Violent protests in Ecuador due to rising inflation and fuel prices.

Marica Micallef

Another news which the European media is not focusing on is that of the massive clashes which are taking place in Ecuador. These clashes have broken out in several cities in Ecuador after Ecuador’s police detained Leonidas Isa, the leader of the largest indigenous organization.

Leonidas Isa is the leader of the powerful confederation of indigenous nationalities of Ecuador. The indigenous communities produce the lion’s share of the country’s fresh food.  In Ecuador’s Amazon region, the combative indigenous organisation that represents more than 1500 communities has called for a national uprising.  Isa’s arrest spearheaded a national protest against the government’s economic policies.  He was arrested after demonstrators across Ecuador set up roadblocks in protest against fuel prices and other policies.  Protestors blocked highways with piles of burning tyres, trees, and mounds of earth in order to cut off access to Ecuador’s capital Puerto.

The protestors are demanding a decrease in the cost of fuel and price caps on agricultural goods.  They are also demanding the president of Ecuador to freeze the price of gasoline and declare a moratorium on small farmers bank debts.  Lastly, they want the government to limit oil and mining expansion in the country.

Ecuador is currently grappling with rising inflation, unemployment, and poverty.  Since 2020 the price of diesel has almost doubled while the price of petrol has also increased sharply.  The pandemic has made the country’s economic crisis much worse; it has led to a sharp rise in prices, hunger, and malnutrition.

Will this social struggle in Ecuador escalate if the government does not resolve the demands of the different social sectors?

Footage of these protests can be watched here: