State of Emergency Declared in Ecuador Amid Mass Protests

[Swordsmyth]

Earlier, demonstrators took to the streets of Ecuador's major cities, blocking major roads in Quito and Guayaquil to protest the scrapping of fuel subsidies, part of the government's austerity measures aimed at reducing the fiscal budget.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno declared a state of emergency in the country on Thursday amid nationwide protests which have paralysed much of the Latin American country's transport infrastructure, saying that his decisions to introduce austerity measures and slash subsidies "were firm," and that the state of emergency was aimed at reigning in "those who intend to cause chaos."
"We will not agree to blackmail and act according to the law," Moreno wrote on his official Twitter account.

Las decisiones adoptadas ¡están en firme! He dispuesto el Estado de Excepción para precautelar el orden, la seguridad ciudadana y con el fin de controlar a quienes pretenden provocar caos. No accederemos a chantajes y actuaremos acorde a la ley. #NoAlParo #DecididosACrecer pic.twitter.com/sLVyIljQ7Y
— Lenín Moreno (@Lenin) October 3, 2019​

Moreno announced the state of emergency after Interior Minister Maria Romo said that 19 protesters had been arrested for blocking roads and for other disruptive behaviour as demonstrators took to the streets, chanting slogans and burning tires, marking their anger over the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies worth over $1.3 billion a year. Ecuador's government announced plans to cut the subsidies as part of a broader austerity plan which also includes mass layoffs of employees from state-owned companies, and plans to privatise CNT, a state-owned telecommunications provider, and other firms, while making changes to the tax code.
Moreno signed a decree on ending diesel and gasoline subsidies on Tuesday in order to comply with the loan conditions of the International Monetary Fund, which has offered Ecuador a $4.2 billion loan package in exchange for the adoption of a series of reforms, including the end of subsidies, changes to the tax code, and privatisation.

More at: https://sputniknews.com/latam/20191...-emergency-declared-in-ecuador-amid-protests/

We need more people ready and willing to riot for welfare here, let's send buses.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Ecuador's government announced plans to cut the subsidies as part of a broader austerity plan which also includes mass layoffs of employees from state-owned companies, and plans to privatise CNT, a state-owned telecommunications provider, and other firms, while making changes to the tax code.

Sounds good. What changes to the tax code?

Moreno signed a decree on ending diesel and gasoline subsidies on Tuesday in order to comply with the loan conditions of the International Monetary Fund, which has offered Ecuador a $4.2 billion loan package in exchange for the adoption of a series of reforms, including the end of subsidies, changes to the tax code, and privatisation.

Unfortunately, the reason behind it isn’t all that promising. Economic hitmen don’t offer anything with good intentions. It appears that this will be the first step in an attempt by globalists to take over the country and bleed them dry.

This is exactly what led to Venezuela’s eventual demise and fall into communism.

 

[Swordsmyth]

Sounds good. What changes to the tax code?



Unfortunately, the reason behind it isn’t all that promising. Economic hitmen don’t offer anything with good intentions. It appears that this will be the first step in an attempt by globalists to take over the country and bleed them dry.

This is exactly what led to Venezuela’s eventual demise and fall into communism.

Sometimes you just have to hate everyone involved.

 

[Swordsmyth]

Ecuador also announced this week that it would quit OPEC effective January 1, 2020, because of its fiscal problems as it seeks to raise government income and cut spending.According to OPEC’s latest available figures, Ecuador pumped 537,000 bpd of crude oil in August.
Ecuador leaving OPEC will not have a major impact on the organization, analysts say, while Ecuador said that it would continue to support OPEC’s efforts to stabilize the oil market.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-...eclares-State-Of-Emergency-Amid-Protests.html

 

[Swordsmyth]

Ecuadorean authorities have begun arresting shopkeepers for raising food prices as indigenous groups clashed with security forces on Sunday in a fourth day of protests against President Lenin Moreno's austerity measures.Ecuadoreans complain consumer prices have risen sharply as a knock-on effect of Moreno's abolition of fuel subsidies, which has also triggered the nation's worst unrest in more than a decade.
"Everyone's raising prices with the excuse of the gasoline price rise," said disgruntled pensioner Camilo Salazar, 65, at a food market in the coastal city of Guayaquil where prices had risen up to a third in just a few days.
The government said 20 people were detained over the weekend for over-charging for products including corn, onions, carrots and potatoes, which are all subject to price controls.
"There is no justification for raising the prices," Interior Minister Maria Romo said in a statement.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/ecuador-arrests-shopkeepers-price-rises-201935964.html

 

[Swordsmyth]

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has repealed a controversial decree abolishing fuel subsidies, restoring them in their original form, the BBC reported Oct. 14. Moreno added that he was willing to consider revising sweeping austerity measures, including plans to cut salaries for government employees. After the announcement, protest leaders said they terminated their mobilization efforts to oppose the fuel subsidy cuts.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situ...controversial-decree-restoring-fuel-subsidies