Ecuador's National Paro has Ended

After 11 days of road closures, non-existent transportation options in most of the country and sometimes violent protests in the streets all over Ecuador, both sides agreed to start a dialogue mediated by the United Nations.  It was agreed that the talks would be publicly televised.  So, on Sunday night, October 13th, President Lenin Moreno sat with several Indigenous and community leaders to work out their differences.  Late in the night, an agreement was reached which includes the following major intentions:

• Rescind Decree 883 which subsequently cancels the deal with the IMF,

• The Ministers of Interior and Defense will resign, based on their reactions and job performance during the protests, and

• A special commission will be established, including representatives of the indigenous peoples, to develop a plan to address future economic measures and reforms.  This future decree will include fuel subsidies for the people. 

And so, on Monday morning the people cheered.  There were buses and taxis filled with passengers, and according to several on-line videos, hordes of Indigenous, students, and citizens of Quito joined together in the streets to clean up the areas where the protests had been.

In the end, at least seven people were killed, and hundreds were injured in their fight for their economic future.  I'm really glad both sides were able to come to an agreement, and I think everyone is happy that even though their fight will continue on the political stage, the National Paro is no more.

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