Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso broke off dialogue with the country’s largest indigenous organization on Tuesday after an attack by protesters that left a soldier dead and 12 soldiers injured while guarding a fuel convoy in the Amazon.
Meanwhile, the Legislative Assembly of the Andean nation debates a proposal to impeach the president presented by the Unión por la Esperanza (UNES) party linked to former president Rafael Correa, who governed between 2007 and 2017, although the initiative does not seem to have the necessary votes. To thrive.
One day after the indigenous organization agreed to talk and make contact with government delegates after two weeks of violent protests, Lasso announced on radio and television that his government cannot sit down and talk “with those who intend to kidnap the peace of Ecuadorians.” ”, referring to the attack. He accused the maximum indigenous leader Leonidas Iza of defending only “his political interest and not his base.”
“As long as the necessary guarantees do not exist, the dialogue process cannot continue,” he stressed.
The indigenous organization said that Lasso’s decision shows “his authoritarianism, lack of will and incapacity. We hold Guillermo Lasso responsible for the consequences of his warmongering policy. We demand respect for our maximum leader. Lasso doesn’t break up with Leonidas, he breaks up with the people.”
The organization declared a national strike more than two weeks ago to demand a reduction in fuel prices, more budget for education and health, and the fixing of prices for agricultural products. The government recently announced a reduction in gasoline prices, but that did not satisfy the indigenous people.
The strike has been characterized by violent demonstrations and road closures, which has caused food and fuel shortages. In the city of Cuenca, 310 kilometers south of the capital, hospital oxygen was about to run out, especially in the Vicente Corral Moscoso regional hospital, which treats patients from various provinces in the south of the country, according to authorities.
They assured that the reserve of that product went from 1,000 kilograms on Monday to 500 kilograms in that hospital. The supply of oxygen does not arrive due to the protests that literally keep that city under siege, where there is also a food shortage.
For his part, the head of the joint command, General Nelson Proaño, stated that the attack occurred when members of the armed forces and the police were carrying out fuel supply operations.
“Armed groups outside the law blocked and attacked military and police personnel, registering… seven wounded belonging to the army as well as five wounded from the police and the destruction and incineration of a vehicle,” he said.
The attack occurred in the province of Sucumbíos, in the middle of the Amazon. Last week in a town near Quito there was an attack on a food convoy that left 17 soldiers seriously injured, according to the official report.