(Bloomberg) -- A day after beating back a bid to impeach him, Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, on Wednesday moved to take a tougher stance against protests that have hobbled much of the economy for more than two weeks.
Lasso declared a state of emergency over the heartland of Ecuador’s Amazon-area oil industry, its No. 1 provider of export revenue, and two hard-hit provinces. Nighttime curfews aim to curb violence like the attack on a fuel convoy that left a soldier dead on June 28.
Speaking before the presidency’s announcement, Government Minister Francisco Jimenez said Ecuador’s problems won’t be solved by “impositions or extortion” by indigenous leadership.
“If they want to maintain their irrational behavior, we will have to respond via the law,” Jimenez said. He acknowledged informal talks with some indigenous leaders but said that official negotiations won’t restart until they stop blocking transit.
Road blocks in much of the country remain a particular concern. Protesters shut down the main road between Quito, the capital, and the Pacific Coast, stranding hundreds of trucks until police were able to reopen it Wednesday.
The government in recent days promised economic and social benefits totaling $600 million to $800 million, including higher fuel subsidies that partial meet the protesters’ demands.
Organizers announced a major indigenous march on Quito for Thursday. The biggest indigenous organization, CONAIE, said that the government had “unilaterally closed the dialog with the indigenous movement,” demanding that it return to the negotiating table “with seriousness and guarantees.”
Its demands include higher fuel subsidies, a moratorium on new oil and mining projects, price controls and an end to privatization plans.
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