Ecuador Government, Indigenous Leaders Reach Deal to End Protests
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The government of Ecuador and indigenous protest leaders have reached an agreement to end mass demonstrations that paralyzed parts of the South American nation since mid-June.
Led by indigenous organization CONAIE, the protests began on June 13 amid anger about soaring fuel prices and rising costs of living, as well as the socioeconomic policies of right-wing President Guillermo Lasso’s administration.
The deal, which includes a decrease in the price of fuel and other concessions, was signed on Thursday by Minister Francisco Jimenez, Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza and the head of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Cabrera, who acted as mediator.
Iza announced after the signing that “we will suspend” the protest.
The agreement set out that petrol 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, Al Jazeera reported.
It also set limits to the expansion of oil exploration areas and prohibits mining activity in protected areas, national parks and water sources.
The deal also provides for “the cessation of the mobilizations and the gradual return (of the demonstrators) to the territories” from which they came to join the protest.
The government now has 90 days to deliver solutions to the demands of the Indigenous group.
Indigenous people make up more than a million of Ecuador’s 17.7 million inhabitants.
Poverty affects more than a quarter of Ecuadorans, according to 2021 data, and only about one in three have “adequate employment” in a country with a large informal job sector.
