(Quito) The largest organization of indigenous peoples began a new cycle of demonstrations and roadblocks in Ecuador on Monday to protest against rising fuel prices and the cost of living.
Posted yesterday at 4:22 p.m.
The demonstrations began in the night, they took place without notable violence, noted AFP around the capital Quito.
According to the authorities, they remained on a limited scale, with only 3,800 demonstrators throughout the country, spread over the various makeshift roadblocks made of earth, stones, trees or tires.
“The situation remains completely under control,” government official Francisco Jimenez told a news conference in Quito, adding that the number of protesters was “significantly lower” than expected.
No arrests or injuries were recorded during the day’s demonstrations, said Interior Minister Patricio Carillo, according to whom the roadblocks were concentrated in Pichincha (around Quito) and in the neighboring provinces of Cotopaxi. (South) and Imbabura (North).
These blockades are organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), the largest organization of indigenous peoples. She led the violent October 2019 protests and participated in the uprisings that toppled three presidents between 1997 and 2005.
The natives are about one million in Ecuador, out of 17.7 million inhabitants.
According to CONAIE, actions took place in 16 provinces of the country, “the national mobilization is gaining strength”, she assured on Twitter. One of the main points of the protests was in San Juan de Pastocalle, about twenty kilometers south of Quito, on the Panamerican highway, AFP noted.
“Long live the strike! »
CONAIE President Leonidas Iza has warned that the protests are for an “indefinite” period. Asked Monday in Pastocalle about possible negotiations with the government, Mr. Iza replied: “We have already had three attempts at negotiations. This new mobilization is not to ask for new talks, but to demand concrete answers”.
He then tweeted that “once again, we have put on the government table and formally our 10 demands and proposals awaiting response.”
To cries of “Long live the strike”, there were dozens of natives, women wrapped in colorful blankets, protesting in Pastocalle in front of a barricade of burning tires on the roadway.
“We have to stand up for our children, to live well,” says Maria Dolores Ayala, a 49-year-old native of the Maca Grande community. The prices of the onions, barley, potatoes and beans she produces are “at rock bottom”, she protests, and the hard-earned money is barely enough to support her family.
The powerful CONAIE protests against the rise in fuel prices, but also against the lack of jobs, for a control of the prices of agricultural products, and against the granting of mining concessions in indigenous territories.
Since 2020, the price of a gallon (3.78 liters) of diesel has almost doubled, from $1 to $1.90, and that of gasoline has increased by 46%, from $1.75 to $2.55 .
CONAIE, which has held several dialogues with the government, is asking for a drop in prices to $1.50 for diesel and $2.10 for gasoline.
“The army and the police are mobilized to guarantee public order”, assured the Minister of the Interior, accusing a “minority, under absolutely populist interests, of trying to bring chaos to the country”.
“Peaceful protests yes, vandalism no. No to roadblocks and no to roadblocks,” warned Minister Jimenez.
Soldiers have been deployed in strategic areas and places, such as oil installations, according to the authorities. Crude oil is the country’s main export product.
In power for a year, President Guillermo Lasso warned Sunday and Monday that he would not authorize the blocking of roads or the occupation of oil wells located in the Amazon jungle where demonstrations are also taking place.
“We are not going to allow the country to be paralyzed,” he repeated on Monday.