Ecuador: Government decrees state of emergency in the midst of protests
The measure was taken in seven of the 24 provinces of the country, where there are pockets of protests against the elimination of the diesel subsidy.
Protests in Ecuador
Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, decreed on Tuesday a state of emergency in seven of the country's 24 provinces, where there are pockets of protests against the elimination of the diesel subsidy. With the end of the subsidy, the cost of diesel went from US$1.80 to US$2.80 per gallon.
Truck drivers closed some roads on Monday, which were cleared hours later after police intervention, with no injuries or deaths reported.
This Tuesday, the Panamericana Norte highway, at the entrance to Quito, woke up blocked with stones and mounds of dirt.
Faced with the protests, Noboa resolved to "declare a state of exception in the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Azuay, Bolivar, Cotopaxi, and Santo Domingo, on the grounds of serious internal commotion," according to the decree signed Tuesday.
The measure will be extended for 60 days. The government argued that the blockades "have caused complications in the food supply chain" and affect the "free transit of people, causing the paralysis of several sectors that affect the economy.
Noboa also resolved to suspend the freedom of assembly in the seven provinces and authorized the police and military forces to"prevent and disarticulate meetings in public spaces where threats to citizen security are identified."
Protests against the increase in fuel prices
Ecuador's non-oil and non-mining exports increased
Meanwhile, according to the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), in the first half of 2025, non-oil and non-mining exports increased 22% in value compared to the same period of 2024.
"This implies that 570 thousand tons more have been exported than in the first half of the previous year. This growth in exported volume is higher than the average of the last five years (3%), reports the guild," explained Ecuvisa which cited the study.
In addition, in August it was reported that the Ecuadorian economy grew 3.9% in the first semester of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024, when there was a contraction of 2%. This information was shared by presidential spokeswoman Carolina Jaramillo.
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