #marchas22m [es] http://yfrog.com/kg9bheej [es]
La policia lanza gas a #marchavida [es] http://twitpic.com/8zx3v0 [es]
Finally the delegation passed through to the Assembly. As reported by @DerechosMinados [es]:
Fuerte control policial impid paso d #marchavida [es] pronunciarc ante @asambleaecuador  [es] Dirigentes pasaron..Miles d personas aun en l #Arbolito [es]
However according to Twitter reports they were not immediately allowed to pass through:
@DerechosMinados [es]: La @asambleaecuador [es] no recibe ni a los dirigentes ni al mandato de la #marchavida! [es] #ecuador [es] #Quito [es]
@marchavida: [es] #marcha [es] por el agua se reúne para decidir la mejor forma de entregar sus propuestas a la Asamblea.
@galoperezc [es]: Inician fuertes enfrentamientos entre marcha y policía #marchas22m [es] http://yfrog.com/oepzcotj [es]
@PoliciaEcuador [es] Policías heridos con lanzas en las afueras de la #AsambleaNacional [es]  http://pic.twitter.com/0APvsiTi [es]
@PoliciaEcuador [es] Police injured by spears outside of the #AsambleaNacional [es] http://pic.twitter.com/0APvsiTi [es]
Finally the leaders of the march were received in the Assembly, as Diego Pallero (@dpallerismo) [es] and Lupita Amaya (‏@LupitaAmaya)‏ [es] reported:
Algunos dirigentes lograron llegar hasta la entrada de la asamblea luego de los incidentes #marcha22M [es] http://pic.twitter.com/DUL18GYX [es]
Some leaders were able to get through to the entrance of the Assembly during the incidents #marcha22M [es] http://pic.twitter.com/DUL18GYX [es]
‏ Presidente de la Asamblea Cordero recibe a Dirigentes indígenas de la #marcha22M [es]
‏ Assembly president Cordero receives indigenous Leaders of the #marcha22M [es]
Maria Fernanda Yañez (@feryanez) reported what happened while the marchers were waiting in Parque el Arbolito and later shared a photograph:
@feryanez [es]  Se espera la resolución q de la comisión q esta en la asamblea para decidir q hacer con los indígenas agolpados en el arbolito #marcha22M [es] @UNquito [es] http://yfrog.com/gy43702838j [es]
@feryanez Se prendió la fiesta en el arbolito. La gente baila al ritmo de la Coya,#marcha22M@UNquitohttp://yfrog.com/gy43702838j
Finally Veronica Salgado (@verosalgado) [es] shared a link that shows the discussions between the indigenous leaders and the assemblymen live:
Siga en vivo el diálogo de la @asambleaecuador [es] con la dirigencia indígena a través de @laradioasamblea [es] http://tinyurl.com/6s6ng4n [es] #marcha22M [es]
We will continue to monitor the citizens reactions and reports about this march that promises to continue its fight against large-scale mining in Ecuador.