Indigenous-led protesters began a national strike in Ecuador yesterday after President Lenin Moreno refused to step down or overturn anti-austerity measures that have triggered the worst unrest in a decade.
Streets were empty of traffic and businesses were closed in Quito and other cities at the start of the shutdown, in Latin America’s latest flashpoint over structural economic reforms.
Security forces fired teargas to block hundreds of protesters marching near the presidential palace in downtown Quito, the highland capital.
Violent demonstrations erupted in the Andean nation of 17mn people a week ago when Moreno cut fuel subsidies as part of a package of measures in line with a $4.2bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.
“What the government has done is reward the big banks, the capitalists, and punish poor Ecuadoreans,” said Mesias Tatamuez, head of the Workers’ United Front umbrella union. “We call on all those against the IMF, which is responsible for this crisis, to join the strike.”
Manuel Hoyos, a 34-year-old taxi driver and father-of-two, said the price of filling his fuel tank had jumped about 50% from last week to $19. “Moreno is a traitor... he said there would not be an economic package, and look at the dreadful package he’s brought in,” Hoyos said.
The main indigenous group CONAIE, which has mobilised some 6,000 members to Quito from outlying areas, said Moreno’s government was behaving like a “military dictatorship” by declaring a state of emergency and setting an overnight curfew.
Protesters again barricaded roads yesterday morning with debris, while security forces themselves blocked a major bridge in the coastal city of Guayaquil to thwart demonstrations.
Moreno, 66, who succeeded leftist leader Rafael Correa in 2017, has relocated his government to Guayaquil where the unrest has been less than in Quito. He stood by his economic measures and defied calls to quit.
“I don’t see why I should if I’m making the right decisions,” Moreno said arguing that Ecuador’s large debt and fiscal deficit meant belt-tightening reforms were unavoidable.
For days, protesters have been marching and barricading roads with burning tyres. Masked youths have hurled stones at security forces, who have responded with tear gas and water cannon.
“Our flag is red, like the blood of the working class!” chanted the marchers in downtown Quito, waving red banners.
Authorities have arrested nearly 700 people in a week of unrest, and dozens of police officers have been injured.
One man died after he was hit by a car and an ambulance could not reach him amid the chaos, while another two people fell off a bridge during protests, with some unconfirmed reports that they died.
The government is hoping the United Nations or Roman Catholic Church can help mediate the crisis.
Moreno has accused former friend, mentor and boss Correa of seeking a coup with the help of fellow socialist President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.
Moreno had enthusiastically backed Correa during his decade-long rule, serving as his vice-president, but broke with him after winning election and moved economic policies to the right.
From Belgium where he lives, Correa has been applauding the demonstrators but scoffed at accusations of seeking a coup.
Related Story