A young Argentinian tourist is stuck in the midst of protests – Telam

Marisol Natalia Cabrera, an Argentine girl, arrived on vacation in Ecuador almost three weeks ago and she was planning to celebrate her 32nd birthday in the jungle this Sunday. However, for days, he was arrested by soldiers and people who threw stones at vehicles that were not unemployed and took refuge in family homes and youth hostels to escape chaos and leave the country.

"I stopped with an indigenous community in an isolated place of the cities, called Indichuris (in the center of the country) .With unemployment, the community had no resources to feed me and in the area, it There were no shops to buy food, they invited me to retire, "said the biology doctor at Telam by phone.

"Some friends from Baños said that here the situation was calm and that it was a good place to take refuge," he added from the city 90 kilometers away. West of Indichuris, about halfway between the capital Quito and Guayaquil. , the economic heart of the country and where President Lenin Moreno took refuge when demonstrations erupted and the national strike took place against the elimination of the fuel subsidy.

There was no means of transport because for the total unemployment, neighbors stitch their wheels and stone the cars trying to cross the barricades."

Marisol Natalia Cabrera, Argentine tourist in Ecuador

It took a day and a half in Cabrera to travel 90 kilometers.

"There was no means of transport because for the unemployment to be total, the neighbors stitch their wheels and coam the cars trying to cross the barricades," said the young researcher, adding that "the road is full of barricades "and many people approached him to say" not walking alone, it was very dangerous ".

When he arrived in Puyo, he discovered a "city on fire" as there were looting, fires and barricades, people smashing windows and police firing tear gas. "" I looked for a place to stay and they said that it was not convenient for me to go to the hotel because they were looted. . After several laps, a local invited me to spend the night, "she continued.

The next day, he had to continue because his host also left his house to look for a refugee on a farm in the jungle. He still had 60 kilometers to go to Baños.

"The first part I did in a local car, until the army stopped us to check the vehicle, my luggage and ask me what I was doing there. Then I had to go on foot around the barricades. resistance distributing food dishes, to alleviate food shortages, "he said.

"At one point, another person offered to take me to another stretch, but I had to go down because she threw stones at us trying to cross a roadblock." I finally reached Baños while walking, "he added. Cabrera explained that in this area "the situation is calmer", but not all the time.

"We had to barricade ourselves twice in the hostel: once when the natives who went to Quito for Wednesday's protest passed and another time when the natives returned from Quito to their cities. the city, "he said.

On Friday morning, he went to the Baños tourist office with 70 other people – including many tourists – to ask officials to help them leave the area.

According to a video broadcast on Telam, the manager reportedly explained that he had spoken to several cooperatives in the region to make their trucks or buses available, but all refused because they "feared to be stoned on the road. ".