QUITO – Hopes for a negotiated end to the worst unrest in Ecuador in at least a decade dimmed as clashes between police and anti-austerity protesters continued for a ninth day on Friday in the capital Quito.
President Lenin Moreno proposed direct talks with indigenous leaders who have mobilized thousands of protesters to the streets in the South American country of 17 million.
But chief organizer Jaime Vargas, the head of an umbrella organization for indigenous groups across the country, rejected the proposal.
Vargas reiterated protesters’ demands for Moreno to immediately repeal a law that ended a four-decade old fuel subsidy last week.
At least four protesters died and hundreds were wounded and arrested.(Reuters)
