Ecuador's streets rumble with indigenous wrath

OCTOBER 9, 2019 / 8:13 PM / UPDATED 37 MINUTES AGO

Mitra Taj
4 MIN READ

QUITO (Reuters) - Some walked to Quito from the countryside. Others hitched rides in the back of trucks, squeezed between sacks of produce. Many have spent days sleeping outside and eating from communal pots.

Indigenous people at the heart of Ecuador’s biggest protests in more than a decade are vowing to stay on the streets unless President Lenin Moreno repeals austerity measures linked to securing a $4.2 billion International Monetary Fund loan.

. . .

“THE PEOPLE ARE RIGHT”
But Moreno has refused to overturn the measures and has blamed unrest - without evidence - on his leftist predecessor Rafael Correa and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Indigenous protesters say Moreno, who has been careful to distinguish between violent troublemakers and his “indigenous brothers”, is nevertheless trying to de-legitimize their demands.

“He can blame whoever he wants but he knows the people are right,” said Pedro Aranga, a 60-year-old street vendor and a native Quichua Ecuadorean. “This is hurting me and it hurts all of us. We don’t have much money to spend.”

More:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecuador-protests-indigenous/ecuadors-streets-rumble-with-indigenous-wrath-idUKKBN1WP02U?rpc=401&