Last minute of the protests and National Strike in Ecuador, LIVE | New mobilizations are registered in Quito

Ecuador entered this Monday on the 15th day of the national strike called by the indigenous movement against the government of the president William Lasso. Thousands of demonstrators march through the center of Quito in order to reach the Carondelet presidential palace. The protests are developed on the basis of a list of ten demands the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie)which demands that fuel prices be reduced and frozen, that the prices of basic necessities be controlled, that state companies not be privatized and that oil and mining activities in the Amazon not be expanded.

On Sunday night, the president of Ecuadorthe conservative Guillermo Lasso, lowered fuel prices, but without satisfying the protesters.

“This decision is not enough, it is insensitive”expressed the powerful Conaieafter what lasso announced Sunday night a reduction of 10 cents on the dollar that leaves diesel at $1.80 and gasoline at $2.45.

LOOK: Congress of Ecuador resumes debate on impeachment of President Guillermo Lasso

The protesters are demanding that the government lower prices to $1.50 for a gallon of diesel and $2.10 for regular gasoline.

Indigenous people march towards the Presidential Palace of Carondelet, in Quito, on June 27, 2022. (MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP).

The decision of the Executive “does not sympathize with the situation of poverty faced by millions of families”, indicated on Monday the Conaie in a statement signed by its owner, Leonidas Iza, adding that “our fight does not stop (…) and the protest continues.”

The organization also analyzes if it accepts to talk with the Executive after a first approach on Saturday.

lassoin power for a year, is cornered by the demonstrations and the opposition, which is discussing his possible dismissal in Congress.

The roadblocks and the seizure of more than a thousand wells in the midst of the outbreak have the oil sector, the main export item, in check. If the protests continue, the country could paralyze all production on Tuesday, according to the government.

Danger: deadly force

On Sunday, Parliament debated for the second day the advisability of dismissing Lassowhom a sector of the opposition considers responsible for the “serious political crisis and internal commotion” that the country has been experiencing since June 13, when the indigenous protests began.

The session was adjourned for Tuesday, pending the intervention of 20 deputies in the debate of the 84 who had requested the floor.

The bench of Union for Hopeclose to former socialist president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), He proposed the dismissal of Lasso, who sees social pressure as a coup attempt.

The dismissal of the president requires 92 of the 137 votes in the Legislative, where the opposition has a majority, although it is fragmented.

When the debates conclude, the deputies will have a maximum of 72 hours to vote.

If the dismissal of the former banker is approved, Vice President Alfredo Borrero will assume power and presidential and legislative elections will be called for the rest of the period, until 2025.

Ecuador gained a reputation for ungovernability after the abrupt departure of three leaders between 1997 and 2005 due to social pressure.

The current ones are the longest indigenous protests in recent history in the country.

Dialogue and force of law

Some 14,000 indigenous people are protesting in Ecuador to demand relief to alleviate poverty in their agricultural territories.

On Monday “we are going to get together to continue fighting in the streets”, announced with megaphone in hand iza the day before in a central park in Quito, converted into the nucleus of the mobilizations in which some 10,000 natives from their towns participate.

The aborigines, who in the capital have staged strong confrontations with the public force, represent more than one million of the 17.7 million inhabitants.

To try and ease the tension Lasso ended a state of emergency on Saturdayunder which he imposed a night curfew and militarized the city for a week, although the center remains heavily guarded by the public force, AFP found.

International and human rights organizations are calling for an end to the violence.

Pope Francis called Sunday on Twitter for “dialogue” and “social peace.”

Lasso blames Iza for the protests in which five demonstrators have died and more than 400 injured among soldiers and natives.

“Here there is no social fighter, here there is an anarchist (…) who wants to overthrow a government,” the president said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.

In parallel, hundreds of demonstrators take to the streets of Quito in rejection of the indigenous protests, with white flags and in caravans of cars.

Ecuadorwhose dollarized economy was beginning to recover from the effects of the pandemic, loses some 50 million dollars a day due to the crisis, according to official figures.

No notable political backing, Lasso now has the support of the military.

“Ecuadorians who seek dialogue will find a government with an outstretched hand. Those who seek chaos, violence and terrorism, the full force of the law,” the president warned on Sunday.

Source: Elcomercio