MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2019) The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has withdrawn from its talks with the government on redrafting a decree on fuel subsidies, which sparked protests across the country, citing persecution on the part of the authorities, the organization's president, Jaime Vargas, said.
"There is no room for dialogue. We will not be able to sit at the negotiating table while being persecuted," Vargas said in a speech, aired live by the Comercio news outlet late on Wednesday.
The speech followed prosecutors' decision to launch a probe over Vargas' calls on supporters to organize an army to protect indigenous communities.
The CONAIE representatives said that following their withdrawal from the talks with the government, they will create their own reform agenda, which will include revision of contracts for oilfield development and conditions of cooperation with state-owned companies, among other things.
The protests in Ecuador erupted early in October, when the government issued the decree scrapping fuel subsidies, among other austerity measures that sparked outrage of the public. The protests have turned violent, prompting President Lenin Moreno to declare a state of emergency.
