After weeks of protests, the political crisis in Ecuador worsened this Tuesday (5) with the resignation of three ministers — Simon Cueva, of Economy, Ximena Garzon, of Health and Marcelo Cabrera, of Transport.
In the statement announcing his departure, President Guilherme Lasso thanked the ministers for their “loyalty and valuable service.” The new holders will be announced at 5 pm local time (7 pm in Brasília), according to the government.
The cabinets are undergoing a restructuring after more than two weeks of indigenous protests across the country, calling for lower fuel prices and limits on the expansion of the mining and oil industries. At least eight civilians died in the demonstrations, which took thousands to the streets.
A pact to end the crisis was signed last week between the government and indigenous leaders, in a meeting mediated by the Catholic Church.
In the resignation letter that she delivered to the president on Monday (4), the now former minister Ximena Garzon said she was “deeply grateful for the opportunity you gave me and proud to have contributed to controlling the Covid-19 pandemic with you”.
Economy’s Cueva was appointed last year with the task of cutting the fiscal deficit, which the government hopes to reduce by $2 billion this year.
With the agreement signed last week, Conaie, the largest indigenous organization in the country, said that it considers what it calls the first stage of the acts to be officially closed and that, in 90 days, it will assess the fulfillment of the commitments signed.
The Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, in reading the minutes, said that the government had committed to reducing another US$0.05 in the price of a gallon of diesel and gasoline, bringing the total reduction to US$0.15 — in the first announcement of decrease, the protests did not cease. Before, Conaie asked for a reduction of US$ 0.40.
Lasso, in the presidency for a year, escaped on Tuesday (28) an impeachment process pleaded by the opposition, which accused him of inability to deal with the acts.
The president signed the agreement, which he described as the return of peace to the country. “Now we will begin, together, the task of transforming this peace into progress, well-being and opportunities for all,” he said, who did not participate in the final agreement – the government was represented by the Minister of Government, Francisco Jiménez.
Conaie celebrated the agreement as a victory for popular mobilization. Although the final price reduction did not correspond to the requested amount, the confederation recalls that other demands were met. Among them is the revocation of a presidential decree that allowed the State to expand the borders of fossil fuel extraction, largely in the Ecuadorian Amazon region.
The government also pledged to overturn the state of exception that it had decreed in four provinces. The measure allowed the use of military personnel on the streets and the suspension of the right to free association, in addition to instituting an 8-hour night curfew in some regions and a 10-hour curfew in others.
The mobilization that started on June 13 even registered acts with more than 10,000 indigenous people in the streets of Quito. At least six people died, and 600 were injured. Another 150 were detained by the police. There is also the economic impact, with the government stating that oil production has been greatly affected.
