A wave of criminalization of protest and of labor and grassroots organizations is sweeping the world.

From Canada to Argentina, and on every continent, governments of all political stripes are violating the rights of the working class, Indigenous peoples, peasants, women, and youth to organize, make collective demands, and mobilize.

Although this offensive is not new, in the current international climate of social polarization and the rise of far-right forces, it has intensified, calling into question fundamental democratic rights that are historic achievements of the working class and the peoples of the world.

The primary goal of the capitalist system is to destroy wages, public education, and public health care; take control of pension funds; and plunder the environmnet.

A policy with these objectives cannot be imposed without repression and violence, and it is part of the war waged by the U.S. Empire, as expressed in the revival of the Monroe Doctrine and its global strategy of domination—even if disguised as false campaigns against organized crime or similar tactics. At the same time, in countries whose governments espouse falsely leftist or anti-imperialist rhetoric, the demands of workers, youth, communities, and the women’s movement are also criminalized.

For all these reasons, we are convinced that, with the broadest possible scope and unity of action, a response that transcends national borders is needed to confront this repressive policy. Isolated struggles and actions are insufficient.

On behalf of CEDOCUT, our Class-Conscious and Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Ecuador, we wish to call on workers’, social, human rights, student, peasant, and indigenous organizations to participate in an International Meeting in Defense of the Right to Protest and Organize in the city of Quito, to be held on October 23 and 24. The goal is to share experiences, coordinate efforts, and develop a common roadmap to achieve the objectives we have outlined.

PROTEST AND ORGANIZATION ARE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS, NOT CRIMES

SEPTEMBER 22, 2026

CEDOCUT

Ecuadorian Confederation of Unitary Class-Based Workers’ Organizations