Protests have erupted in Ecuador after the government announced that it would scrap a long-standing subsidy on diesel fuel. Right-wing president Daniel Noboa repeatedly promised that he wouldn’t cut the subsidy during his election campaigns.
Usually, the president would announce moves on camera. However, Noboa chose to snub tradition, leaving it to four cabinet members to deliver the news on Friday 12 September. The ministers claimed that it would be offset by subsidies for public transport and greater financial aid for families.
Attack on the working class
Several activist groups immediately declared the loss of the subsidy as an attack on Ecuador’s working class. Most of the vehicles used for public transport and agriculture run on diesel, meaning that the sudden price hike could have a direct effect on the price of basic goods. Now, with prices rising from around £1.33 to over £2 per gallon, Ecuador’s poorest worry that their livelihoods will suffer.
Several transport unions canceled strikes after hearing of the promised subsidy for travel fares, whilst others went ahead with their demonstrations. However, the United Workers’ Front (FUT) announced a protest against the loss of the subsidy, along with recent economic policies put forward by the government in general. CONAIE (Confederation of the Indigenous Nations of Ecuador) put out a statement strongly rejecting the measure:
The elimination of the diesel subsidy will affect millions of families, agricultural production, and community transportation, increasing the cost of the basic basket and further precarizing the lives of popular sectors. CONAIE relies on the right to resistance in defense of the peoples and nationalities, as well as the citizenship in general. It will activate all of its legitimate organizational mechanisms to confront this new package from #DanielNoboa.
Protestors faced off against police in the capital, Quito, on Tuesday morning. Police in full riot gear opened fire with tear gas whilst the demonstrators tried to dismantle barricades. In response, president Noboa mobilised the army and declared a 60-day state of national emergency in seven provinces.
State of Emergency
This declaration is far from the first emergency declared by Naboa. The president last announced a state of emergency in April 2025, just days before a close-run election between the incumbent Noboa and left-wing opponent Luisa Gonzalez. At the time, Noboa claimed that the state of emergency was necessary to combat an “increase in violence” by armed criminal groups.
The new decree authorises police and army forces to maintain order, prevent violence, and protect citizens by any necessary measure. It also grants them powers intended to safeguard economic activity and free movement. A government spokesperson stated that:
The declaration does not restrict public movement or institute a curfew, but it does suspend the right to freedom of assembly at all times for any gatherings that seek to interrupt public services and impede the rights and liberties of the rest of the population.
On 15 September, the UK government issued a warning to avoid travel to all but essential travel to Ecuador.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Al Jazeera English
This post was originally published on Canary.