Ecuador: Protest Against Government Measures
Ecuadorians during a protests for the rise of Fuel Prices, July 2024 Photo: @josevillavicenf
July 4, 2024 Hour: 12:28 pm
The president of the FUT, José Villavicencio, explained in a video on social networks that “if petrol goes up, everything goes up”.
On Thursday, social, trade union, student and peasant organizations in Ecuador are set to demonstrate today in 23 of the country’s 24 provinces in rejection of the increase in petrol prices and other government measures.
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Ecuadorians Protest Against Increase in Fuel Prices
The Frente Unitario de Trabajadores (FUT) and the Frente Popular, which brings together a dozen civil collectives, called for marches this Thursday, mainly in the provincial capitals.
These sectors reject the elimination of fuel subsidies and the consequent increase in the price of Extra and Ecopaís gasoline, because this measure will increase the cost of living.
While at the moment the value of these fuels is 2.72 dollars, from 11 July, there will be a scheme whereby the gallon can rise by a maximum of five percent or fall by up to 10 percent monthly, depending on the international market.
The president of the FUT, José Villavicencio, explained in a video on social networks that “if petrol goes up, everything goes up”.
In Quito, the mobilization will start from the headquarters of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute at 16:00 (local time) and aims to reach the Historic Centre, where the Carondelet Palace, the seat of the Executive, is located.
In addition, the demonstrators will reject other measures of the government of President Daniel Noboa, such as the increase of the Value Added Tax from 12 to 15 percent, which also affects the cost of living of Ecuadorians.
This Tuesday there was a road blockade in the morning with the burning of tyres in the two main cities of the country, Quito and Guayaquil.
The president of the National Union of Educators, Andrés Quishpe, said that these actions were a prelude to the big national mobilization on 4 July.
Increasing the price of fuel means “raising the cost of living and condemning more Ecuadorians to poverty”, Quishpe warned, and criticized the cuts in education, health and social investment by the government in order to meet its commitments to the International Monetary Fund.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: The Star-The Independent
