Troops Patrol Quito as Ecuadorians Defy First Curfew Since 1970s

(Bloomberg) -- Soldiers patrolled the streets of Quito on Sunday, unsuccessfully trying to enforce the first curfew in Ecuador’s capital in four decades.

Talks between the government and indigenous groups to end nearly two weeks of violent unrest triggered by fuel price hikes are scheduled for 3 p.m. local time, with bishops and United Nations representatives mediating.

As helicopters circled overhead, many Quito residents emerged from their homes on Sunday morning, some in defiance of the curfew and others confused about the government’s directive. People walked dogs and cars, taxis and trucks continue to circulate.

President Lenin Moreno’s government ordered a curfew in the capital on Saturday after another day of violence that included arson attacks on a television station and a government office. A prison riot erupted at a Quito jail Saturday night, according to SNAI, the national prison service.

Moreno is refusing the back down on his policy of ending fuel subsidies, but says some of the $1.4 billion annual savings can be earmarked for indigenous groups.

“This process has made progress, and I hope to be able to give you good news soon, because different organizations and sectors have already confirmed their willingness to dialogue,” Moreno said late Saturday in a televised statement.

The curfew will apply until order is restored in the capital, Foreign Minister Jose Valencia told reporters. Quito’s transit authority warned of two roadblocks erected by protesters on the highway linking the city and its airport.

Oil Output

Tens of thousands of indigenous protesters descended on Quito this week after Moreno ended gasoline and diesel subsidies on Oct. 2. The mass demonstrations were accompanied by attacks on oil infrastructure and looting.

In 11 days of chaos, demonstrators have used roadblocks to paralyze large swathes of the Andean region, and have also attacked oil production facilities, forcing state oil company Petroecuador to declare force majeure on deliveries.

The curfew is the first for the city since a dictatorship in the 1970s, according to Gonzalo Ortiz, a member of Ecuador’s Academy of History.

To contact the reporters on this story: Stephan Kueffner in Quito at skueffner1@bloomberg.net;Matthew Bristow in Bogota at mbristow5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew Bristow at mbristow5@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka

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