On October 10 Military and State Police, along side special forces, evicted the LCP led encampment Tiago dos Santos, ripping about 2.400 men, women and children from their homes and occupation. The action itself took place under a flimsy pretext and was carried out with brutal force and particularly with a high degree of white terror.
The situation that has now arisen developed rapidly since October 3, when a news about about a Military Police Men shot dead broke in Rondonia. Bourgeois press, and even president Bolsonaro via his twitter feed, tried to depict the LCP in Rondonia as the culprits. The official story is that he was ambushed by landless peasants while having a nice day of fishing. More likely however is, that he not went fishing in the middle of an area notoriously effected by armed gang infighting, but went and died their as part of gang activity.
"I have my opinion, what's yours?" tweets Bolsonaro, suggesting it would be obvious who is responsable for the death
Even though the LCP encampment Tiago dos Santos is not nearby to where to police men was killed, on October 8 the police started to encircle the encampment with 300 men and prepared to massacre the peasants, a vow local gunslingers on the payroll of the landlords – badge or no badge – have even posted publicly. To spread terror and fear, no vehicles were allowed to pass in and out of the encampment and the tires were shot flat, so to prevent that. The police event went so far, as to drop empty bullet shells from the helicopter in advance to the raid, so as to have evidence when later claiming they would have “just returned fire”.
As this terror and blood lust was widely denounced by the peasants the police command in the end dared not to allow peasants to be shot dead during the eviction. However, brutal violence, tear gas and attempts of humiliation and terror were used massively during the eviction.
Since October 3 the most important and combative struggles of the masses in the last years are unfolding in Ecuador with no end in sight. Following the stop of the subsidies for gas as well as other economic measures against the people the whole country and particularly the capitol of Quito are in turmoil. Heavy clashes between the students, workers and indigenous on one side and police and military on the other side take place everyday now. In the last days, protesters stormed and torched several state or private owned institutions of widespread significance, like the Offices of the National Comptroller General and news outlet Channel 4.
So far, 12 protesters were killed, 1.500 wounded with 50 maimed. 750 have been arrested. Now a general curfew is in place and the army is deployed. Protesters defend themselves with patrol bombs, road blocks and slingshots. Guns and rifles have been taken conquered from the reaction. At least one tank and several police cars have been destroyed.
