Ecuador: Indigenous Groups, Workers Continue Protests
Indigenous organisations and workers' groups in Ecuador have vowed to continue protests against President Lenin Moreno's scrapping of decades-long fuel subsidies.
The pledge on Saturday came a day after Moreno, who took office in 2017, refused to back down over the austerity policy, imposed under a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that doubled the price of fuel overnight and sharply raised gasoline prices.
The measure, which came into effect on Thursday, prompted two days of unrest, with transport unions calling a strike and protesters clashing with police and blocking roads with tires, stones and branches.
Authorities have arrested more than 350 people and Moreno, who declared a two-month state of emergency, told reporters: "Listen clearly. I am not going to change the measure. The subsidy is finished."