Last minute of the protests and National Strike in Ecuador, LIVE: the dialogue is broken

On the 16th day of the national strike in EcuadorPresident William Lasso He broke off this Tuesday the dialogue with the leader of the protests, Leonidas Iza, who participated on Monday in a meeting with government representatives to seek solutions to the demands that motivated the anti-government protests due to the cost of living, after a military man died in the attack on a convoy carrying fuel.

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In a message to the nation, the president of Ecuador, William Lassoannounced that the Executive will not talk again izapresident of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) and who led yesterday’s meeting together with other delegates from the indigenous communities, with the mediation of representatives of other powers of the State, the Catholic Church and human rights.

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The president warned that he will only dialogue with leaders of indigenous peoples and nationalities that are open to a “frank and real dialogue” and as long as there are guarantees that there will be no episodes of violence such as the attack on the military convoy in the Amazonian province of Orellana.

The country has witnessed all the attempts we have had to dialogue but we will not be able to do so with those who intend to kidnap the peace of Ecuador. We will not tolerate that! I call for unity and the defense of democracy.pic.twitter.com/uw3OiylVaw

— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) June 28, 2022

“Terrorist attack”

The head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, Nelson Proaño, called the attack this Tuesday on a convoy transporting fuel a “terrorist act”and in which a soldier diedin the Amazon region of the country, on the 16th day of protests called by the indigenous people against the cost of living.

Proaño said that due to the indigenous mobilizations, which have affected the normal supply of fuel, the Armed Forces, in coordination with the National Police and the public company Petroecuador, articulated “the transfer of 17 diesel tankers from Shushufindi to the ITT oil block to maintain the production of the hydrocarbon system and prevent its collapse.”

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Last Sunday, the Ministry of Energy and Mines warned that, due to the closure of roads and vandalism in wellsregistered in the framework of the indigenous protests, in two days the production of oil, the main export product of the Andean country, would stop.

In a statement to the press at the Ministry of Defense, Proaño reported that in the early hours of this Tuesday, “armed groups outside the law blocked and attacked military and police personnel with firearms.”

The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), Leonidas Iza (left), participates on June 27 in the dialogue between the Government and the indigenous movement in Quito. (EFE/Santiago Fernandez).

A soldier died in the incident and seven other members of the Army were injured.as well as five police officers, who have been evacuated by air, indicated when pointing out that a Petroecuador truck was also set on fire during the event.

“The Armed Forces of Ecuador strongly reject these terrorist acts, carried out by armed groups outside the law, as well as express their solidarity with the relatives of our deceased and with those injured in this violent attack, which mourns the military institution and the country”, he indicated.

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And he advanced that they will proceed to execute the pertinent legal actions: “We demand immediate action from the justice authorities and the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate this terrorist act and identify those responsible for these acts so that they do not go unpunished.”said.

“The Armed Forces, in the face of these terrorist actions, will continue to act firmly and decisively.firmly united to confront these violent groups to recover the peace and security of the nation, using the instruments provided for in the Constitution and the laws to protect the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens”, he concluded.

Previously, the Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, had already confirmed the death of the soldier via Twitter.

“My solidarity with the Sgop family. Jose Chimarrosoldier killed this morning by violent protesters who attacked a convoy transporting fuel and clashed with the Armed Forces and the Police in Shushufindi,” Carrillo wrote.

Last week there was also an attack on a military convoy clearing the road for trucks with supplies to enter the Ecuadorian capital. In that attack, 17 soldiers were injured and Army vehicles were destroyed.

The death of the soldier is added to five others that occurred in the context of the protests, in which some 400 injuries have been reported between protesters and law enforcement.

The protests have been characterized by the closure of roads, the blocking of roads and the concentration of thousands of members of indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.

The new fact occurs the day the debate will be resumed in the National Assembly (Parliament) of a request for the dismissal of the head of state, Guillermo Lasso, raised by the bench related to former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017).

The political movement Union for Hope (Unes) invoked numeral 2 of article 130 of the Constitution, on the possibility of dismissal in case of “serious political crisis and internal commotion.”

The indigenous movement demands compliance with a list of ten demands, among them that fuel prices be reduced and frozen, that the prices of basic necessities be controlled, that state companies not be privatized and that expand oil and mining activity in the Amazon.

Source: Elcomercio