International
Ecuadorans block roads on Day 2 of fuel price protests
AFP
Indigenous and rural Ecuadorans blocked roads in several provinces Wednesday on the second day of protests against soaring fuel prices amid a countrywide state of emergency.
On Tuesday, 37 people were arrested and five police officers, a journalist and at least one demonstrator injured in the largest protests since conservative President Guillermo Lasso took office in May.
Protesters disrupted traffic in five of Ecuador’s 24 provinces Tuesday, and vowed to continue their show of discontent with the new center-right government’s economic policies.
“The government has messed up, pushing fuel prices up all the time,” protester Dennis Viteri, a 28-year-old textile worker told AFP Wednesday at Calderon, northeast of the capital Quito.
Viteri and others used soil, tree trunks and burning tires to block a portion of the Pan-American highway which connects Quito with Colombia.
As AFP looked on, more trees were being felled on a nearby hilltop with which to strengthen the barricade.
Ecuador’s public safety department said there were also roadblocks Wednesday in the provinces of Imbabura, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua and Chimborazo.
– Violence, hardship –
Reducing fuel subsidies, which began under former president Lenin Moreno, is one way for Ecuador to shrink spending in exchange for loans from the International Monetary Fund.
But the price increases bite as Ecuador battles economic hardship worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Poverty now affects about 47 percent of Ecuadorans and nearly a third do not have full-time work.
Last Friday, Lasso announced a 12 percent increase in fuel prices, which have nearly doubled since last year — bringing the price of diesel to $1.90 for a gallon (3.8 liters), and that of petrol to $2.55.
Lasso vowed this would be the last increase, but could not assuage simmering anger in a country that exports oil but imports much of the fuel it consumes.
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which called the protests, wants the price capped at $1.50 for diesel and $2 for petrol.
– State of emergency –
Officials said about 1,500 indigenous people, students and workers marched in Quito Tuesday, where rock-throwing protesters clashed with police who responded with tear gas.
“We are going to continue to a second day of mobilization and resistance at the national level,” vowed Conaie president Leonidas Iza.
Lasso declared a 60-day state of emergency last week to tackle rising crime and violence blamed on duelling drug traffickers in the country nestled between the world’s two biggest cocaine producers: Colombia and Peru.
The state of emergency, decreed after some 240 gang-aligned inmates were killed in horrific prison clashes since January, allows for deployment of troops to help fight a crime wave that last week also claimed Ecuador’s 200m sprint world bronze medalist Alex Quinonez in a shooting in Guayaquil.
No limitations were imposed on gatherings or protests.
On top of Ecuador’s many challenges, Lasso faces a parliamentary investigation over Pandora Papers revelations that he allegedly hid millions in assets overseas.
Indigenous people represent 7.4 percent of Ecuador’s 17.7 million inhabitants, and Conaie is credited with helping topple three presidents between 1997 and 2005.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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