A protest movement in Ecuador led by indigenous peoples forced the government to concede to its demands. The gov't raised taxes, imposed anti-labor initiatives & laws, cut public spending, and slashed fuel subsidies over night which led to rising prices for food & other staples.
The Moreno govt said the measures were necessary to cede to IMF demands for a $4 billion loan. Today, the govt says it will no longer impose the austerity measures. The indigenous peoples were also protesting oil & gas drilling on their lands & other abuses of their land rights.
/3 To provide some context to this indigenous-led protest movement, and seeing as its #IndigenousPeoplesDay, here's a @CNN piece I wrote in 2014 reporting on indigenous peoples struggles against oil and gas development in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
edition.cnn.com/2014/02/28/opi…
edition.cnn.com/2014/02/28/opi…
