The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.63/No.13           April 5, 1999 
 
 
Protests Against Austerity Follow General Strike In Ecuador  

BY JUAN VILLAGÓMEZ
LOS ANGELES - More than a week of strikes and protests forced the government of Ecuador to lift a state of emergency and substantially back down from plans to sell off several state-owned companies, raise the Value Added Tax, and sharply increase in gasoline prices. The government says these austerity measures are needed to meet the demands of the International Monetary Fund and renegotiate Ecuador's $15 billion debt to the imperialist banks.

A general strike organized by trade unions, peasant groups, students, and others paralyzed the country March 10-11 in protest of the austerity measures imposed by Ecuadoran president Jamil Mahuad.

The government declared a state of emergency and deployed the police and army against the protests. On just the first day there were reports of some 100 arrests and three people killed by government forces. Oil workers, teachers demanding back wages, and many other workers took part in the strike. Indigenous peoples and transport workers blocked the Pan American Highway.

Union officials and leaders of the opposition political parties agreed to a compromise of March 18 that only partially rolls back the fuel price hike, which affects the price of anything that must be transported. Food prices have risen between 50 and 150 percent since the initial increase in gasoline costs. They also agreed to a presidential decree freezing half of most bank accounts for as long as a year.

Roadblocks are continuing in some indigenous communities. And protests broke out in Guayaquil March 22 when Banco del Progreso closed its doors, the eighth Ecuadoran bank to fold in four months.

 
 
 
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