On 19 July, the Ecuadorian electoral authorities refused, without justification, to register multiple parties including Fuerza Compromiso Social (FCS), the political party associated with PI Council Members Andrés Arauz and former President Rafael Correa: an illegal, brazen suspension of democracy in Ecuador.

This illegal maneuver is not an isolated event. Rather, it is an alarming advancement of a strategy of political persecution against the progressive forces of Ecuador — and the acceleration of legal warfare (‘lawfare’) against political opposition in the region of Latin America, more broadly.

In Brazil, Bolivia, and now Ecuador, political parties and elected governments have faced arbitrary, discriminatory juridical attacks resulting in disenfranchisement of major political parties and movements with broad social support.

The attacks on democracy in Latin America are international — both in terms of explicit support for regime change by governments in the United States and Europe, as well as through the international institutions that operate in the region.

In Ecuador, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has collaborated with Lenín Moreno to advance an agenda of austerity and resource extraction that undermines popular sovereignty to the benefit of foreign investors.

That is why the Progressive International is campaigning alongside the people of Ecuador — to stand up against coups, to end lawfare, and to reclaim popular sovereignty.

Join the fight. Support the Progressive International.

Photo: Giovani Martínez/Twitter