Widespread protests in Ecuador, sparked by cuts to fuel subsidies, reached a boiling point Sept. 28, as an indigenous land defender was killed by the armed forces, a government aid convoy was reportedly attacked by protesters, and 12 soldiers went missing. Meanwhile, the government continued to advance its plan to rewrite the constitution—an initiative that has further intensified public anger. Undeterred, the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE), which initiated the nationwide strike, announced the following day that it would extend the action.

Indigenous leader Efraín Fueres was shot dead by soldiers in the town of Cotacachi while marching alongside other protesters. Videos of the incident show that after Fueres was gunned down, a companion who rushed to his aid was brutally and repeatedly kicked by military forces. Following the killing, the indigenous Kichwa federation to which Fueres belonged, Chijallta FIC, condemned the "military bullets" that took his life and vowed to keep fighting.

The wave of unrest in Ecuador began on Sept. 22, when CONAIE launched an indefinite national strike. The immediate trigger was President Daniel Noboa's elimination of fuel subsidies—a crucial economic lifeline for Ecuadorians since the mid-1970s—even though Noboa had previously vowed to leave them in place. But the protests have since come to encompass a much broader structural critique of the right-wing government's austerity, extractivism, and creeping authoritarianism.

Noboa's IMF-backed program of mass layoffs, spending cuts, and tax hikes has left hospitals without medicine, schools in disrepair, and municipalities starved of resources. The administration's attacks on environmental protections—including the elimination of the Ministry of Environment—has privileged development over conservation. Meanwhile, Noboa's plan to convene a popular referendum on the drafting of a new constitution—potentially slashing funding for political parties, and reintroducing foreign military bases—has proceeded through the intimidation of previously independent judicial bodies.

An ally of the Trump administration, Noboa has responded to protests with unprecedented brutality. Human rights organizations have reported the disappearance of 10 people, nearly 100 injured, and more than 100 detained. Exploiting the Trump administration's ongoing conflation of the "War on Drugs" with the "War on Terror," Noboa has claimed that demonstrators are being financed by—or are members of—the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which has been increasingly labelled as a "terrorist organization" by right-wing governments across the region. On this basis, protesters have been accused of terrorism and locked up without trial, as is the case with the group now known as the "Otavalo 12."

The same day that Fueres was murdered, a government aid convoy was allegedly attacked by hundreds of protesters, resulting in serious injuries to soldiers and the reported kidnapping of 17 troops. Yet details on the disappearance remain murky. CONAIE has adamantly denied involvement in the kidnappings, and within three days the soldiers had been rescued—though from whom is unclear.

Ecuador's powerful indigenous movement has a history of successfully pressuring governments to walk back fuel subsidy cuts, as it did in 2019 under the administration of Lenin Moreno and in 2022 under Guillermo Lasso. But Noboa has vowed to hold firm, declaring that he would rather "die than take a step back."

From NACLA Update, Oct. 3. Slightly edited. Internal links added.

Note: Spikes in the price of food and fuel since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 have contributed to popular privation and unrest worldwide.