Members of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces remove debris after a protest on Pan-American Highway North in Tabacundo, Ecuador, on Tuesday. President Daniel Noboa said he would rather die than back down on his decision to eliminate diesel subsidies. Photo by Jose Jacome/EPA
Streets in several provinces of Ecuador have become sites of roadblocks and demonstrations after Indigenous and student organizations called an indefinite national strike.
The protests intensified four days ago in response to President Daniel Noboa’s decision to end the diesel subsidy, a benefit in place for more than four decades.
The measure, made official Sept. 13 by executive decree, raised the price of a gallon of diesel fuel to $2.80 from $1.80 in a move the government said would save more than $1.1 billion a year.
But transport workers, farmers and social movements immediately rejected it, saying it would drive up the cost of living and raise prices on basic goods.
The government responded by declaring a state of emergency in at least eight provinces and imposing a nightly curfew in five of them to contain the protests, which since mid-September have blocked key highways and fueled political tension in the country.
“Unfortunately, we have a government that does not understand Ecuador, a government that does not understand the 5.7 million Ecuadorians who live on about $92 a month,” said Leonidas Iza, former president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, in an interview with CNN en Español.
He added, “The president of the republic does not have an attitude of dialogue. He has an authoritarian, dictatorial attitude that does nothing good for democracy in Ecuador or in the region.”
Although the country remains partially paralyzed, with millions lost in productive sectors, Noboa reaffirmed his decision to end the subsidy, saying he would expand stipends and compensation programs instead.
“Before they try to make me back down, I would rather die,” the president said during a public event.
Citing former presidents Lenín Moreno and Guillermo Lasso, who also tried to scrap the subsidy, but were forced to reverse course after protests, Noboa vowed he “will not back down as happened in 2019 and 2022.”
Noboa’s government defended ending the diesel subsidy as necessary to balance public accounts and cut spending it called “unsustainable.” Officials said the subsidy mainly benefited the transportation and agricultural sectors, but also encouraged smuggling to neighboring countries.
After eliminating the subsidy, the Finance Ministry reported savings of about $25 million in the first 10 days, saying the funds will be redirected to social programs, compensation payments, and aid for farmers and transport workers to ease the economic impact.
Deputy Hydrocarbons Minister Daniela Conde announced that Ecuador will prioritize investments in its refineries to ensure greater energy independence and improve diesel quality, as mandated by Decree 126, the order President Noboa used to end the subsidy.
To that end, the government has allocated $3.6 billion over four years for upgrades at the country’s three refineries.
She added that the country expects to close December with daily oil production at 500,000 barrels, with a projected increase to 536,000 barrels in 2027. Ecuador currently produces fewer than 470,000 barrels a day and spends nearly $7 billion a year on diesel imports.
