Complaint filed by the Ecuadorian State regarding the criminalization of indigenous peoples and people with disabilities
El CLACSO Working Group on Critical Studies in DisabilityThe Discademia collective of Ecuador, along with the undersigned organizations and individuals, denounce the grave human rights violations committed by the government of Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, within the framework of a policy of criminalizing social protest. What the country is experiencing is state terrorism directed against Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and human rights defenders.
Since September 12, at least 109 human rights violations have been recorded. This violence is compounded by nearly one hundred arrests, dozens of injuries (48 confirmed cases), and six people reported missing. Among them is Juan Aguilar Otavalo, a person with an intellectual disability, who was illegally detained on September 26 in San Rafael de Otavalo and has been missing ever since. His safe return is an immediate demand. This constitutes a direct violation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Disability law prohibits deprivation of liberty on the grounds of disability, recognizes full legal capacity, and prohibits all forms of discrimination.
The first fatality has also been confirmed. Efraín Fuerez, 46, was killed in the early hours of September 28 in Imbabura, shot and subjected to degrading treatment by the military. What happened to Efraín is the brutal expression of a repressive policy. We express our solidarity with his family and community and demand justice and full reparations, as well as sanctions for the entire chain of command responsible.
The repression extends to the silencing of community media outlets, such as the closure of TVMIC, and the illegal transfer of detainees to high-security prisons, endangering their lives in a context of prison massacres. Institutional violence knows no bounds. Freedom of expression is attacked, Indigenous leaders are persecuted, collective accounts of social organizations are blocked, and attempts are made to spread the lie that protest is terrorism.
We demand the safe return of Juan Aguilar Otavalo, justice for Efraín Fuerez and full reparations for his family and community, the immediate release of all those detained during the strike, an end to the criminalization of protest, and the repeal of the economic measures that are harming working-class communities. We also demand that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities take urgent action and remain vigilant regarding these serious violations.
The government of Daniel Noboa must be held responsible for the murders, forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture, and other human rights violations committed during the 2025 National Strike. What is happening in Ecuador is not a fight against terrorism but repression against historically excluded peoples and against those who defend life and rights.
Today we say clearly: No more repression! No more disappearances! No more murders! Bring Juan Aguilar Otavalo back alive! Justice for Efraín Fuerez! Freedom for all political prisoners!
Because people do not surrender, because dignity is not negotiable.
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30th September 2025
CLACSO Working Group on Critical Studies in Disability
This statement expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
