BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th October, 2019) The number of people detained in Ecuador during violent protests over the authorities' decision to scrap fuel subsidies has increased to 700, presidential aide Juan Sebastian Roldan said.
"About 700 people have already been detained," the official wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Roldan said on Tuesday that 570 people had been detained.
The unrest began early in October over the reforms initiated by President Lenin Moreno within the framework of Ecuador's aid deal with the International Monetary Fund.
The protest were initially staged by transport companies but organizations from other industries subsequently jointed them. Moreover, indigenous groups engaged in the anti-austerity protests.
Moreno, in his turn, declared a state of emergency and moved the government headquarters from the capital of Quito to the city of Guayaquil, located in the west of the country.
