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Guillermo Lasso, the president of Ecuador, announced Saturday that his government will end the state of emergency that was put in place across the country in response to violent protests over costs of essential goods, including fuel.
The protests have been predominantly attended by the country’s Indigenous population and have been ongoing in the capital city of Quito since 13 June. Some of the protesters have been blocking roads into the capital for days.
The protesters said they will continue to organize until their 10 demands are met. They have called for a freeze on national gas prices, more investment in education and healthcare, and more employment opportunities, Al Jazeera reported. Demonstrators told the outlet that they can no longer keep up with surging inflation because they never fully recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns.
“We came here to claim our rights, because the government has done bad. Within one year, everything has increased,” one protester said.
There have been flashes of violence and at least four people have died, the Ecuador Alliance for Human Rights said, according to the report. At least 166 people have been injured.
This is not the first time the country’s government had to deal with violent protests. (See “ECUADOR: HIDE AND SEEK” (15 Oct 2019), and “LATIN AMERICA FACES SLOW, PAINFUL ECONOMIC RECOVERY,” (19 Jan 2021).
Lasso has faced pressure from the Union for Hope coalition in parliament to be removed from office. They have called for early elections. Lasso, a conservative businessman from the right, won the presidency in April 2021 and was tasked with trying to figure out how to best respond to an economy headed toward recession due to COVID lockdowns.
Lasso has shown no signs of absconding the office and told reporters that he is committed to defending the capital and the country from these protests. He also announced that his government would increase its monthly stipend for the country’s poorest.
TeleSUR reported that under Article 130 of the country’s constitution, the National Assembly can vote to dismiss a president due to a severe political crisis and internal commotion. Those in favor of the dismissal need to obtain 92 of the total 137 votes.
Lasso’s decision to lift the state of emergency came after a meeting with leaders from the Indigenous protesters on Saturday. Virgilio Saquicela, the National Assembly president, announced that there will be a commission formed to open up dialogue to end the strike, according to The Associated Press.
“The national government ratifies the willingness to guarantee the creation of spaces for peace, in which Ecuadorians can gradually resume their activities,” he said.
TRENDPOST: In 2021, the “NEW WORLD DISORDER 2.0” was a TOP TREND for the year because billions of people sank deeper into economic despair. Gerald Celente has long said: “When people lose everything, they lose it.”
We have reported extensively on the migration from countries like Equador to the U.S. due to the economic suffering. (See “DHS: ARRESTS OF MIGRANTS ILLEGALLY ENTERING THE U.S. HIT RECORD HIGH.”)
Since the beginning of the 2022 fiscal year, border officials have recorded at least 1.5 million arrests. Central America is dealing with lost revenue due to COVID-19 restrictions, hikes in the energy and commodity markets, and surging inflation.
We forecast the protests will escalate into civil wars and civil wars will spread to regional wars, as citizens by the millions flee their nations for neighboring safe havens.
And, the stronger the refugee crisis rages, the greater the advancement of anti-immigration populist movement in the countries they seek refuge.