Ecuadorian Teachers Protest Against Fuel Prices in Quito
Protests in Quito, Ecuador, July 18, 2024. Photo: X/ @ZoomEcuador
July 18, 2024 Hour: 12:46 pm
According to World Bank projections, Ecuador will be the Latin American country with the lowest growth rate in 2024.
On Thursday, the National Union of Educators (UNE) blocked some avenues in the city of Quito to protest against the rise in fuel prices decreed by President Daniel Noboa.
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A large column of black smoke formed from the burning of tires on 10 de Agosto Avenue in the center of the capital city, where the Executive branch’s headquarters, the Carondelet Palace, is located.
“Join us, people, join the fight against this anti-popular government,” shouted the protesters, opposing the increase in gasoline prices that has been happening since June 28.
Earlier this week, social organizations also closed a highway in the Andean province of Cotopaxi, where citizens protested against the impact of the fuel price increases on the prices of basic goods and services.
On July 12, Noboa implemented a new increase in the price of the most widely consumed gasoline in Ecuador. As a result, the cumulative price increase reached 11.34 percent in just two weeks.
The price of 85-octane gasoline is no longer been frozen at US$2.47 per gallon and now costs US$2.75 per gallon. Although the elimination of subsidies does not imply an immediate liberalization of fuel prices, the Noboa administration can increase previous prices by 5 percent monthly.
These policies are part of the adjustment package that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended for a country whose economic growth will be just 0.7 percent in 2024, according to World Bank projections.
This low growth rate is the result of a contraction in household consumption and the absence of public investment since 2017, when far-right elites regained control of political power.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE - WB
