Thousands of people demonstrated against conservative Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso's economic policies on Tuesday, only days after he doubled fuel prices, causing traffic jams in several regions of the country.
Following criticism from indigenous and other organizations, Lasso, a former banker who assumed office in May, cancelled planned progressive increases in fuel pricing, which were designed to finally coincide with international costs.
Instead, he fixed the price of gasoline extra, a higher octane gasoline that is Ecuador's most commonly used fuel, at $2.55 per gallon, and diesel at $1.90 per gallon.
However, unions and other groups urge Lasso to freeze prices at lower levels and omit COVID-19-affected businesses.
Defense Minister Luis Hernandez informed journalists that five police officers were injured and two members of the armed forces were being held by a community in northern Quito, but that they were uninjured.
He stated that 37 people were apprehended for blocking roadways.
Demonstrators were hurt, the Ecuador Confederation of Indigenous Nations said, but no figures were given.
The government is open to dialogue, said Interior Minister Alexandra Vela, who added the marches were calm except for a few instances in the afternoon.
Since Lasso's predecessor, Lenin Moreno, began monthly increases in May 2020, gasoline prices have climbed dramatically.
"We don't agree that the measures taken as a result of the crisis should fall on workers and the middle class," said Victor Sanchez, a university professor who marched with nearly 1,000 others in central Quito.
During small conflicts with demonstrators in the capital, police deployed tear gas, while officers on horseback blocked the entrance to the square where the marchers were supposed to arrive.
Marches were also held in the cities of Guayaquil and Cuenca.
The road linking Quito to the north of the country was blocked by indigenous groups with earth and trees, and others in various Andean provinces were closed as well.
The local organization CONFENIAE said some roads in the Amazon region have been blocked since early in the day.
CONAIE President Leonidas Iza addressed demonstrators in Panzaleo that they didn't come "to destabilize... we came to make economic demands of the administration."
