El Paro Nacional: Stories of Resistance & Healing

The past two weeks in Quito were marked by widespread protests led by an indigenous movement that brought the nation to a standstill. These protests were sparked by a government decree that removed subsidies on oil prices overnight in order to comply with the conditions of an IMF loan. The government reacted by repressing protests, often violently, leading to further indignation and unrest. On Sunday, the United Nations moderated peace talks between Indigenous leaders and the government, and the government repealed the decree, which marked a massive victory for the indigenous movement. 

Many members of the Pachaysana family played a role during the protests. Whether it was in the front lines, bringing donations to collection centers, volunteering to cook or raising funds to buy donations, it was inspiring to see so much community and solidarity in a time of violence, uncertainty, and pain. The struggle that began on October 3rd is far from over and these events have transformed who we are. 

Image: Protests in the historic center of Quito (October 2019).

The Stories We Tell Matter

As discussed in previous newsletters, stories are powerful. Our brains are wired for story; thus, stories shape the way we understand the world. How we construct concepts such as justice, family, identity, government, and power are all based upon the stories we build around them. In the recent national strike of Ecuador, which lasted 12 days, the impact of what stories we choose to believe and craft became evident. During this time, stories brought us together and pulled us apart. This strike was not only about the economic reforms and IMF austerity measures, but about what we believe Ecuador should be and how we engage with each other across difference. 

The Indigenous Movement led the strike, not only as a response to the rise in gasoline prices, but in an effort to visibilize the profound gap between the wealthy and the poor, the urban and the rural, the Mestizo and the Indigenous. Since colonization, indigenous folks have resisted for their right to live with dignity and for the right to land. During the strike, recognition and admiration for this heritage of resistance grew.  Facebook posts and street signs exclaimed, “They (meaning the Indigenous Movement) fight for the dignity of us all.'' Many Quiteño, Mestizos joined the march to support with cooking, medical attention, child care, and donations, as well as resisting in the front line struggle. The story of la lucha united us across ethnicity and race in the cry for dignity, sovereignty, and justice. 

However, since colonization, a pervasive racist narrative of “us vs. them” began. This narrative is alive and well.  During the strike, the legacy of white supremacy and classist views were conspicuous. Many Quiteños -- mostly White-Mestizos and those of high economic status -- were against the strike and engaged in efforts to stop donations from arriving to the city and to destroy roadblocks. Most mainstream media coverage depicted protestors as terrorists and vandals. In their posts, these Facebook users also encouraged the armed forces to stop the protesters at any cost.

The strike brought to light the long standing conflict we carry as a nation: what does development mean in a plurinational country? How do we engage with each other across difference? As Pachaysana, an organization that constantly explores the power and importance of the stories we create, we hope to contribute in fostering stories that bring solidarity, justice, and community. 

Image: Playing with the story and symbol of the middle finger in our Narration course (Quito, Fall 2019).

Planting Seeds: Resisting by Creating 

On October 14th, the day following the peace talks and the repeal of Decree 883, Indigenous protesters and Quiteñxs (citizens of Quito) came together for a city-wide “minga” to clean the city and repair much of the damage caused during the 12 days of protest. Minga, an ancestral concept from native Andean cultures, is a communal work day for the collective wellbeing of the community. Nowadays, mingas are often held by communities to fix roads, help community members build their homes and harvest their crops, or clean communal spaces. In this city-wide minga, protesters from the indigenous movement, alongside Quiteñxs from all walks of life, came together in solidarity, in the still-fresh shadow of immense violence, to heal the city. They cleared burned tires and blockades from roads, replaced bricks from the paths of Arbolito Park that had been removed to create roadblocks, and picked up trash strewn through the park. After Arbolito Park, and many of the other locations central to the recent protests, were nearly spotless, groups came together to plant seeds in the park, a powerful symbol of hope for new beginnings and better alternatives-- alternatives to the violence, alternatives to western visions of development, alternatives to repression and injustice. 

In Pachaysana, we strongly believe that it is important to not only resist by protesting, but to also resist by creating-- to be brave enough to dream of changing the world, to imagine a more empathetic and just reality, and to create real alternatives to the current system, We don’t want to just imagine a better, more just world; we want to help create it. While President Moreno’s decree was repealed, the unrest lives on in the uncertainty of the government’s next steps, in the persistence of the IMF and other neoliberal foreign interventions in Ecuador, and in the fight for justice for those killed, injured, detained, and disappeared. What does it look like to resist this injustice through creating? What alternatives do we want to work towards? 

For us, it has looked like rewriting our syllabuses and changing our plans for this second half of our Rehearsing Change semester in Pintag, one of our rural partner communities close to Quito. Pintag also played a significant role in the recent resistance, bravely standing up to government forces. We are in the process of restructuring our “Theatre for Social Change” and “Identity & Place” classes to focus on these exact topics: how do we heal collectively? What alternatives do we want to create looking forward? How can we use art and creation as tools for continued resistance?

We will explore these questions and more, processing and comparing what happened here to similar protests and resistance all over the world, finding inspiration, hope, and solidarity in creative resistance. In the face of violence, repression, and injustice, it is important to adapt and create anew, to plant seeds of change, to not just hope for a better world, but create it. 

Image: Quiteñxs coming together to plant seeds in Arbolito Park following nearly two weeks of protest (October 2019).

Healing Looking Forward

As life in Quito and greater Ecuador returns to “normalcy,” our memories of what happened have yet to fade, and we wonder how we can look forward and heal collectively.  The nation is embarking in a restorative process towards becoming sound and balanced once again, despite the irreparable ruptures and divides the trauma caused.  While the communal minga initiated this journey, folks continue to seek community, art, and inspiration to tell their stories and heal their deep wounds.  How can we process what happened and heal as a community?

The Pachaysana team as well as our extended local and international family have been profoundly shaken by these events.  Luckily, our work is deeply connected with using art-based methodologies to educate in community, and we are actively redesigning parts of our program in order to digest and heal collectively, in the aftermath of what happened.  We feel fortunate that the nature of our work allows us to adapt to this reality, connect with those around us, and use the arts to process our experiences.  

As our Fall 2019 semester transitions to life and classes in Pintag, we are collaborating with community members to readapt syllabi for the “Theater for Social Change” and “Identity & Place” courses in order to include what happened and allow for creative reflection and healing.  The hope of changing these courses is to open spaces where people are supported and empowered, while providing artistic outlets, such as the creation of giant puppets, to process what happened through telling stories, to share symbols of who we are as both individuals and a nation, and ultimately, to heal.  By coming together as a community and creating artistic education experiences, Pachaysana believes we can heal together.

Image: The diablo huma, a character in traditional Ecuadorian celebrations, that represents the complementary, duality of life (Pintag, Summer 2019).