[Economics] First four days of indigenous strike leave losses of $ 50 million, indicates the Government

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On Maldonado Avenue, in the Cutuglagua sector, located in the south of Quito, indigenous protesters blocked the road. Photo: Carlos Granja Medranda

 

The first four days of protests in Ecuador against the government due to the cost of living called by the indigenous movement have prevented the country's productive sectors from entering 50 million dollars in sales, according to an estimate by the Executive.

 

The Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador also saw in a statement that exports were affected by the closure of roads, "which puts at risk non-oil exports that have had a sustained growth of more than 30 % in the last year".

The calculations of losses for tourism start from a minimum of 2 million dollars a day, "a value that could be even higher when the international impact of unemployment is assessed."

According to a survey carried out in the tourism sector, 79% of hotel reservations "would have been cancelled", while 9 out of 10 establishments already report levels of reduction that reach, in some cases, less than 80% of the concurrence habitual to its tourist establishments, due to the conjuncture of protests.

The Ministry of Production also reported that several commercial establishments suspended their activities due to fears of acts of vandalism and the difficulty of transporting merchandise.

Likewise, companies from the industrial sectors, such as flower growers and exporters, reported threats and attempted forced entry by demonstrators.

The mobilizations have also affected oil production, since several wells and facilities in the Ecuadorian Amazon have been taken over by groups of protesters to force oil extraction to stop.

 

In Block 16, which is operated by the company Petrolia, a subsidiary of the Canadian New Stratus Energy (NSE), a pumping station has been occupied since Monday, which prevents the transport of around 4,000 barrels of oil each day.

Additionally, the Waorani indigenous people have carried out partial closures on the road that connects the production facilities of Block 16, which has caused problems in industrial safety and the continuity of the operation, to the point of reducing production by 3,000 barrels of crude oil. up to date.

Meanwhile, in Blocks 14 and 17, the company PetrOriental reported the paralysis of eight wells and other oil facilities that prevent the production of some 1,400 barrels of crude each day that they are inactive.

For its part, the state oil company Petroecuador reported on Tuesday an accumulated loss of 2,500 barrels due to the stoppage of wells in various fields under its charge, by protesters who clashed with the Armed Forces who guarded the facilities and caused at least 10 wounded soldiers. .

 

At the moment, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), Leonidas Iza, leader and main promoter of the mobilizations, opposes a dialogue that the Government has offered him on several occasions during this week.

The indigenous leader demands that, without mediation, that the Executive accept a decalogue of demands, which includes the freezing of the price of those fuels that have it released, the control of prices of basic products, the annulment of privatizations of strategic companies of the State and moratoriums on both peasant debts and extractive activities.

 

Link: https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/economia/primeros-cuatro-dias-de-paro-indigena-dejan-perdidas-por-50-millones-indica-el-gobierno-nota/