Ecuador's Moreno says he will "not negotiate with criminals" after violent protests

Record ID: 1435125

  • Title: Ecuador's Moreno says he will "not negotiate with criminals" after violent protests
  • Date: 4th October 2019
  • Summary: QUITO, ECUADOR (OCTOBER 4, 2019) (REUTERS) GENERAL OF BARBED WIRE, BARRIERS TROOPS GATHERED AROUND STREET, OUTSIDE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE GENERAL OF STREET WHERE PROTESTS TOOK PLACE GENERAL OF ECUADOR'S PRESIDENT, LENIN MORENO, AND CABINET GATHERED AROUND TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADOR'S PRESIDENT, LENIN MORENO, SAYING: "We don't negotiate with criminals, with those who used to steal from the public treasury, from the state budget and who now steal from stores. They have even dropped their standards. We will not hold talks. That decision has been taken. I will not change my mind! That should be absolutely clear. I will not change my mind. Hold talks, yes to find some common ground. But let me be clear. Incentives to those who could've been affected by the measure. I am very happy about the massive response, in its majority, we have received from Ecuador's people to support a brave decision taken by the national government." VARIOUS OF POLICE STANDING BEHIND BARRIERS VARIOUS OF CITY
  • Embargoed: 18th October 2019 21:32
  • Keywords: Ecuador protests Moreno fuel subsidy Quito Transport union
  • Location: QUITO, ECUADOR
  • City: QUITO, ECUADOR
  • Country: Ecuador
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AZOOCAV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said he would "not negotiate with criminals" after violent protests over fuel subsidy cuts paralysed transportation around Ecuador for a second day on Friday (October 4) as authorities held 350 people in jail for unrest triggered by his belt-tightening fiscal package.
    The 66-year-old president has set oil producer Ecuador on a centrist path after years of leftist rule under Rafael Correa and is implementing austerity measures to conform with a three-year $4.2 billion dollar International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
    But Moreno's scrapping of decades-old fuel subsidies this week incensed many Ecuadoreans and brought violent protests in a nation with a history of political volatility.
    Witnesses said bus and taxi services remained on strike on Friday from the capital Quito to the coastal city of Guayaquil. In Quito, taxis parked across some streets to block traffic.
    As fuel prices soared from Thursday (October 3), masked protesters hurled stones and set up burning barricades in the worst unrest for years in the country of 17 million people.
    In Quito, smouldering tires and rocks littered streets on Friday morning, while lamp-posts were bent and broken.
    Transport unions began the protests, but have been joined by indigenous groups, students and other unions.
    Moreno's popularity has fallen more than half from above 60% after his 2017 election, but his political position remains firm given widespread support from the business elite, military loyalty, and the lack of a strong opposition.
    However, Ecuadoreans will be mindful that street protests toppled three presidents during economic turmoil in the decade before the socialist Correa took power in 2007.
    Moreno declared a 60-day state of emergency on Thursday, saying disorder would not be tolerated. By Friday morning, 350 people were arrested, mainly in Quito and Guayaquil, the Interior Ministry said. Taxi union leader Jorge Calderon was among those detained on Friday.
    Some 28 police officers were hurt on Thursday, the ministry added, as they deployed armoured vehicles and tear gas.
    (Production: Alberto Fajardo, Cristina Munoz, Geraldine Downer)
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