Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.īe respectful. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. The protests have prevented some 189,000 barrels of crude from being produced, the energy ministry said in a statement, extending a force majeure declaration by state-run oil Petroecuador to include private operators. Lara blamed drug traffickers and organized crime for violence at protests, echoing Lasso, who says drug gangs are causing rising violence, including deadly prison clashes which have killed hundreds.įuel subsidies cost the government some $2.8 billion a year. "The armed forces will not allow constitutional order to be broken or any action against democracy and the laws of the republic," Defense Minister Luis Lara, accompanied by military commanders, told journalists. The armed forces said early on Tuesday said they would not allow the protests to damage the country's democracy. Major highways into Quito have been blocked since protests began a week ago and the city's airport said some flights were being affected. Residents of the capital awoke to find some roads closed and parts of public transport shuttered. Protesters in the largest city Guayaquil have told Reuters they are being hit by high prices for food and other basic items. Police commander Fausto Salinas told journalists earlier on Tuesday that security forces had confiscated cans of diesel and gasoline as well as sharp weapons. The situation calmed after the government opened talks but indigenous leaders say it is not listening to their concerns. Protests first erupted last October after Lasso, a conservative former banker, froze prices for the most-used gasoline and diesel at higher rates than before he took office.
The attorney general's office said in a statement its main office had been attacked, though it did not specify by whom. Security forces responded by firing tear gas and non-lethal projectiles, according to a Reuters witness. Security forces and protesters clashed in the capital on Tuesday afternoon, with some demonstrators throwing sticks.
Seventy-nine have been arrested, according to indigenous tallies. Two people have died during demonstrations, Iza said, while nearly 100 have been injured. "Our conditions suppose a willingness by the national government to reduce repressive actions, overturn the state of exception and demilitarize Arbolito Park," Iza said, referring to special measures which Lasso extended to six provinces on Monday, from a previous three.
The government has responded to the demands but indigenous leaders could not meet to weigh them because of a security force presence in a park where many groups are gathered, Leonidas Iza, leader of the indigenous group CONAIE, said on social media. Thousands of demonstrators have marched in Quito over the last week to demand concessions from Lasso, including a fuel price cut, a halt to the expansion of oil production and mining, more time for farmers to pay debt and budget increases for healthcare. QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuadorean protesters who have held more than a week of marches and road blockades over President Guillermo Lasso's economic policies, will not meet the government until it withdraws security forces from some areas of the capital, an indigenous leader said Tuesday. Protestors gather on the street as indigenous demonstrators from across Ecuador march on the capital Quito to urge President Guillermo Lasso to agree to demands for economic and social support, in Quito, Ecuador June 20, 2022.
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