Ecuador: Government, Indigenous leaders reach agreement ending strikes
Ecuador's government and indigenous groups' leaders on June 30 reached an agreement to end more than two weeks of protests against the social and economic policies of President Guillermo Lasso which left at least eight dead, indigenous leaders said.
Ecuador: Agreement ends 18 days of strikes
Indigenous leaders, Leonidas Iza, left, and Marlon Vargas, center, revise an agreement document with Monsignor David de la Torre during a dialogue session with the government, with Catholic Church representatives as mediador, at the Episcopal Conference headquarters in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, June 30, 2022. The two groups are discussing solutions that could lead to the end of a strike over gas prices that has paralyzed parts of the country for two weeks. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)More
Thu, June 30, 2022
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s government and the country’s main Indigenous group reached an agreement Thursday to end 18 days of often-violent strikes that had virtually paralyzed the country and killed at least four people.
The deal, which includes a decrease in the price of fuel and other concessions, was signed by Government Minister Francisco Jiménez, Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza and the head of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Cabrera, who acted as mediator.
Ecuador protests: Indigenous leaders agree to call off strikes
Ecuador's government, indigenous leaders reach agreement ending protests
The agreement sets out that gasoline prices will decrease 15 cents to $2.40 per gallon and diesel prices will also decline the same amount, from $1.90 per gallon to $1.75.
The deal also sets limits to the expansion of oil exploration areas and prohibits mining activity in protected areas, national parks and water sources.
The government now has 90 days to deliver solutions to the demands of the Indigenous groups.
“Social peace will only be able to be achieved, hopefully soon, through dialogue with particular attention paid to marginalized communities, but always respecting everyone’s rights,” Cabrera said.
He went on to warn that “if state policies do not resolve the problem of the poor, then the people will rise up.”
“We know we have a country with a lot of divisions, a lot of problems, with unresolved injustices, with important sectors of the population that are still marginalized,” Jiménez said.
The two sides had started negotiations on Monday and an agreement appeared to be within reach until an attack allegedly carried out by Indigenous people against a fuel convoy killed one military officer and left 12 others wounded, leading the government to abandon talks.
Authorities have directly attributed four deaths to the 18-day strike.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities had launched an indefinite national strike on June 13, demanding a decrease in the price of fuel and increase in the health and education budget as well as price controls on certain goods, among other demands.
Amid increasing shortages of food and fuel and millions in losses for farmers and business leaders, the two sides agreed to start negotiations.
The protests have been characterized by stringent road blockades that prevented the transportation of food, fuel and even ambulances. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the price of the food that did manage to reach the cities, particularly in the Andean north, which has been one of the areas most affected by the strike.
Indigenous leaders, Leonidas Iza, left, and Marlon Vargas, center, revise an agreement document with Monsignor David de la Torre during a dialogue session with the government, with Catholic Church representatives as mediador, at the Episcopal Conference headquarters in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, June 30, 2022. The two groups are discussing solutions that could lead to the end of a strike over gas prices that has paralyzed parts of the country for two weeks. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)More
Thu, June 30, 2022
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s government and the country’s main Indigenous group reached an agreement Thursday to end 18 days of often-violent strikes that had virtually paralyzed the country and killed at least four people.
The deal, which includes a decrease in the price of fuel and other concessions, was signed by Government Minister Francisco Jiménez, Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza and the head of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Cabrera, who acted as mediator.
Ecuador protests: Indigenous leaders agree to call off strikes
Ecuador's government, indigenous leaders reach agreement ending protests
The agreement sets out that gasoline prices will decrease 15 cents to $2.40 per gallon and diesel prices will also decline the same amount, from $1.90 per gallon to $1.75.
The deal also sets limits to the expansion of oil exploration areas and prohibits mining activity in protected areas, national parks and water sources.
The government now has 90 days to deliver solutions to the demands of the Indigenous groups.
“Social peace will only be able to be achieved, hopefully soon, through dialogue with particular attention paid to marginalized communities, but always respecting everyone’s rights,” Cabrera said.
He went on to warn that “if state policies do not resolve the problem of the poor, then the people will rise up.”
“We know we have a country with a lot of divisions, a lot of problems, with unresolved injustices, with important sectors of the population that are still marginalized,” Jiménez said.
The two sides had started negotiations on Monday and an agreement appeared to be within reach until an attack allegedly carried out by Indigenous people against a fuel convoy killed one military officer and left 12 others wounded, leading the government to abandon talks.
Authorities have directly attributed four deaths to the 18-day strike.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities had launched an indefinite national strike on June 13, demanding a decrease in the price of fuel and increase in the health and education budget as well as price controls on certain goods, among other demands.
Amid increasing shortages of food and fuel and millions in losses for farmers and business leaders, the two sides agreed to start negotiations.
The protests have been characterized by stringent road blockades that prevented the transportation of food, fuel and even ambulances. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the price of the food that did manage to reach the cities, particularly in the Andean north, which has been one of the areas most affected by the strike.
Ecuador Protest Ends With Indigenous Groups, Government Deal
Stephan Kueffner
Thu, June 30, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Representatives of indigenous organizations and Ecuador’s embattled government signed an agreement Thursday to end more than two weeks of nationwide protests over fuel prices and the high cost of living.
Mediated by the Catholic Bishops Conference, the government of President Guillermo Lasso agreed to increase subsidies at the pump. With other measures pledged by the conservative administration, the total is close to $1 billion, said Leonidas Iza, president of indigenous confederation CONAIE.
“We are going to continue our fight, but at this moment, according to the document that we’ve signed, comrades, at the national level we are going to suspend the de-facto measure,” said Iza, referring to road blocks that have strangled transport across large parts of the country.
“We have reached the supreme value we all aspire to: Peace in our country,” said Lasso via Twitter. “Now together we will start on the task of transforming this country in progress, wellbeing, and opportunities for all.”
Social pressures are unlikely to permanently go away, however. Lasso “is going to face very persistent threats of social unrest and demands for spending along with potential renewed efforts to remove him from office,” Risa Grais-Targow, Latin America Director at Eurasia, said. “He is getting squeezed.”
The protests slashed output of crude oil, the former OPEC member’s main export, and hit retail sales. The damage to the economy “evidently will be superior to the $800 million” of a previous indigenous protest in 2019, said Guillermo Avellan, Ecuador’s central bank chief, in an online press conference. “Close to 2.1 million barrels of oil have not been produced.”
The bank therefore no longer expects to increase the full-year gross domestic project growth outlook from the previous 2.8% for 2022, he added.
Subsidies, Agreement
The signing of the agreement, which the Church brokered in just hours, was delayed by last-minute demands and haggling over details amid the indigenous organizations, who finally publicly approved it through shows of hands.
“Our democracy is complicated,” said Iza.
The government agreed to extend offers made during the course of the 18-day often violent protests that included attacks on military convoys transporting food, fuel, and medicines, leaving one soldier dead and dozens of police and military wounded. At least two civilian deaths have been reported.
On Thursday, the government pledged to further cut diesel and gasoline prices accounting for close to 97% of demand by another 5 cents per gallon. This reduction comes on top of the 10-cent cut enacted earlier this week, which will increase fuel subsidies by a total of roughly $340 million in 2022 in addition to the $3 billion cost of the subsidy program, the Finance Ministry said.
The government also pledged to lift a state of emergency issued just 24 hours earlier and to cancel an executive decree aimed at increasing oil output. A decree to spur mining development will be changed to add additional environmental protections and to respect archaeological remains.
It will also maintain a public health emergency aimed at improving the distribution of medicines and subsidize fertilizers.
An unspecified list of further demands will be negotiated over coming weeks, with the Church continuing to mediate the talks. To sign the deal, the indigenous organizations had to relent on some items on their 10-point list of demands, including an end to privatizations planned by the administration of the former banker Lasso.
The deal came on the second day after Lasso obtained enough support in Ecuador’s fragmented National Assembly for him to survive an impeachment attempt by a major leftist opposition party.
“It feels like a fragile peace,” said Eurasia’s Grais-Targow.
Thu, June 30, 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Representatives of indigenous organizations and Ecuador’s embattled government signed an agreement Thursday to end more than two weeks of nationwide protests over fuel prices and the high cost of living.
Mediated by the Catholic Bishops Conference, the government of President Guillermo Lasso agreed to increase subsidies at the pump. With other measures pledged by the conservative administration, the total is close to $1 billion, said Leonidas Iza, president of indigenous confederation CONAIE.
“We are going to continue our fight, but at this moment, according to the document that we’ve signed, comrades, at the national level we are going to suspend the de-facto measure,” said Iza, referring to road blocks that have strangled transport across large parts of the country.
“We have reached the supreme value we all aspire to: Peace in our country,” said Lasso via Twitter. “Now together we will start on the task of transforming this country in progress, wellbeing, and opportunities for all.”
Social pressures are unlikely to permanently go away, however. Lasso “is going to face very persistent threats of social unrest and demands for spending along with potential renewed efforts to remove him from office,” Risa Grais-Targow, Latin America Director at Eurasia, said. “He is getting squeezed.”
The protests slashed output of crude oil, the former OPEC member’s main export, and hit retail sales. The damage to the economy “evidently will be superior to the $800 million” of a previous indigenous protest in 2019, said Guillermo Avellan, Ecuador’s central bank chief, in an online press conference. “Close to 2.1 million barrels of oil have not been produced.”
The bank therefore no longer expects to increase the full-year gross domestic project growth outlook from the previous 2.8% for 2022, he added.
Subsidies, Agreement
The signing of the agreement, which the Church brokered in just hours, was delayed by last-minute demands and haggling over details amid the indigenous organizations, who finally publicly approved it through shows of hands.
“Our democracy is complicated,” said Iza.
The government agreed to extend offers made during the course of the 18-day often violent protests that included attacks on military convoys transporting food, fuel, and medicines, leaving one soldier dead and dozens of police and military wounded. At least two civilian deaths have been reported.
On Thursday, the government pledged to further cut diesel and gasoline prices accounting for close to 97% of demand by another 5 cents per gallon. This reduction comes on top of the 10-cent cut enacted earlier this week, which will increase fuel subsidies by a total of roughly $340 million in 2022 in addition to the $3 billion cost of the subsidy program, the Finance Ministry said.
The government also pledged to lift a state of emergency issued just 24 hours earlier and to cancel an executive decree aimed at increasing oil output. A decree to spur mining development will be changed to add additional environmental protections and to respect archaeological remains.
It will also maintain a public health emergency aimed at improving the distribution of medicines and subsidize fertilizers.
An unspecified list of further demands will be negotiated over coming weeks, with the Church continuing to mediate the talks. To sign the deal, the indigenous organizations had to relent on some items on their 10-point list of demands, including an end to privatizations planned by the administration of the former banker Lasso.
The deal came on the second day after Lasso obtained enough support in Ecuador’s fragmented National Assembly for him to survive an impeachment attempt by a major leftist opposition party.
“It feels like a fragile peace,” said Eurasia’s Grais-Targow.
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