Social organizations, unions, and spokespeople from various citizen collectives have taken to the streets of the Ecuadorian cities of Quito, Latacunga, and Cuenca to demand from the national Government progress in education and health, in a day of mobilizations that has brought together workers, students, and other social sectors, who have announced that the protests will continue in the coming days.
In the capital, Quito, the protesters initially gathered in front of the Social Security Fund --now the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security-- and have peacefully marched along 10 de Agosto Avenue until reaching the Historic Center. The march, in which flags, banners, and slogans were displayed, ended in Santo Domingo square without incidents with the law enforcement forces.
The president of the National Union of Educators (UNE), Andrés Quishpe, has defined the day as the start of a series of protests that aim to cover the entire Ecuadorian territory.
"It is the beginning of the set of mobilizations that are coming throughout the country from different social and popular sectors," he stated in comments collected by the television network Ecuavisa. Following this, Quishpe called for the support of other movements and collectives in the country: "That is why we call on the indigenous and peasant movement."
In Latacunga, about 1,500 people participated in a march where health professionals, teachers, university students, union organizations, and other citizen groups gathered. The demonstration, which, like in Quito, took place without altercations, revolved around the same demands for reinforcement and improvement of public services.
To these demands has been added the discontent over the increase in transportation costs, which attendees have linked to the elimination of the diesel subsidy and the consequent rise in fare prices.
In Cuenca, a protest has also taken place, with a gathering in Calderón park, in front of the Azuay Government headquarters. This mobilization has been part of a national day of claims promoted by social and union organizations.
The spokespeople of the groups present in this city have also announced that the protests will continue in the coming days, in a strategy that aims to maintain pressure on the Executive to obtain responses to the demands raised in the streets.