The repeal of Executive Decree 126, which eliminated the diesel subsidy, a reason that triggered the call for the strike, is among those demands.

Additionally, the indigenous movement calls on the Executive to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 15 to 12 percent, halt mining and extractive industry expansion, release the 12 detainees in Otavalo, Imbabura province, and respect the right to protest.

CONAIE President Marlon Vargas stated that the national strike will continue to demand solutions to the healthcare and public education crises, and full guarantees for the life and safety of all Ecuadorians.

Vargas stated that with the protests, they reject the popular consultation and the proposal for a Constituent Assembly, which, according to CONAIE, will not solve the country’s problems.

In the context of the mobilizations, the leader called for an international investigation into the death of indigenous community member Efrain Fueres, who was shot dead by security forces in Cotacachi, Imbabura province, and demanded an immediate end to violence against indigenous nations and citizens.

Nery Padilla, president of the Federation of University Students of Ecuador (FEUE), stated that while the resistance continues in Imbabura, student and labor unions protested in Quito on Monday not only against the diesel price hike, but also against problems such as medicine shortage, employment, and security.

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