Ecuadorian Indigenous Groups Call Assembly to Continue Protests Against President Noboa

Indigenous organizations from Ecuador’s Imbabura province, where most of the protests against President Daniel Noboa have taken place, have called for a large assembly aimed at maintaining the mobilizations, rejecting the partial truce agreed upon by some Indigenous leaders and the government.

The announcement came at the end of a gathering in the main square of Otavalo, where participants voiced their disapproval of the agreements reached with the Executive, which included lifting roadblocks in exchange for the start of dialogue tables to address Indigenous demands and grievances.

“Let the strike continue. To strengthen our peoples. We ask everyone to attend. This is a call for dialogue and unity,” said an Indigenous leader from Otavalo following the assembly, which was also attended by the city’s mayor, Anabel Hermosa.

The new assembly is expected to take place this Friday at the site where Efraín Fueres, an Indigenous protester, was killed — the first of three demonstrators shot dead amid the crackdown on protests in Imbabura.

Another Indigenous leader who participated in the meeting declared that “the strike continues.” “We are not leaving our roads and points of resistance. The resistance remains in each of our locations,” confirmed Indigenous leader Rafael Fueres.

He also rejected the presence of the military in the area. “There are no terrorists here. The military should leave and focus on working in the regions of the country where violence is truly rampant,” Fueres stated.

“No one said the strike is over”

Otavalo’s mayor, Anabel Hermosa, clarified on Thursday that the strike against the diesel price increase and other grievances remains in effect, despite Interior Minister John Reimberg’s statement the previous day claiming that the measure had been lifted.

The minister had declared, “Today the strike ends,” while announcing the agreements after more than six hours of negotiations — a statement quickly rejected by Indigenous organizations and movements.

“No provocation should divide us. The resolutions of the Expanded Council of October 14 remain in force — to reorganize the resistance, strengthen unity, say no to the Popular Consultation, and reaffirm resistance across all territories,” stated the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), which leads the nationwide protests and was not invited to the meeting.

Nearly a Month of Protests

Ecuador has endured nearly a month of Indigenous protests across several Andean provinces demanding the reinstatement of the diesel subsidy, which was eliminated by President Noboa.

Protesters are also calling for the return of the value-added tax (VAT) to 12 percent — after Noboa raised it to 15 percent in 2024 — and for the rejection of the referendum scheduled for November 16, in which voters will decide whether to initiate a process to draft a new constitution.

After almost a month of mobilizations, the protests have resulted in three deaths from gunfire, around 350 injured demonstrators, and more than 170 arrests, with approximately twenty people placed in pretrial detention on terrorism charges.