Protests against subsidy elimination are mostly peaceful; unions say more are planned

Thursday’s protests of the elimination of gasoline subsides were mostly peaceful, with the largest crowds reported in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and Manta.

Anit-government protesters marched from the San Blas Plaza to Parque Calderon on Thursday.

Sponsored by United Workers Front (FUT) and several teacher and student unions, an estimated 4,000 protesters marched through Quito’s historic district to Santo Domingo Plaza. Some in the crowd tore down barricades near the plaza but police did not interfere.

In Cuenca, University of Cuenca students briefly blocked the intersection at Av. 12 de Abril and Av. Loja before marching to Parque Calderon where they joined FUT protesters who had marched from the San Blas Plaza. Several tires were burned on Calle Simon Bolivar, in front of the government office, as the crowd listened to speakers.

National FUT President José Villavicencio said he was pleased with “spirit and intensity” of the marches but admitted he had expected larger crowds. He said the decision of several organizations not to participate kept the turnout low. “All the groups are united in our opposition to this government but, unfortunately, we have different agendas and different schedules.” He added: “We will be back.”

The dominant forces in the 2019 and 2022 national anti-government strikes, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) and transport unions representing taxi drivers, did not join the protests. The transport unions made an agreement with the government for compensation of the increase in gasoline prices while Conaie said it is considering future actions. Conaie President Leonidas Iza said he favored joining the protests but the plan was rejected by the Conaie governing council.

In Cuenca, FUT provincial secretary Edison Déleg said the protests sent a “clear and powerful message” to the government. “If Daniel Noboa and his neo-liberal allies continue their acts of arrogance, we will maintain the mobilizations and they will grow larger in size,” Déleg said. “This is a struggle of the people against the oligarchs, and we will do what is necessary to bring them down.”