Cotacachi, Ecuador, April 27 — Indigenous leader and former Ecuadorian vice-presidential candidate Pacha Terán expressed her support for the Cuban people and considered that the current Ecuadorian government's policy toward the island does not reflect the majority sentiment of society today.
In statements to Prensa Latina, the activist, native of the Andean province of Imbabura, questioned the official stance by pointing out that "what the president says in Ecuador does not represent us, the Ecuadorian people."
Despite the Executive branch deciding to expel the Cuban diplomatic mission from Quito, Terán highlighted the historical ties between both countries and Cuba's support in the education of young Ecuadorians.
Many of my Quichua, Amazonian, and other indigenous nationalities and peoples brothers and sisters managed to academically train thanks to Cuba, which, despite its economic condition, allowed ours to study and today they are serving the Ecuadorian homeland," she emphasized.
Terán, who was a vice-presidential candidate for the Unidad Popular party, attended the recent Assembly of the Coordinator of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba, held in the city of Cotacachi, where she reiterated her message of support for the Caribbean nation.
As an Ecuadorian, we tell the Cuban people that you are welcome here, that here we make one single homeland throughout the entire American continent, count on us," she expressed.
Terán spoke out in favor of greater Latin American integration and considered that Cuba's situation should be analyzed together with the international geopolitical scenario.
"We need to be united to stand up to the empire that today seeks to serve the interest of one person, Donald Trump; in this case, he wants not only to drown Cuba, but also us as a people, and he is partly responsible for the genocide against the Palestinian sister and now against Iran," she pointed out.
At the beginning of March, Ecuador declared Cuban diplomatic personnel persona non grata, which resulted in a de facto rupture of bilateral relations.
Ecuadorian civil society organizations rejected the measure and considered that it responds to political agreements with the U.S. administration of Donald Trump.
However, at the popular level, support for the Cuban people persists, as well as the willingness to further support the island, which is experiencing an intensification of the economic, commercial, financial, and energy blockade.
