Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Special Meeting held  at request of Government of Ecuador at the Organization of American States (OAS)  headquarters in Washington D.C.  Oct. 15, 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo    /  DIPLOMATIC TIMES

WASHINGTON  D.C. –   Violent protests erupted in Ecuador earlier this month following President Lenin Moreno action ending fuel subsidies.  The action unleashed the worst civil unrest in the Latin American nation in decades.  At least seven people were killed hundreds injured in the violence.  On Monday,President Moreno and leaders of the country’s indigenous peoples struck a deal to cancel an austerity package that led to violent protests. The Organization of American States (OAS)  Permanent Council Approved Declaration on the Defense of Democracy and Social Peace in The Republic of Ecuador Tuesday.  The OAS Permanent Council held a special meeting at the request of Ecuador Government.  Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Ambassador José Valencia, who gave a presentation on the situation in the country. 

The Declaration was approved by acclamation after the presentation of Minister Valencia, who detailed the events that occurred in recent days in his country. The document also urges the Government and people of Ecuador “to maintain a robust defense of the democratic order, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, which constitute the best guarantees for peace and social progress in freedom of the nations of the Americas.”  The approved document  further expresses the rejection of member countries of “any action aimed at destabilizing the legitimately established Government and the rule of law, as well as any kind of interference that alters democracy and peaceful coexistence in Ecuador,” and condemns “all acts of vandalism perpetrated” in recent days.

The approved declaration “welcomes the agreement reached on October 13, 2019, by the Government of Ecuador and indigenous organizations, with the good offices of the United Nations Office in Quito and the Episcopal Conference, which has restored peace and tranquility in the country.” It also expresses support “for the democratic regime in Ecuador, its legitimately constituted Government and its President Lenín Moreno Garcés.”

-OAS Statement 

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Ambassador José Valencia, gives a presentation on the situation in the country at OAS in Washington D.C. Oct. 15, 2019

DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO /  Pesentation by Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Ambassador José Valencia at OAS in Washington D.C. Oct. 15, 2019.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO /  Film video of scenes in Ecuador civil unrest amid ending of fuel subsidies viewed at OAS Special Meeting on Situation in Ecuador Oct. 15, 2019 Washington, D.C, during presentation by Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Ambassador José Valencia.

Credit: OAS /  Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Ambassador José Valencia (center) with Secretary General of the OAS (right) Luis Leonardo Almagro Lemes at OAS headquarters Washington D.C. Oct 15, 2019.