Quito. The Ecuadorian Armed Forces said yesterday that they will not allow the protest against the economic policies of President Guillermo Lasso to attack democracy, amid clashes between indigenous protesters and the public force in Quito.
Thousands of indigenous people marched yesterday in the capital to demand that Lasso respond to their 10 requests that include lowering fuel prices, extending deadlines to pay their financial debts, limiting oil expansion and increasing the budget for health and intercultural education.
The government has responded to the demands in a communication with the indigenous leaders and is waiting for news. It also accepted mediation offers from civil society organizations, he said.
They all speak Quichua, but their poncho designs, the sounds of drums and flutes they play set them apart. They are indigenous people who came from various provinces and since Monday night they have been occupying spaces at the Salesian and Central Polytechnic Universities of Ecuador (UCE), both located in the north-central part of the Ecuadorian capital.
Some marchers threw sticks and were met with tear gas and non-lethal projectiles.
“The Armed Forces will not allow attempts to break the constitutional order or any action against democracy and the laws of the Republic,” Defense Minister Luis Lara said in a press statement with military chiefs.
“We call Ecuadorians to national unity,” he added, noting that behind the violence of the protests “is the hand of drug trafficking and organized crime.”
The police commander, Fausto Salinas, said that they confiscated diesel and gasoline, as well as knives from some protesters. At least 80 people were arrested and some 100 members of the security forces were injured, he added.
food prices
Protesters in Guayaquil, where there was a massive rally on Monday, said they are being hit by high prices for food and other basic items.
Meanwhile, residents of the capital woke up to find some roads closed and parts of the public transport system suspended.
Roads into Quito have been blocked since the protests began a week ago and the city’s airport reported that flights were being cancelled.
Ecuador’s oil production, its main export item, fell by about 100,000 barrels per day, which represents 21% of the total, an official source said yesterday.