The President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, suspended this Tuesday (28), after an attack on the military left a soldier dead and 12 others injured, the negotiations he had with the leader of the indigenous protests that have blocked streets and roads in the country since the last day 13 in demonstrations against the government.
“We are not going to sit down to talk to Leonidas Iza again, who only defends his political interests and not those of his bases,” said the president, referring to the leader of Conaie, the largest indigenous organization in the country, which is calling for the demonstrations. “To our indigenous brothers, you deserve more than an opportunist leader,” he said. “We are not going to negotiate with those who are holding Ecuador hostage.”
The mostly indigenous protesters protest against the country’s high fuel and food prices. At least eight people died in more than two weeks of demonstrations. Road blocks have also caused shortages of food in supermarkets and medical supplies in hospitals in different regions of Ecuador.
In the early hours of Tuesday, a group of military and police escorting a convoy of 17 tanker trucks was attacked by armed protesters in the Ecuadorian Amazon region, officials said. “It is a criminal act to play with the lives of innocent people. The country is witness to all the efforts we have made to establish a fruitful and sincere dialogue,” Lasso said.
“Only when there are legitimate representatives of all the peoples and ethnicities of Ecuador, who seek real solutions and are open to a real and frank dialogue, will we return to the negotiating table,” he said.
Since Monday, the government has not participated in the negotiation tables, which take place at the Basilica of the National Vote, in Quito. “It was a brutal attack. [aos militares]but how can we know if it was really provoked by the protesters or not?”, questioned Iza the morning after the meeting was cancelled. “Let the world know who is not willing to solve problems”, said the president of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie).
The protests, roadblocks and violent clashes are putting pressure on the unpopular conservative president Guillermo Lasso, who has just 17% of approval and was also cornered by a debate on his impeachment, under discussion in Congress.
The government says it has made significant concessions to the protesters, including a gas price cut, bank debt relief and fertilizer subsidies. Last Monday (27), Iza said that the reduction in the value of gasoline was insufficient.
On Twitter, Conaie said that the cancellation of the negotiations confirmed the president’s “authoritarianism, unwillingness and incapacity”, and that he will be responsible for the consequences of the acts.
Roadblocks have prevented the transport of supplies to oil refineries operated by state-owned Petroecuador and private companies, the government said.
Over the weekend, the Energy Ministry said refinery operations could be halted as early as Tuesday. On Monday, total oil production was at 234,496 barrels a day, less than half the production of about 520,000 barrels before the protests.
However, the ITT oil field, the largest in Ecuador, was operating normally on Monday and produced more than 52,000 barrels, according to Petroecuador. At another point, the company stated that it had no more oil to transport through the Sote pipeline. A company source who asked not to be named said the company is considering the possibility of postponing exports.
