Protesters in Ecuador against the increase in gasoline prices

Ecuadorian social movements yesterday called for a day of protests once morest the 10% increase in the price of gasoline, the first that the government of President Daniel Noboa has faced and in which the powerful indigenous and transport movements were absent.

Most of the rallies and marches began in the followingnoon in various cities and provinces across the country. In Quito, several hundred union members, teachers and social organizations affiliated with the Popular Front advanced toward a well-known square in the historic center, close to the presidential palace, which remained fenced off and with a noticeable police presence.

“Gasoline prices are going up, everything is going up,” “No more to the neoliberal model,” “Noboa is a liar” were the slogans read on banners and might be heard in the protesters’ proclamations. “These are progressive mobilizations,” said Andrés Quishpe, president of the National Union of Educators.

In Guayaquil, on the coast of Ecuador, the situation was similar. Protesters marched along one of the main avenues, banging pots and pans and carrying a large national flag, while in Bolívar, in the mountains, and in Napo and Sucumbíos, in the Amazon, small groups of people tried to block roads and were stopped by the police.

||AP