Attempts
October 14, 2010
I was pretty disconcerted when I first learned about the intense political tension happening in Ecuador two weeks ago. Some media outlets described it as a police protest, and others as an attempted coup. Not having been there, I’m not really in a position to give it a label, myself. At any rate, it seems to me like it was a pretty alarming situation.
The friends in Ecuador whom I spoke to about it said that things had been pretty chaotic, at least on the actual day when the police protests occurred. In Quito, Ecuador’s capital, most stores had closed, public transit had stopped running, people were looting shops, the airport had been shut down.
A friend who is in Quito teaching English told me about the situation as it was unfolding. He was concerned because he hadn’t had dinner and didn’t know where he’d be able to get food, since all the restaurants and supermarkets, like just about all the other stores in Quito, had shut down.
Another friend told me about how his brother, who was in Quito en route to Peru at the time, realized that there was something major happening when a teargas canister went whizzing by his head.
But it sounds like the following day, things were, for the most part, back to normal.
It seems to me like President Correa is one of the most progressive presidents Ecuador has ever had, with things like the social programs he’s put in place and the educational reforms he’s hoping to effect. He’s not perfect, not by a long stretch, but I really hope he’s able to remain in office for a good while, yet. It seems like Correa really tries to do good things for the people of his country, especially the poor and marginalized.
This evening, I watched as the last of the Chilean miners who had been trapped underground for 70 days were rescued. I watched the rescue with a Chilean son and mother who are friends of mine (having gone to their place to tutor the son, as I do every Wednesday). It was a very exciting and emotional experience to watch the live footage with Chilean compatriots.
So many rescue attempts aren’t successful, so it’s really gratifying that this one was.
Speaking of rescue attempts, I’m going to try to rescue myself from the powerful pull of inertia. Part of this will involve trying to write regularly, and I’m going to try to blog at least somewhat often. I’m planning to use this blog. I probably won’t be writing a whole lot in this blog anymore – at least not until I return to Ecuador yet again!
