The Minister of the Interior, Mónica Palencia, questioned the protest of the community members of Olón over the desilting work in the Esterillo Olconcito, a protected area.
The Minister of the Interior, Mónica Palencia, at a government event on May 7, 2024.
The Minister of the Interior, Mónica Palencia, called the situation in Olón a “scandal” with political interests, where the community opposes the intervention in a protected area for the construction of the ECHO real estate project.
This project is in charge of the Vinazin company, where the first lady, Lavinia Valbonesi, is a shareholder. The community members have started a peaceful protest against the desilting work being carried out in 261 meters of the Esterillo Oloncito , which they consider an attack on the rights of nature.
Minister Palencia, who also provided her services as a lawyer to the company Vinazin, referred to the issue on the morning of this Wednesday, May 8, in an interview with Ecuavisa and said that “there is a tendency to politically damage images“.
“Sometimes, these scandals have to do with the need for political parties that see themselves off the field. That saw the 9-2 defeat that was messed up with the popular consultation…” he expressed.
“We have an organized crime that has permeated absolutely everything, so now it wants to compensate with scandals for what it cannot win at the polls,” the minister added and clarified her role in this company.
“In the year 2022, I and my daughter, who is also a lawyer, were asked, simply and only, to reform a statute so that the company could do other various activities… Absolutely nothing more,” Palencia explained.
Palencia: “I don’t know how peaceful the protest was or not”
The Minister of the Interior also questioned the community members’ protest and justified the strong police presence in the area on Tuesday, May 7.
“The National Police is there to maintain order, whenever there is a risk situation. In this specific issue, the Police will be present,” he assured and added “I don’t know how peaceful (the protest) was or not.”
He also maintained that “it is not a protest by community members,” because he assured that he even heard foreigners in the demonstration.
The alarm about what is happening in Olón came to light on the morning of Monday, May 6, when environmental organizations, such as Fundación La Iguana, exposed the case on social networks.
The community members of Olón, located in the Manglaralto parish, in Santa Elena, remain vigilant to avoid intervention in the protected area.
