Anti-austerity Protests and Strikes Shut Down Quito, Ecuador

Alan Taylor
October 9, 2019
23 Photos
In Focus

Demonstrators have filled the streets of Quito, Ecuador, for more than a week, after the government of Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno doubled fuel prices by eliminating a 40-year-old subsidy, part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to secure loans despite the nation’s high levels of debt. The protests grew, and others joined by staging a nationwide transport strike, leading Moreno to declare a state of emergency and take the unusual step of moving government operations from the capital city of Quito to the port of Guayaquil.

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Mounted police advance on demonstrators protesting the president near the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, on October 3, 2019. #

Dolores Ochoa / AP

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Protesters demonstrate against President Lenín Moreno's decision to end a fuel subsidy, in Quito, on October 9, 2019. #

Rodrigo Buendia / AFP via Getty

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A demonstrator waves an Ecuadorian flag while sitting on top of a sculpture during a protest in Quito on October 8, 2019. #

Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

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Riot police block a bridge between Guayaquil and Duran, in Ecuador, on October 9, 2019, as the country braced for mass protests against the sharp rise in fuel prices sparked by authorities' decision to scrap a subsidy. #

Marcos Pin / AFP via Getty

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Demonstrators clash with riot police in Quito on October 7, 2019. #

Rodrigo Buendia / AFP via Getty

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Riot police detain a man during protests in Quito on October 3, 2019. #

Ivan Castaneira / Reuters

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Protesters march against the sharp rise in fuel prices sparked by authorities' decision to scrap a subsidy in Quito on October 9, 2019. #

Rodrigo Buendia / AFP via Getty

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A police vehicle burns during clashes and a transport strike in Quito, on October 4, 2019. #

Rodrigo Buendia / AFP via Getty

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Demonstrators participate in a protest against Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno's austerity measures in Quito on October 8, 2019. #

Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

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Mounted riot police are seen near the National Assembly during protests in Quito on October 8, 2019. #

Daniel Tapia / Reuters

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Demonstrators and security forces clash on October 8, 2019. #

Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

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People look out from under a metal shutter during protests on October 4, 2019, in Quito. #

Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

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An armored vehicle drives toward a crowd of anti-government demonstrators in Quito on October 8, 2019. #

Fernando Vergara / AP

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Demonstrators in Quito bang pots along the streets during protests on October 5, 2019. #

Daniel Tapia / Reuters

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Riot police clash with demonstrators on October 4, 2019. #

Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

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A demonstrators throws a tear-gas canister back toward riot police near the National Assembly in Quito on October 8, 2019. #

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty

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Demonstrators gather outside the National Assembly building in Quito during a protest on October 8, 2019. #

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

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Demonstrators and members of the security forces clash inside the National Assembly building on October 8, 2019. #

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

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A riot-police officer fires tear gas to drive demonstrators away from the National Assembly on October 8, 2019. #

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty

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A protester lies on the ground as demonstrators are driven away from the National Assembly by riot police on October 8, 2019. #

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty

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Indigenous anti-government demonstrators chant slogans against President Lenín Moreno and his economic policies during a nationwide strike in Quito on October 9, 2019. #

Carlos Noreiga / AP

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A demonstrator kicks a tear-gas canister thrown by the police during a protest on October 7, 2019, in Quito. #

Ricardo Landeta / Agencia Press South / Getty

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Demonstrators clash with riot police as thousands march against Ecuadorean President Lenín Moreno's decision to end a fuel subsidy, in Quito on October 9, 2019. #

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty

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