QUITO —
Indigenous protesters in
Ecuador vowed Monday to continue a disruptive
country-wide protest against high living costs, rejecting a fuel price cut
announced by the government as insufficient and “insensitive.”
اضافة اعلان
President
Guillermo Lasso on Sunday announced a 10-cents-per-gallon reduction in fast-rising diesel
and gasoline prices that sparked the uprising, now in its 15th day and severely
hampering the oil-dependent economy.
The cut was not
nearly as much as protesters had demanded, and the powerful Confederation of
Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which has been blockading roads
and occupying oil wells since June 13, said the gesture was “not enough, it is
insensitive.”
It showed, said a
Conaie statement signed by its leader Leonidas Iza, that the government “does
not sympathize with the situation of poverty faced by millions of families.”
The group added:
“Our struggle is not over.”
Indigenous people
make up more than a million of the South American nation’s 17.7 million people,
and Conaie is credited with unseating three presidents between 1997 and 2005.
Fuel prices, which
are subsidized in oil-producing Ecuador, have risen sharply since 2020, almost
doubling for diesel from $1 to $1.90 per gallon and swelling from $1.75 to
$2.55 for gasoline.
Conaie wants the
price to be lowered to $1.50 per gallon for diesel and $2.10 for gasoline.
‘Critical’ level
An estimated 14,000 protesters are taking part in a nationwide show of
discontent against rising hardship in an economy dealt a serious blow by the
coronavirus pandemic.
Most of the ire is
concentrated in the capital Quito, where some 10,000 people are gathered,
mainly from other parts of the country.
Other than fuel
price cuts, the protesters also want jobs, food price controls, and more public
spending on healthcare and education.
The action has
been costly, with losses of some $50 million per day to the economy, and
production of fuel — Ecuador’s biggest export — halved from about 520,000
barrels per day, according to the energy ministry.
Hundreds of wells
are besieged.
On Sunday, the
ministry said oil production had reached a “critical” level and could be halted
entirely within 48 hours if the protests continued.
Ecuador’s economy
is highly dependent on oil revenues, with 65 percent of output exported in the
first four months of 2022.
The demonstrations
have also crippled transportation, with roadblocks set up in 19 of the oil-rich
country’s 24 provinces, blocking the delivery of food and flowers — another key
export — and dealing a blow to tourism.
Shortages are
already being reported in the capital, where prices have soared and irate
workers and shop owners have launched counter-protests against the disruption
of their lives and livelihoods.
Lasso, an
ex-banker who took office last year, finds himself in a tough spot between the
protesters and politicians who blame him for the drawn-out standoff.
At the request of
opposition parties, parliament started an impeachment hearing for the president
over the weekend, suspended until Tuesday.
Once the hearings
conclude, MPs will have 72 hours to vote.
Impeachment would
require 92 of the 137 possible votes in the National Assembly, where the
opposition holds a fragmented majority.
Seeking to appease
protesters, Lasso on Saturday lifted a state of emergency that had been in
place in six provinces, with Quito under a night-time curfew.
In two weeks of
protests to date, five people have died in clashes with police, and hundreds
have been injured on both sides.
International
organizations and rights bodies have called for an end to the violence, while
Pope Francis on Sunday urged “dialogue.”
Both sides have
accused each other of intransigence, and Lasso insisted Sunday that those
seeking a peaceful settlement would find an “outstretched hand.”
However, “those
who seek chaos, violence and terrorism will face the full force of the law,”
the president said.
Iza told followers
Sunday in Quito that protesters will gather anew on Monday “to continue
fighting in the streets.”
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
