Thousands of indigenous people maintain pressure on the government in Quito on Thursday, June 23, after ten consecutive days of demonstrations that left two dead and dozens injured in an increasingly tense showdown between the government and Ecuadorian protesters. .

The capital has been partly paralyzed since Monday by around 10,000 indigenous demonstrators from across the country who take to the streets daily to protest against the cost of living and demand more social assistance, in a context of growing economic difficulties.

To cries of "Lasso out!"

in reference to the Head of State, Guillermo Lasso, protesters burned tires and tree branches, while barbed wire and military guards protected the Presidential Palace.

“We are living through an economic crisis in the countryside, there is no development there, there are no jobs, we are just farmers and our women [live off the production] of milk,” said Olmedo Ayala, 42, told AFP.

"Blood on the Hands"

The powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which participated in the revolts that overthrew three presidents between 1997 and 2005 and led violent demonstrations in 2019 (11 dead), has been organizing marches and barricades since June 13 to demand a lower fuel prices.

Its leader, Leonidas Iza, who accuses the government of having "blood on its hands", demands, prior to any discussion, the repeal of the state of emergency declared in 6 of the country's 24 provinces, as well as the "demilitarization" of a park in Quito occupied by the police and traditionally used as a gathering point for the natives.

The Minister of Government Affairs, Francisco Jimenez, opposed him an end of inadmissibility.

"We cannot lift the state of emergency because that would leave the capital defenceless," he said.

“We already know what happened in October 2019 and we are not going to allow it,” he stressed, referring to the invasion of Parliament, the burning of a government building and many damaged public property.

In power since May 2021, President Lasso, who accuses the protesters of wanting to overthrow him, said on Tuesday that he accepted "a process of frank and respectful dialogue with Conaie and other civil organizations".

The presidency announced overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that he had been detected positive for Covid-19, but showed "no symptoms".

The government blames the demonstrators for the attack on a police station in the town of Puyo, in the province of Pastaza.

The attackers set fire to the building overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, while the police were still inside.

"Six police officers were seriously injured, three are being held hostage (by an indigenous community) and 18 are missing," Interior Minister Patricio Carillo said during a press conference in Quito.

A branch of a bank was also set on fire and other buildings ransacked, according to the minister.

It was during this violence that a protester was killed and his death announced on Tuesday evening.

He died after having "handled an explosive device" according to the police, "hit in the face, apparently by a tear gas grenade", according to an NGO.

"The violence in Puyo shows that they do not want dialogue", denounced the minister, who however "launched once again a public call for dialogue to the indigenous movement and to these radical groups responsible for these senseless acts".

International call for dialogue

The Alliance of Human Rights Organizations reports at least 90 injuries and 87 arrests since the protests began.

The police put forward a toll of 101 police and soldiers injured and 80 civilians arrested.

On the night of Monday to Tuesday, a first protester died after a fall, but the prosecution decided to open an investigation for alleged homicide.

US Under Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Brian Nichols on Twitter on Wednesday called for "a peaceful and negotiated resolution to the protests in Ecuador" and asked all parties to refrain from violence.

The Organization of American States (OAS) urged dialogue to "respond to the demands" of the demonstrators.  

In addition to the price of fuel, the demonstrators denounce the lack of jobs, the granting of mining concessions in the indigenous territories, the absence of control of the prices of agricultural products and demand a renegotiation of the debts of the peasants with the banks.

Indigenous peoples make up at least 1 million of the 17.7 million Ecuadorians.

With AFP

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