The streets of Ecuador have become a flashpoint for social unrest, as a wave of protests against President Daniel Noboa’s economic policies grips the nation. What began as outrage over the abrupt removal of fuel subsidies has escalated into a broad-based national strike, drawing in teachers, workers, and especially Indigenous organizations. Over the past three weeks, Ecuadorians have taken to the streets in cities like Quito, Otavalo, and Guayaquil, demanding not just the restoration of subsidies but also improvements in education, healthcare, job security, and wage equality.
The catalyst for this unrest was the government’s decision to end a longstanding diesel subsidy, a move that instantly raised the price of diesel from $1.80 to $2.80 per gallon. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), the country’s largest Indigenous organization, quickly called for strikes and demonstrations, arguing that the subsidy’s removal would devastate those who rely on affordable fuel for agriculture, fishing, and transport. According to AP, the anger was palpable in Quito on October 12, 2025, as crowds burned tires, blocked roads, and faced off against police who responded with tear gas. Protesters chanted, “Noboa out, out!” as they marched through the capital, only to be dispersed by police on motorbikes before reaching their intended destination.
The government’s response has been swift and uncompromising. President Noboa imposed a state of emergency in 10 provinces, restricting public gatherings and deploying thousands of police and more than 5,000 troops to contain the demonstrations. The crackdown has been severe: at least one civilian has died, dozens have been injured, and over 100 people have been arrested during clashes with security forces. The state of emergency, as reported by GZERO and the World Socialist Web Site, underscores the administration’s determination to quell dissent, even as protests show no sign of abating.
Underlying the immediate spark of fuel price hikes is a much deeper crisis. Ecuador has been reeling from a surge in violent crime, with the homicide rate skyrocketing from 6.7 per 100,000 people five years ago to 44.5 in 2023—one of the highest in the region. Cities like Guayaquil and Durán now face homicide rates of 145 per 100,000, among the world’s most dangerous. According to Geopolitics Weekly, this explosion of violence is partly attributed to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed drug gangs to gain a foothold and use Ecuadorian ports as transit points for cocaine from neighboring Colombia and Peru. The violence has spilled into the public sphere, with high-profile incidents such as the assassination of former journalist and presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023 and a live television station attack in 2024.
Amid this backdrop of insecurity and economic hardship, President Noboa has justified his tough stance on protests by invoking the need for order. The administration has likened its approach to that of El Salvador’s President Bukele, who is known for his hardline tactics against gangs. However, critics argue that the government is conflating legitimate protest with terrorism to justify a widening crackdown on dissent. As Geopolitics Weekly noted, if the October 7 incident—when President Noboa’s convoy was attacked with rocks and debris by protestors—turns out not to have been a genuine assassination attempt, it would fit a pattern of the regime using such events to escalate repression.
The October 7 attack on Noboa’s convoy marked a significant escalation in tensions. Government-released videos showed the presidential motorcade being pelted with rocks and debris, though officials later claimed the vehicles were hit by bullets. The incident occurred as the president traveled through southern Ecuador, and the government quickly denounced the demonstrators for “attempting to assassinate the president.” However, eyewitness accounts and coverage by the World Socialist Web Site suggest that the demonstrators were largely peaceful until provoked. About 500 protestors blocked the highway and threw stones at the convoy, but the government’s framing of the event as an assassination attempt has been met with skepticism by many observers.
For many Ecuadorians, the protests are about much more than the price of diesel. A spokesperson for the National Educators Union told the World Socialist Web Site, “The [national] strike is not just over diesel. It is over education, health, safety and decent jobs and wage equality.” Demonstrators have also demanded the defense of Social Security and an end to mass layoffs, which have become more common as the government implements cost-cutting measures. The administration’s refusal to negotiate with the Indigenous federation has only fueled further anger, with union leaders accusing Noboa of pursuing “neoliberal and hunger-inducing policies.”
Noboa, for his part, has defended the subsidy cuts as necessary to shore up Ecuador’s precarious finances and combat rampant fuel smuggling across the country’s borders with Colombia and Peru. The government estimates that the diesel subsidy cost $1.1 billion annually, a sum it argues is unsustainable given the current fiscal crisis. To soften the blow, Noboa has toured restive regions and offered bonuses to farmers and public transport workers, but these gestures have done little to placate his critics. According to AP, the president has steadfastly refused to engage in dialogue with the Indigenous federation, further deepening the standoff.
The timing of the latest protests is also significant. The October 12 rally in Quito coincided with Ecuador’s Day of Interculturality and Plurinationality, a national holiday that recognizes the country’s Indigenous populations rather than Columbus Day. For many demonstrators, this was a poignant reminder of their ongoing struggle for recognition and justice in a society where economic policies often hit the most vulnerable the hardest.
The unrest in Ecuador is part of a broader pattern of social upheaval across Latin America, where austerity measures, rising inequality, and political repression have fueled mass protests in recent years. In Ecuador, the current crisis has laid bare the deep divides between urban and rural populations, Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens, and those who benefit from economic reforms versus those who bear their costs.
As the national strike enters its fourth week, the prospects for resolution remain uncertain. The government’s hardline approach may restore order in the short term, but the underlying grievances that brought Ecuadorians into the streets—poverty, insecurity, and a perceived lack of representation—are unlikely to disappear without meaningful dialogue and reform. The world watches closely as Ecuador stands at a crossroads, its future shaped by the outcome of this struggle between state authority and popular resistance.