A Voice for the Voiceless

World · Latin America

Chaos Erupts in Ecuador as Nation's Leader Flees Capital

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno fled the nation's capital after the nation's citizens took to the streets in protest of a recent rise in oil prices.

Chaos Erupts in Ecuador as Nation's Leader Flees Capital
Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno. (Stringer/Reuters)
By Carlos Hermosillo

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, who is best known for turning in Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over to UK authorities after photos were leaked of his expensive lifestyle, fled the country’s capital Monday night. According to reports, the protests came as a response to the government’s oil price hike. The response warranted a state of emergency that was declared soon after Ecuador left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday.

Ecuadorians Take to the Streets

Leading the protests are indigenous groups who say that Moreno betrayed them after not fulfilling his side of an agreement with respect to their territory. They also blamed Moreno’s friendly relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for this.

In late February, the Ecuadorian government received a $4.2 billion loan from the IMF, which Ecuadorian organizers claim is the main reason for the rise in oil prices.

The IMF has a long documented record of hurting the economies of countries it provides loans to which, according to whistleblower John Perkins, are weaponized to send the host countries into debt.

Companies connected to the IMF are then sent in to take advantage of the chaos by gaining control of the target country’s infrastructure.

A Coup Against the President?

On the other end, President Moreno accused his predecessor Rafael Correa and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro of “financing the looting and violence”.

“They are behind this coup attempt, and they are using and instrumentalizing some indigenous sectors”, Moreno said in a national TV emergency broadcast.

Moreno has butted heads with Correa and Maduro throughout his presidency mostly due to Moreno’s involvement with US foreign policy.

A Look at the Protests

The military formed a wall that was not very effective in stopping the march.

The police and protesters also engaged in brawls in the streets.

Protesters torched a military vehicle and pushed it down a hill.

A shorter version of this video is going around Twitter with the claim that the police killed the people on the ground. However, this version proves they fell off the bridge and were not murdered.

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