The Unrelenting Violence Against Black Youth in Latin America: a Focus on Ecuador
By Janvieve Williams Comrie, January 8, 2025
The murder of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys is another tragic example of the long history of racism in Ecuador and Latin America. The utter disregard for the lives of Black youth and the refusal to seek justice for the deplorable acts committed against them reveals the true nature of those states. Building a region free of imperialist forces that will work to bring peace and stability is how the masses will rid themselves of this unrelenting violence.
The December 2024 murders of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys in Guayaquil’s Las Malvinas neighborhood have laid bare the entrenched racism and neglect faced by Black communities in Ecuador. and Josué Arroyo, of 15 and 14 years of age, Nehemías Arboleda, 15, and Steven Medina 11, disappeared on December 8th, their dismembered bodies discovered days later near a military base. This heinous act has drawn national and international condemnation, with demands for justice and accountability growing louder.
The government’s response—a state of emergency and curfew in Guayaquil and other areas until at least March 3, 2025—has been criticized for its misplaced focus. Rather than addressing the systemic poverty and racism that make (Afro-Ecuadorian) communities vulnerable, the state has doubled down on militarized crackdowns. This heavy-handed approach criminalizes Afro-descendant communities, further perpetuating systemic violence and oppression cycles of violence and mistrust…
Banner photo: Demonstrators in Niteroi, Río de Janeiro, at a Black Lives Matter event to protest against racism in Brazil | courtesy Fernando Souza/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News