Ecuador, Indigenous leaders ink deal to end 18 days of strikes

Deal, which includes cut in fuel prices and other concessions, was signed by government minister Francisco Jimenez, Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza and head of Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Cabrera, who acted as mediator.

Deal also provides for the review of government decrees on oil exploitation and mining in Indigenous lands in the Amazon.
AFP

Deal also provides for the review of government decrees on oil exploitation and mining in Indigenous lands in the Amazon.

Ecuador's government and Indigenous leaders have signed a deal to cut fuel prices and end cost-of-living protests that partly paralysed Ecuador for 18 straight days.

The agreement, mediated by the Catholic Church and signed in Quito on Thursday, provides for a five-cent-per-gallon reduction in the price of diesel and gasoline on top of a 10-cent cut already conceded by the government.

Fast-rising fuel prices were the catalyst for the protests called by the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) and marked by burning roadblocks and sometimes violent clashes with the security forces.

Five civilians and a soldier have died since the protests started on June 13, hundreds were injured on both sides, and some 150 have been arrested.

'Strike is over'

Signed by CONAIE leader Leonidas Iza and government minister Francisco Jimenez, the agreement foresees the creation of a negotiating forum, an end to the roadblocks, and the lifting of a state of emergency.

It also provides for the review of government decrees on oil exploitation and mining in Indigenous lands in the Amazon.

Iza announced after the signing that "we will suspend" the protest.

President Guillermo Lasso, an ex-banker who took power 13 months ago, said of the deal: "We have achieved the supreme value to which we all aspire: peace in our country."

He added on Twitter: "The strike is over. Now we begin together the task of transforming this peace into progress, well-being, and opportunities for all."

Thursday's agreement provides for "the cessation of the mobilisations and the gradual return (of the demonstrators) to the territories" where they came from to join the protest.

The protesters called for fuel price cuts, jobs, food price controls and more public spending on healthcare and education.

Huge losses

Talks started on Monday but were cut short the following day after the killing of a soldier the government blamed on protesters.

On Wednesday, the government said it would re-enter the talks, but also imposed a fresh state of emergency in four of the country's 24 provinces as violence continued to mar the country-wide uprising.

The action has been costly, with losses of some $50 million per day to the economy, according to the government, which has warned oil production –– already halved –– could come to a complete halt soon.

Crude is the South American country's main export, but production has been halved from the pre-protest rate of some 520,000 barrels per day, the government said.

Operations at more than 1,100 wells have been affected.

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