Anti-government protests were mostly peaceful in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca

Shouting “Out Correa” and carrying traditional red union flags, members of the National Teachers Union (UNE) were joined Thursday by other leftist workers union members in anti-government protest marches in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca.

Protesters on Simon Bolivar. (El Tiempo)

Smaller, pro-government counter demonstrations were also held but police reported no major incidents between the groups

In Cuenca, several hundred marchers gathered at Parque San Blas and marched east on Simon Bolivar to Parque Calderon, where they heard speeches criticizing the government’s order to dissolve the UNE. Speakers charged President Rafael Correa with abandoning principles of the left and attempting to suppress freedom of speech and assembly.

The protest was joined by the Popular Workers Front, the Pachacutik Popular Unity Party, the Young Communists, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, as well as several center-right political parties who are running candidates opposed to Correa in the February elections.

In Cuenca, government supporters gathered in the morning at Parque Calderon before leaving to attend the dedication ceremony at the new Sopladora hydroelectric plant, east of the city.