Government Ecuador and the indigenous movement signed an act this Thursday that ended cost of living protestsin which an agreement is collected in which the executive branch partially accepts the demands that motivated the mobilization, which lasted 18 days.
The agreement was reached through the mediation of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, which negotiated with both parties before reaching various concessions from the government accepted by the indigenous movement to announce the end of the demonstrations.
The signing was in jeopardy due to the fact that some members of the indigenous movement did not agree with the points adopted by their leaders, because of which the action was suspended for about an hour until a final consensus was reached and the document was signed.
The most contentious point among the natives was a 15 cent dollar cut for subsidized fuel since their initial demand was 40 cents.
Added to this was the government’s commitment to repeal the decree encouraging oil production in the Amazon and to end mining concessions in protected natural areas, intangible areas, water recharge areas, and indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands.
In previous days, the executive branch also approved the cancellation of past due debts of up to $3,000 for peasant families, lowering interest on current loans, subsidizing the cost of carbamide by up to 50%, increasing the allowance for low-income families from $50 to $55, doubling the budget for intercultural education, and declaring the health care system a state of emergency. .
The remaining ten items on the Indigenous movement’s list of demands will be considered in working groups, such as debt relief up to $10,000, price controls on essentials, and non-privatization of state-owned companies. .
In exchange for an end to the protests, the government promised to end a new state of emergency imposed on Wednesday in four of the country’s provinces, where several episodes of violence and shortages of basic products such as fuel and medical oxygen have been concentrated.
TERM 90 DAYS
The act was signed on behalf of the executive branch by government minister Francisco Jiménez and on behalf of the indigenous movement by Leonidas Iza, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador (Conaye).
It was also signed by the presidents of the National Confederation of Peasant, Indigenous and Black Organizations (Fenosin) Gary Espinoza and the Council of Evangelical Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of Ecuador (Feine) Eustaquio Toala.
“We made mistakes because our attitude was often cruel, but that does not mean that we will always have such an attitude. (…) Both sides have made mistakes, but admitting mistakes is courageous,” Toala said.
In turn, Iza acknowledged that the act does not include all the requirements, but stressed that it has “important achievements”, while asking not to introduce criminal liability in justice against protesters.
“Stop continuing to stigmatize and ‘race’ social fighters. Stop calling us terrorists,” Iza added, warning that they would call for mobilization again if they did not see that the agreement had been implemented within 90 days.
The protests began on Monday, June 13, resulting in the death of 6 people, including soldiers, and about 500 people were injured among the protesters and agents.
(EFE)
Source: RPP
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.