January 28, 1998, Quito.
The scale of the anti-Mexican protest tripled compared to the previous day.
When the footage from Guayaquil reached the capital, it was already 2 PM.
The footage was shot with a Polaroid, shaky but with every detail sharp as a knife.
A group of men surrounded a burning tire.
Three people lay beside the tire— the man was burned and curled into a ball, his hands still in a defensive posture over his head. The woman lay two meters away face down, her clothes burned off, the skin on her back charred and cracked, exposing the layer of fat underneath, which sizzled with oil.
The child was thrown on top of the tire to burn. In the end, only half a torso and a small hand were left, the hand still in a gripping pose, fingers curled, nails burned off, exposing the stark white knuckles.
As the people burnt, at least 50 people stood around watching.
