Lenin is doomed

Anti-Government Protesters, Police Clash near Ecuador’s Legislative Palace

Security forces clashed on Friday with indigenous demonstrators trying to re-seize control of Ecuador’s legislative palace as part of their revolt against the government’s austerity measures.

The fighting erupted before midday when a sea of protesters – headed by a line of women – approached the National Assembly building and began shouting slogans in Quechua and demanding that they be allowed past a security cordon.

“As women we don’t have any weapons. Our only ideology is to seize the Assembly because our leaders are unable to lead,” Yusta Malisa, a young protester from the Andean province of Tungurahua, told EFE.

The indigenous leaders urged protesters to avoid the use of force and raise their hands in a sign of peace.

“We’ve come to protest peacefully here. May there be no violence, and there also won’t be any from our side,” Jose Faringo, an indigenous leader from Pichincha province, told EFE.

But the initial calm was shattered when security forces employed tear gas against a crowd of people who were apparently wielding rocks, dispersing them in a matter of minutes.