TeleSUR — Ecuador Denounces Plot Planning Coup d'Etat

Ecuador’s government denounced on Wednesday plans by the country’s right-wing opposition to overthrow the government during protests being held on Thursday. The plans included the blockade of the airports of Quito and Guayaquil, the bridges located on the Colombian (Rumichaca) and Peruvian (Huaquillas) borders, while enclosing the palace of government, said Minister of Interior Jose Serrano in a press conference in the capital. He added that opposition lawmakers Andrés Paéz and Lourdes Tibán coordinated a strategy with former colonel Mario Pazmiño to cause chaos during Thursday’s protests.... 

They also planned to publish two letters in national newspapers, El Universo and La Hora, and to organise letters against the government to be sent to the Pope Francis seeking to undermine his forthcoming visit. Serrano said the aim “if they were not able to seize power,” was that they “would have created national chaos for the Pope to cancel his visit (…) and maintain an indefinite protest.”....

A wave of opposition protests, initially calling for the ending of new tax laws on the wealthiest, have demanded the ousting of the Correa government with some protests turning violent.

TeleSUR
Ecuador Denounces Plot Planning Coup d'Etat

See also

But who are behind these protests and what is their goal? The demonstrations were initially sparked by opposition activists against two proposed laws, one that would tax inheritances and another that would tax capital gains on illegitimate land speculation. As President Rafael Correa has explained, 90 percent of Ecuador's largest companies are held by two percent of the population, and usually ownership over these highly profitable corporations is inherited. Opposition lawmakers, media, activists and businessmen alike, repeatedly argue that both taxes will negatively affect the middle and working classes. Yet these new progressive taxes only hit the wealthiest hardest 2 percent of the population, with the bill proposing a 47.5 percent tax on inheritances from US$849,600 dollars up.... 

Whatever the initial justification, the demonstrations soon clearly began to call for the “ousting” of President Correa who they describe as a “dictator.” Protesters adopted a black flag, to symbolize their mourning over the supposed “death of democracy.” This has been the slogan of frustrated opposition groups for years now, emerging soon after President Correa took office in 2007 and throughout the nine electoral victories for Correa and his alliance of supporters.

Who's Behind Ecuador's Demonstrations?