The Social Struggle is the Mother of All Rights: Interview with Leonidas Iza

What is it about?

Protest spoke with Leonidas Iza Salazar, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE, acronym in Spanish), about his election in June 2021 as head of the largest social organization in the country. Iza was one of the most prominent figures of the October 2019 protests, when thousands mobilized to reject the lifting of fuel subsidies and other austerity measures._x000D_ _x000D_ Iza analyzes an overview of the context of protests in Latin America and the criminalization of social protest from the structures of justice. It also addresses the inequalities of indigenous peoples and nationalities. His nationality is Kichwa-Panzaleo and before being elected as president of CONAIE, he was president of the Cotopaxi Indigenous and Peasant Movement (MICC, Spanish acronym). He studied Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Cotopaxi and his thinking influences the work of José Carlos Mariátegui: founder of the Socialist Party in Peru and one of the most influential Marxists in Latin America.

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