Honduras

Ecuador Protests: Govt. Reaches Deal With Indigenous Leaders

MAY 10 2022·Updated SEP 21 2022

Story

Image credit: AFP [via Le Monde]

The Facts

On Thurs. evening, thousands of indigenous protesters left the Ecuadorian capital of Quito after 18 days, following a Catholic church-brokered agreement between the government and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).
France 24
Pres. Guillermo Lasso has agreed to make a 15-cent cut per gallon in petrol prices among other concessions, while the CONAIE vowed to end mobilizations for 90 days to allow the government to comply with its demands.
Al Jazeera
This comes as the leftist opposition Revolución Ciudadana party failed to gather support to oust Lasso from office. The motion was approved by 80 lawmakers on Tues., falling short by 12 votes.
Finance
Protests - which began on June 13 with peaceful roadblocks but had since escalated violently - came in response to Lasso's economic policies, with CONAIE-led protesters demanding cuts in fuel prices, price controls on agricultural goods, and more spending on education.
Guardian
Official figures confirm that six people - five civilians and a soldier - died and more than 100 were arrested during the weeks of protests.
Al Jazeera
The protests were the biggest since 2019 when former Pres. Lenín Moreno was forced to restore an oil subsidy that allegedly cost $1.4B a year.
nytimes

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The protests - which, ironically, have been costly to the Ecuadorian economy - were held under the pretext of calls for economic reforms, but in reality, they were an attempt to promote instability and force Lasso out of power.

TRT World

Establishment-critical narrative

Demonstrators had been urging for dialogue while the government was focused on repressing Ecuadorian voices, even if it cost lives. This massacre could've been avoided if Pres. Lasso had been open to meeting the people's demands sooner.