>From the Associated Press:
JANUARY 22, 00:50 EST
Junta Announced in Ecuador
By MONTE HAYES
Associated Press Writer
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador's military chief announced late
Friday a three-person junta to replace the unpopular president,
who fled after a rebellion led by Indians and backed by the armed
forces.
President Jamil Mahuad insisted he would not resign — but he
abandoned the palace where he worked and lived in the afternoon
after refusing a request from the military high command to step
down.
Speaking in the name of the junta, Gen. Carlos Mendoza, the head
of the joint military command who was named defense minister
last week, said: ``It is a government of the Ecuadorean people. We cannot speak of left or right.''
Shortly before midnight the three members of the junta emerged from a meeting at the national
palace to present themselves to the news media as Ecuador's new leaders. In addition to Mendoza, the
members are Antonio Vargas, leader of an Indian federation that organized the protests, and Carlos
Solorzano, a former Supreme Court judge.
Thousands of people streamed onto the plaza in front of the
national palace, mingling with soldiers in combat gear and
celebrating, some waving the red flag of an extreme-left party.
It was a day of political chaos, with Indians demanding Mahuad's
resignation and forcing their way into Congress and the Supreme
Court. After first backing Mahuad, the military later in the day
decided to support the protest, saying it was the only way to
prevent ``a social explosion.''
Mahuad had insisted he would not step down, saying during a
nationwide television broadcast that anyone who wanted to overthrow him would have to do it by
force. Late Friday, Interior Minister Vladimiro Alvarez said in a television interview that ``the
president has no intention of leaving the country.''
Ecuador's economic woes appear to have led to the unusual Indian uprising. Last year, inflation
reached 60 percent, the highest in Latin America, and only one in three in the labor force has full-time
work. A vast majority of the nation's 4 million Indians live in poverty.
At an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States
in Washington, Ecuador's ambassador, Patricio Vivanco, said
Mahuad had abandoned the presidential palace in Quito and taken
refuge at a military base in the city.
The OAS unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the
attempt to overthrow the government and expressed full support
for Mahuad.
South American leaders also lined up in support of Mahuad,
issuing statements condemning attempts to oust him. A statement
issued by the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, urged Ecuador's armed forces and police to uphold
Mahuad.
``Whatever regime arises from this unconstitutional process will confront political and economic
isolation, bringing more misery to the Ecuadorean people,'' the statement said.
Earlier in the day in Quito, guards stepped aside when hundreds of
Indians accompanied by an unknown number of military officers
stormed an empty Congress building, seized the podium and
announced that they had created their own ``Parliament of the
People.'' Military leaders said 120 officers were involved in the
rebellion, along with an undetermined number of troops.
While downtown Quito during the day was in chaos — with
Indians armed with rocks and clubs paralyzing traffic and
menacing pedestrians — most of the country and much of the city
seemed unfazed and Mahuad said he had no intention of stepping
down.
``I am not going to abandon you,'' Mahuad, 50, said his nationwide television broadcast, his only
public appearance of the day.
``If you want to take power through force, gentlemen, take power through force,'' he said, directing
his comments to the military high command, which only a few minutes before had asked him to
resign.
Later, Mahuad left the national palace with close aides and was being protected by several military
officers.
The actions by the armed forces seemed more a result of their growing impatience with Mahuad's
inability to handle the Indian rebellion, which was part of a month of broader protests. They backed
the attempted takeover mainly to prevent ``a social explosion,'' said Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who was
joint military commander until becoming defense minister last week.
``We are conscious that we must maintain order and discipline in the country,'' he said.
Two men were killed and eight were wounded by gunfire during protests and looting in Quito,
Guayaquil, and two smaller cities, the Red Cross said. The two men who were killed were shot by
merchants while allegedly looting a public market in Portoviejo.
Earlier in the day in Guayaquil, 165 miles southwest of the capital, a group of leftist-led unions,
student organizations and neighborhood associations seized the provincial government building.
The protesters are also upset about Mahuad's plans to scrap Ecuador's currency for the dollar.
In becoming the first South American country seeking to adopt the greenback, Ecuador was hoping to
curb inflation, bring down interest rates to U.S. levels and spur investment to end the country's deep
recession.
Critics contended that Mahuad's decision to establish the conversion rate at 25,000 sucres to the dollar
would have devastating repercussions for the thousands of Ecuadoreans whose savings are in sucres. A
year ago, the sucre was valued at 7,000 to the dollar.
The vast majority of Ecuador's Indians live in the Andean highlands and speak Quichua, a dialect of
the language spoken by the Incas.
-- Joe R. Golowka joegolowka at earthlink.net
"A witty saying proves nothing." -- Voltaire