Ecuador Transportation Emergency as Fuel Subsidies End, Talks Fail

Hi, Does anyone have an idea how bad this is. I am scheduled to fly in on Wednesday for my 3 week trip. The news looks bad as it always does. A public transport strike or major issues there would cause big issues to my trip. Also the central parts of the main cities where I will be staying look like they are the battle zones.

Any advice. Should I postpone or cancel. Or is it actually ok to visit with a bit of adjustment?

Seeker00 wrote:

Hi, Does anyone have an idea how bad this is. I am scheduled to fly in on Wednesday for my 3 week trip....

A public transport strike or major issues there would cause big issues to my trip. Also the central parts of the main cities where I will be staying look like they are the battle zones.

Any advice. Should I postpone or cancel?  Or is it actually ok to visit with a bit of adjustment?

I just reviewed a variety of updated reports on the situation via Cuenca Highlife, Reuters and Firstpost.

Some reports say the transport strike is over for now and a national strike is planned for October 19. 

Non-transit protests apparently are ongoing.

One report puts the day of the national strike as October 9, which may be your arrival date, although that could be a typo.  Watch updated news reports to clarify whether the date is the 9th or the 19th.

The head of the transportation federation was quoted as saying the bus and taxi strikers are going back to work now "for the good of the nation" (Cuenca Highlife).

Consider calling your airline to verify whether you can postpone your trip without penalty until the protests have calmed.  If the national strike is on the 9th, you certainly don't want to arrive that day.

If you fly this coming week, consider spending your time mostly in one city such as Quito, to avoid multiple disruptions, staying in Mariscal Sector away from the main protests in El Centro.  Once you're on the ground in the capital, you could plan travel to Cuenca or another place based on the conditions at the time.

I'd avoid Guayaquil, in part because it is so crowded, dangerous and hot .. even when national protests are not underway.

cccmedia

President Moreno is quoted as saying the government will not restore fuel subsidies .. as $80,000,000 was lost in recent years due to the related loss of receivables.  Ecuador is leaving OPEC so it can produce more gasoline going forward.

The protesters seem equally adamant,  in demanding the return of the subsidies.

The price of gasoline at the pump rose from $1.85 to $2.39 this week after the subsidies were removed.  Diesel prices more than doubled.

cccmedia, based on press reports of Saturday, October 5

Thank you.  That was a very clear description. The situation seems to have stabalised quickly.

I will cut my stops to 3 from 5 to cut down on travel and avoid Guayaquil. I may need to rent a car along the way if things get sticky. I actually want to sit high on a bus and watch the countryside go by even though I am told I will regret it due to the driving and roads. LOL

It may be just a bit premature to say the situation has stablized quickly.  An interesting article today from El País, a Cali, Colombia newspaper, about the crisis in Ecuador:

https://www.elpais.com.co/mundo/la-gent … ensas.html

The opening paragraph says that the Ecuadorian political analyst Juan Pablo Ruiz opines that this will pass into history as one of Ecuador's most violent short periods.  There's a short video in the article showing demonstrators setting fire to a military tanqueta which is then pushed into a ravine.

Ruiz also is quoted as saying:
"El centro de la ciudad esta caotizado (...) La gente está enardecida como nunca antes lo había visto.  He cubierto cuatro caídas de presidentes, pero jamás algo a este nivel", dice Ruiz y agrega que la represión policial también ha sido de niveles insospechados.

Rough translation:  "The downtown of the city is chaotic (...) The people are inflamed like I have never seen before.  I have covered the fall of four Presidents, but never something at this level", says Ruiz and he adds that the police repression has also been at unexpected levels.

The article goes on to say an announcement was made that more than 20,000 indígenas will march on Quito, date not given, to confront Moreno, to protest doing away with the subsidies for combustibles which have been in place for more than 40 years.

There's a second video in the article, posted just an hour ago, which shows crowds streaming through downtown Quito, fleeing from military vehicles and horse-mounted troops, and whose caption says tear gas has been used to disperse the demonstrators.

There's a third video, the caption saying that the public disorders have caused in at least some stores,  ya se presenta desabastecimiento de alimentos,  they are showing already a shortage of foodstuffs.

There are also now several other videos in the article, showing that the situation so far is not improving but getting worse, and not just in Quito.

My bola de cristal is at the cleaners, otherwise I could tell you what's going to happen.  But I think this is serious, and it could have serious longer-term consequences.

Geez.....$2.39 looks pretty good from where I sit, here in Colombia, and even still looks good compared to Panama which was about $2.75 when I left a week ago.....Calif at $3.25 variable..........But when you get hooked on cheap fuel, its a rude awakening when the parties over.......And it certainly looks like the party is over in Ecuador.....big time leadership problems just about everywhere anymore.......

CNN and the New York Times reported yesterday, October 8th, that Ecuador's president, Lenín Moreno, has moved his seat of government from Quito's historical center to the city of Guayaquil 150 miles away .. to avoid the protests outside the presidential palace.  The Times report includes a photograph of riot police clashing with protesters in Quito's Centro Histórico.

Moreno made the announcement of the unprecedented move in Guayaquil, flanked by his vice president, the minister of defense and Ecuador's military chiefs .. to show that Moreno retains the support of the military, according to the Times report.  A photograph of the president surrounded by these officials appears in the report.

The report at cnn.com says the military had to rescue 50 of its members who had been held hostage by Indigenous protesters in Quito.

For the Times report, google:  nytimes.com ecuador-protests-president

Isn't there rioting in Guayaquil as well? My GF was showing me video of looters in the city (she was originally from Guayaquil)...

Damon.

In Guayaquil, there has been a lot of protesting and looting during the past week or so, especially at home appliance stores, according to press reports, and hundreds have been arrested.  Most of the arrests in Guayaquil were for vandalism.

Primary source:  The New York Times

The reported activity appears to meet the first definition of rioting
at thefreedictionary.com ...

cccmedia

Ecuador's president has rescinded the decree that ended fuel subsidies and caused political and logistical chaos around the country.

As a result of the president's action last night, the Indigenous peoples' strike that paralyzed much of Ecuador with protests and roadblocks over the past two weeks is ending.  The principal issue has been resolved with the subsidies active.

In televised negotiations involving the national government and Indigenous representatives last night (Sunday, October 13, 2019), the government agreed to restore the gasoline and diesel subsidies whose elimination had caused the protests.

The government has agreed to include members of the Indigenous on a commission that will plan an economic strategy for Ecuador going forward.

Source:  www.cuencahighlife.com

Ecuador president Moreno's move of his office to Guayaquil apparently lasted only a brief time.

As stated earlier on this thread, press reports from October 8th brought the news of the president's move to Guayaquil.

A report printed by Bloomberg the next day, the 9th, stated that Moreno had moved back to Quito.

Four days later, he approved the agreement to end the Indigenous strike.  Reports of the negotiations and the agreement originated in Quito.

The first days of the protests also included a strike by transit workers, as reported earlier in this thread.

cccmedia

My goodness, thank you cccmedia. Your input is invaluable to those of us on the outside looking in.
Nate

Been almost 2 weeks now, have not heard any updates here in the Philippines.   Last I heard the subsidies were going back on and things calmed down , hope that is the case.

Please give us an update on what is happening in Ecuador.  I had planned a trip and am unsure what to do. 
The kind of price increase they did would be devastating to those of lower income.  Apparently it has been reversed, but what it next?

I follow the English-language site Cuenca Highlife daily, a site that reports on major national stories in Ecuador as well as Cuenca-area news.

I haven't seen anything problematic reported there in recent weeks pursuant to the recent emergency, not since last month when the government agreed to reverse the fuel-price increase.

The site reports that the Indigenous of Colombia are planning a national protest in Ecuador's neighbor to the north on November 21, a protest against FARC guerrilla violence not related to fuel pricing.

Y'all can follow events as needed at www.cuencahighlife.com

-- cccmedia

We arrived in Guayaquil  a week ago, spent 1 night there then proceeded to Salinas, have not encountered anything  that I can see with significant effect. From the day to day newbie perspective.

I think you are thinking Gallons (US uses this) and they are talking liters.  So multiply their price times four.  If I am mistaken please someone correct me.  I'm assuming Ecuador is on the metric system, I do not know.

No, they are not talking liters (and there are not 4 liters to the gallon, but 3.78541 liters to the gallon).

For gasoline, they are talking about the price per gallon.  See this Oct. 2, 2019 article talking about how Ecuador will stop the subsidy (and of course they have since restored the subsidy):

https://www.voanoticias.com/a/ecuador-s … 08046.html

"Con la medida, los precios suben 0.23 centavos de dólar por galón para la extra; 0.23 para la Ecopaís y USD 0.19 para el diésel premium y diésel 2, señala el documento oficial."

and:

"Con los actuales subsidios, la gasolina en Ecuador tiene un precio de 1.85 dólar por galón, en tanto que el Estado aporta 0.37 centavos de dólar, mientras que el precio en el mercado internacional es de 2.22 dólares por galón, explica el rotativo."

HeyMrPaul wrote:

I think you are thinking Gallons (US uses this) and they are talking liters.  So multiply their price times four.  If I am mistaken please someone correct me.  I'm assuming Ecuador is on the metric system, I do not know.

As I live in Guayaquil, I can say you are mistaken. Gas here is sold by the gallon. The use of the metric system is somewhat flexible. La Española, a local butcher, sells meat by the pound.

Whether it is gallons or liters does not matter, it was the drastic increases in prices for them that mattered.  The subsidies have been restored for the time being, but the problem of huge economic deficits which are still unaddressed are the concern, and were the cause.

My GF is returning from Guayaquil as we speak after a week in-country. She did not report any issues in the city while she was there. She also travelled to Piñas & Portovelo, didn't have any trouble along the way.

Damon.